Determined to aid journalists in their course of covering and reporting the Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria, the International Press Center (IPC) has deemed it fit to launched an advisory on Covid-19 for journalists in the country.
Executive Director of the center, Lanre Arogundade, who made this known in a press statement made available to our Taraba state correspondent ,observed that generations of Nigerian journalists were covering a pandemic for the first time and therefore needed as much professional support as possible.
The statement which was signed by the Communications Officer of the center, Olutoyin Ayoade also stated that as front men and women in the effort to disseminate information that would help combat the pandemic, journalists were being exposed to heath and security risks, which must be addressed through diverse means.
According to the statement “It is against this background that the advisory is divided into three parts – Safety, Ethics and Professionalism and Social Responsibility”, adding that “the advisory had also become necessary because the Covid-19 infection was spreading to more states and all journalists, whether on the field or not, should benefit from relevant knowledge.”
Parts of the statement also reads: “The advisory derives from and complements existing national, regional and media standards for crisis reporting”.
The IPC Director said the release of the advisory would be followed by capacity trainings for journalists in partnership with other media and communication professional bodies in the next couple of days.
In his word “The trainings would enable journalists to share information and ask questions based on their experience on the field and in turn receive more professional support “.
The advisory , as made known by him, was developed pursuant to the objectives of Component 4b: Support to Media of the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria, although the responsibility for the content was solely that of IPC.
