CJID holds workshop for S’East media managers on navigating legal challenges

By Chidi Eleke 

An NGO, Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) has held a workshop to train selected managers of media outfits in the South East and South South on how to navigate through challenges of law suits, targeted at silencing media houses.

At least 12 newsrooms drawn from media stations in South East and South South region, including Anambra, Delta and Edo states, both Print and Broadcast stations were among participants at the one day workshop .

The journalists  and selected experts gathered to brainstorm on how to navigate legal challenges, laws that criminalize journalism and Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, SLAPPs.

The event held at UNIZIK FM, Awka, featured lectures on “Operational strategies for journalists and media organizations to avoid legal repression” delivered by the Managing Editor, Premium Times Newspaper, Mr Idris Akinbajo.

He stressed the importance of media stations going extra mile to ensure that governments do not clamp down on media stations because of their reportage, and various ways to navigate through such occurrences.

Human rights lawyer, ,Barrister Inibehe Effiong, took the participants on on ways to carry out their duties without attracting litigations, urging journalists to avoid hate speeches, ensure they check their facts, have strong editorial policy, document and keep their interviews as evidence in case of litigation, have courage in their abilities, knowing that journalism is a calling and not just a job, and recommended that judicial reporters should be given constant trainings to be abreast with any changes regarding their beats.

On her part, the Deputy Director, Journalism Programme, Centre For Journalism Innovation And Development, Mrs Busola Ajibola, who moderated the programme thanked journalists for attending and urged that the knowledge acquired be passed on to reporters in each of the participating newsroom, to ensure that journalists are abreast with current tools that can be handy in carrying out their job.