The Nigeria Health Watch, a not-for-profit health communication and advocacy organisation has urged journalists across the country to take a solutions journalism approach in telling their stories.
It noted that instead of focusing too much on the problems bedeviling the country or communities, journalists can start x-raying the solutions being provided by individuals or organizations.
This way, the solutions can inspire change, especially in behaviour, and may lead to a replication of the same elsewhere.
Speaking during the close-out event of the Solution Journalism Africa Initiative (SJAI) in Abuja, the Managing Director of the Nigeria Health Watch, Vivianne Ihekweazu, stated that through its solutions journalism program, which was support by the Solutions Journalism Network, it has engaged over 90 journalists, 30 media organizations, with over 250 solutions journalism stories published.
She said, “Why we did this is because when people listen to news, many of those news stories talk about problems; people get tired of listening to the problems over and over. However, using a solutions approach to reporting the news, it is a different way of reporting news.
“For us, this initiative has been important to shape the tone and the way news is reported in Nigeria. The idea is how do we change the narrative of how news is reported in Nigeria and the global audience.
“News has a catalytic impact on changing the way people deal with situations. Throughout the collaboration, this project has supported newsrooms and journalists to inspire change in their communities.
“The impact can be witnessed in the numbers it has achieved. We have engaged over 90 journalists and 30 media organizations. We have seen the activation of solution journalism platforms in media organizations.”
In his remarks, the Senior Program Manager, Nigeria Health Watch, Chibuike Alagboso said, “In spite of the problems, solutions are working. The program hopes to change the narrative about problems, to finding out about the things that are working and reporting them. The program kicked-off in 2021.
“The idea was for journalists to learn that there is a way to report on issues. We did this through newsrooms engagements, fellowships, field visits, radio and social media engagement, support newsrooms, beacon newsrooms, collaborative stories, among others.
“Over 250 solutions-focused stories have been published. Also, over 1,000 people have been reached with solutions journalism. We realized that it was not only important to support journalists, but to encourage them to become advocates. These journalists turned advocates, in turn, will start teaching their colleagues about solutions journalism.”
While giving his opening reflection on the program, the Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr. Buki Ponle said, “As journalists, we must continue to serve the community. A journalist must abide by the ethics of the profession. Today, there is a bastardization of ethics. Some are not resourceful enough because they rely on press statements and events.
“Journalists must develop a long nose for news. You must stick to objectivity and factual reporting. You must have the interest of the public, by empathizing with the public.
“Ultimately, remember that we are not looking for mathias but heros and heroines.”