Canadian media group proposes human-rights journalism partnership with PUNCH

Journalists for Human Rights, a Canada-based media development organisation, has expressed interest in collaborating with PUNCH Newspapers on human-rights journalism training and professional development. The organisation’s board chair, Michael Cooke, made the proposal on Monday during a delegation’s visit to PUNCH’s headquarters at Magboro in Ogun State. He said the visit was intended to help JHR understand PUNCH’s operations, particularly its digital journalism, and identify possible areas of cooperation.

Cooke said JHR trains journalists and media managers on human-rights issues, while also connecting journalists with civil-society and government stakeholders. He said the organisation’s work aims to support more comprehensive reporting and help members of the public understand and safely advocate for their rights. He added that JHR was interested in PUNCH’s digital operations and its view of the future of digital journalism.

Cooke said an assessment of the Nigerian journalism industry had identified digital reporting, investigative journalism, and journalists’ safety and security as areas requiring additional training. According to Cooke, 71 per cent of journalists surveyed said they did not feel adequately prepared for digital journalism. He also identified safety as a significant concern, particularly for women journalists, and said journalists had expressed a need to strengthen investigative reporting skills.

Cooke said JHR recognised the importance of local knowledge when working in countries where its representatives might not share the same context. He described the organisation’s international work as a learning process as well as a training effort. PUNCH Metro Editor Joel Nwokeoma questioned whether the 71 per cent figure could be applied to the entire Nigerian journalism industry without broader sampling.

He said an assessment should include major industry executives and journalists at different levels and in different areas of the profession. Nwokeoma also pointed to PUNCH’s record of public-interest and human-rights campaigns, citing its sustained coverage of the case of Ese Oruru, a 13-year-old Bayelsa girl who was abducted and taken to Kano for marriage. He said the campaign continued until she was released and returned to her family.