Nigerian media advised to report terrorism with caution

Nigerian media practitioners have be cautioned against sensitive role they played in reporting terrorism, on need for them to apply measures to counter terrorism, rather than helping it to fester.

Penpushing reports that, Dr Raphael Abimbola gave the caution note in his paper titled, ‘The role of the media in combating extremism and terrorism in Nigeria; delivered at a workshop organized by the Nigerian Press Council(NPC) in collaboration with Forte and Henz Limited, held in Ibadan, Oyo State Capital

The guest lecturer of the Department of Mass Communication,  Adekunle Ajasin University, Ondo State, pointed out that nothing  can better unite, advance and develop a country than patriotism by its citizens including the media.

‘Since the media takes on the coloration of the social milieu in which it operates, it cannot thus be separated from the yearnings and aspirations of its home country. For the Nigerian media to help in countering terrorism  it has to imbibe the Nigerian spirit and identify with the dreams, goals and aspirations of the nation, Abimbola said.

‘Thus, it is patriotism that will make the Nigerian media to place the national interest above its commercial, sectional or primordial sentiments. Editors and news managers should note that any instability in the system affects the smooth running of the media as well’, he stated.

‘Framing operates on the principles of selection, emphasis and exclusion. Nigerian media should continue to report terrorist attacks but select the stories that unite and assure the citizens of the national effort in combating terrorism, de-emphasise and if possible exclude those that magnify or reinforce the successes of terrorist groups in the country’, he added. .

Penpushing further reports that, Abimbola noted that as much as the media has the right to report terrorist attacks, much more should it also report authorities’ breakthrough in their efforts to combat the menace.

‘Thus, the media should not only report major attacks, it should also not hesitate to balance such with reports of major feats recorded by authorities in countering terrorism. Objectivity and bipartisanship should be key when reporting a story, he stated’.

‘The media should present both sides of the story to the audience fairly and accurately without bias, so that the audience can make their own opinion of the news and/or story independent of the media’s negative influence’, he added.

‘The media coverage of success stories should be balanced with the coverage of failure stories without speculation and dramatization in order to add to the credibility of the source and public order in the aftermath of an attack”, he emphasised

Penpushing also reports that he said, reporters, editors, directors and media managers have the patriotic responsibility to work in close connection with concerned authorities and security agencies in intelligence gathering and sharing data at times of crisis for reasons of National security and public order.

‘It is not  every information that should be published. Some are better shared with security agencies for further steps. As a matter of fact, journalists should avail the authorities with useful information just as they (journalists) also depend of them as news sources’, Abimbola explained.

‘Terrorism and the media are inseparable but incompatible twins. This is because the media cannot ignore terrorist attacks because of their newsworthiness and terrorists need the media for publicity’, he added.

‘As stated earlier, by reporting on terrorist attacks, the media plays a part in conveying terrorist messages to a large audience. Unfortunately, this is the objective of terrorist organizations as such publicity encourages them to carry out more attacks, which will in turn be reported by the media’, he stated.

‘To counter terrorism therefore, the media should tread the path of caution. Professionalism and ethical standards are imperative if the media will help to counter the global terror. To combat the menace in Nigeria, the media should allow patriotism to drive its reportage in terms of framing, fairness, and providing intelligence for security agencies’, he said

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