Stakeholders convened to discuss the current and future state of the journalism landscape in Nigeria on June 15 and 16, 2023. The town hall meeting, organised by Sarah Ayeku, Reporter/News Anchor at TVC News, aimed to engage journalism students. During the event, panelists shed light on newsroom dynamics and the prospects available to aspiring professionals and student journalists. The discussions also highlighted the obstacles encountered by female journalists in a predominantly male industry.
Ayeku invited broadcast journalists, anchors, presenters and on-air personalities from Television Continental (TVC) and MaxFM as resource persons. Precious Amayo (News anchor) and Sharon Ijasan (Senior reporter, TVC News) served as keynote speakers to discuss the concepts and issues in gender reporting and the challenges of investigative reporting. For two days, the discussion also centered around reporting beats traditionally dominated by men. 56 students (48 females and 8 males) participated in the event.
Abosede Adeniran-Aderemi discussed opportunities in the media space for students of mass communication. Emem Ime-Okwoche, Mark Otabor, Zainab Osanyin, and Veronica Dan-ikpoyi from TVCNews and MaxFM anchored several mentorship sessions with students at Trinity University. Resource persons exposed students to opportunities in the media space and provided professional mentorship for these budding talents. The two-day event happened at the TVC News training room and Trinity University, Yaba. It was an opportunity to educate mass communication and journalism students on gender reporting and how newsrooms work in the print, broadcast, and online platforms.
Meanwhile, Ayeku will provide editorial support and mentorship to budding female student journalists, collaborate with some of the attendees to establish press clubs where none exist, and produce newsletters for their various schools. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation supported the 2023 Report Women! FRLP, Champion building edition.