INTRODUCTION
As part of its initiatives to build the capacity of journalists and the media for improved reporting of the electoral processes, especially the 2015 general elections, the International Press Centre (IPC) Lagos-Nigeria organized a two media workshop for journalists from the South-South region of Nigeria in Calabar on November 20 and 21, 2014.

The workshop was held as part of IPC’s project on ‘Media Capacity Building, Mentoring and Monitoring for Conflict-Sensitive, Public-Issue and ICT-Driven Reporting of 2015 elections’ supported by the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Democratic Governance for Development (DGD 111) programme and its partners including the European Union (EU), UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

The workshop attracted 25 male and female journalists working in the broadcast and print media in the six South-South states of Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross River, Delta, Edo and Akwa Ibom. The participants also belong to the Nigeria Union of Journalists and the Radio, Television,
Theatre and Arts Workers Union (RATTAWU) The workshop had very robust engagement, insightful discussion and exchange of ideas on issues, processes and challenges of professional, ethical, conflict sensitive, public interest and gender-supportive reporting of the 2015 elections.

The workshop had a goodwill message from Dr. Oshega Abang, Director News & Current Affairs, CRBC, Calabar while it featured presentations and deliberations on the following topics: 2015 Elections – The imperative of according priority to citizens’ issues in media reporting by  Ms. Mediline Tador, General Manager, Rivers State Broadcasting Corporation (RSBC); The responsibility of the media and journalists in managing electoral conflicts by Mr. Sam Egbala, NUJ National Trustee and Editor, Chronicle Newspaper, Calabar; Issues in conflict transformation responsibilities & safety of journalists during elections by Mr. Lanre Arogundade, Director, International Press Centre (IPC) Lagos and  2015 Elections – The role of the media in promoting the gender factor in elections by Mrs. Tammie Kammonke, Executive Director, Partnership Opportunities for Women Empowerment Realization, POWER, Calabar. There was also a presentation on using the social media to advance the professional reporting of election by Mr. Keye Ewebiyi, Social Media Officer of IPC while Mr. Sanmi Falobi, IPC Program Associate took the participants through the task of reporting for the Nigerian Democratic Report (NDR). Each of the presentations was followed by engaging plenary sessions. The workshop also had a listening/interactive session on ‘skills for interviewing politicians’ and a stories’ clinic during which the participants presented election story ideas they plan to work on using the knowledge gained in the course of the workshop. Observations:

The workshop observed as follows:

•       Journalists must recognize that the responsibility imposed on themby the society is weighty and therefore must be guided by the dictates of truth, honesty, sincerity, integrity, accountability and transparency;

•       It is harmful for the media to assume the role of collaborators and conspirators with politicians, the electoral body, ethnic or religion groups to misinform or misguide the general public on election issues;

•       The media and journalists have a duty to contribute to managing conflict especially on the electoral process ahead 2015 elections and beyond by exercising statutory role of informing and educating the public based on the honest gathering and dissemination of information;

•       Journalists and media practitioners should therefore owe their allegiance to the citizens in reporting the electoral process and not to political or ownership interests;

•       The media have a role in promoting women participating in politics through deliberate mainstreaming of gender into reporting.

Recommendations:

For the media to be conflict sensitive, public interest oriented and gender-supportive in reporting the 2015 elections, the participants recommended that:

•       Journalists should make election reporting diverse and issue-based; they should refrain from presenting it as mere contest between parties, aspirants and candidates;

•       Journalists should refrain from self censorship; they should act in defence of editorial independence in reporting the elections;

•       Journalist must strictly abide with the code of ethics of the profession;

•       Journalists should shun gratification and pecuniary interests in reporting the electoral processes;

•       The media and journalists should give special consideration to

Peoples Living with Disabilities (PWD) and other under-represented groups including the youths in the reporting of elections;

•       Journalists should mainstream gender equity into political and election reporting;

•       Journalists should effectively utilize social media platforms in reporting the elections;

•       The NUJ, RATTAWU and other professional bodies should organize more capacity building programmes for journalists on election reporting;

•       Journalists should make use of the Nigerian Democratic Report (NDR) (www.ndr.org.ng) as alternative platform for professional and ethical reporting of the elections;

•       Journalists should be conscious of their personal safety especially when reporting in hostile or conflict prone areas; in particular they should take note of the following:

–       The need to have proper means of identification and to be duly accredited for reporting elections as may be required by the election management body;

–       The need to always exploit local knowledge and advice while reporting in conflict prone areas;
–       The need to have adequate understanding of conflicts including the history and the stakeholders;

–       The need to be medically fit before venturing to report in conflict prone areas; and

–       The need to understand that no story is worth injury or worse

The participants expressed gratitude to the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) Democratic Governance for Development (DGD II) Project which is funded with contributions from the European Union (EU), UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and other
partners for supporting the workshop.

Cross section of participants at the workshop.

Resource persons at the workshop.

Additional Papers Presented:

2015 Elections- The Imperative Of According Priority To Citizens Issues In Media Reporting [wpdm_file id=34]

2015 Election: The Responsibility Of The Media And Journalists In Managing Conflicts [wpdm_file id=35]

The Role Of The Media In Mainstreaming Gender Into Elections [wpdm_file id=36]