SPECIAL REPORT: Katsina farmers lament impact of climate changeSPECIAL REPORT: Insecurity, other factors limit cashew farming in NigeriaArticle of Faith: One, two, many gods , By Femi Aribisala
Azu Ishiekwene, covers, to borrow a legalese, the field, providing us with the equivalent of a Master Class, a Ted Talk in print about journalism – its tone, tint and shape in today’s world.
It is most refreshing to hear the voices in this book, across generations of the likes of Farooq Kperogi, Sam Omatseye, Fisayo Soyombo on social media responses, and how to manage feedback and trolls ; Abimbola Adelakun and Ruona Meyer on branding ; the examples of Linda Ikeji, Abdusalam Idris, Tunde Ednut and Adeola Fayehun ; Professor Toyin Falola and Tunde Odediran on self-reinvention , and the more extensive conversation with Dele Olojede and Toyosi Ogunseye in Chapter 15 titled: “In life,...
This is not necessarily the case in Nigeria. I stand to be corrected, but I dare say that most of the scholars who teach journalism in most of our institutions of higher learning are persons who have all the degrees but they have never been in a newsroom, nor have ever had a microphone pinned to their chests.
I find particularly noteworthy the author’s reflections on how the emergence and impact of social media and Artificial Intelligence have disrupted the practice. The predicted death of the newspaper, like that of the author, has not occurred – what has changed is the mode of practice, and the pressing impact of new forms. This author does not preach against change, rather he encourages adaptation and innovation, two values at the centre of the modern convergence.
This is a book, all things considered, by a master-practitioner advising the young and the old about the how of our trade, hence the chapters offer advice about how a writer/journalist can find his or her voice; and the importance of originality and feedback; how to find a subject to write about, style and its elements; how to find and use resources, make impact, avoid stepping on the wrong side of the law; how to manage feedback and trolls in a season dominated by the sheer, unavoidable...