.As EU, Step-Up train female journalists in Rivers 

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt 

A former Commissioner for Information in Rivers State, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, has warned journalists against over reliance on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in their job, especially during investigations.

The former information commissioner gave the advice at a two-day capacity building workshop organised by Step-Up for Women In Journalism Initiative (SWIJ) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Step-Up organised the training for female journalists in the state in partnership with the Common Ground Journalism Forum, funded by the European Union with support from Search for Common Ground Nigeria, Nigeria, the Nigerian Union of Journalists and Media Career Development Network (MCDN).

Speaking during her presentation, Semenitari stated that while journalists can employ AI to enhance their jobs, it should not be a replacement for the brain and critical thinking.

She emphasised the need for journalists, especially women, to regularly and consciously invest and develop themselves so as to remain abreast with the changing technology. 

Semenitari who noted that with feminist intuition women are crafted to be better investigative journalists, regretted that  they are not utilising it to reach the peak of their career.

“You’ve got to be willing to be more and you can’t be more sitting down and doing the usual. You have to ask what are the current trends. You can use AI but not as replacement for your brains,” she said.

Elizabeth Aduku, a member of Common Ground Journalism Forum and Development Partner with Foundation for Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND), who spoke on ‘Utilising Social Media Tools For Community Peace Building’, emphasised the need for journalists to understand digital tools and their uses. 

She stated that journalists must be conflict sensitive while using social media tools for their reports.

Aduku also suggested the need for journalists to develop fact-checking skills to always verify videos and pictures to avoid spreading false stories that could lead to conflict. She mentioned some of the tools to include Verify, Messaging, Mapping. 

Team Lead of Step-up for Women in Journalism Initiative, (SWIJ), Ann Godwin, who spoke on Emotional Intelligence, noted that a thriving career is not just built on academic qualifications and experience but on emotional intelligence,  emotional maturity and ability to connect. 

She said, “intelligence is not proven by how much you know, but by how well you use what you know to improve yourself, fulfill purpose and impact the society.”

Mrs. Godwin mentioned setting career targets, positive mindset, self-care, learning from past experiences and handling issues and challenges with maturity, as some of the ways that can lead to career development, urging female journalists to embrace emotional intelligence.

The training which had as theme: ‘Career Advancement Amid Evolving Dynamics’, had facilitators use life experiences and career success to emphasise the need for journalists to continually develop and grow themselves.

Executive Director of MCDN, Lekan Otufodunrin, spoke on career check, charging participants to constantly check up on their career and update their documents. 

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