Development journalism re-evaluated

“I do not believe that development journalism is boring, Bad journalism is boring,” said Professor Alfred E Opubor. He was part of a panel discussion during the Highway Africa conference which addressed the significance of training more journalists on how to report for development

The problem facing media society is that not many journalists put their energy in reporting enough on development. “The problem is that there is a “flavour of the month” approach to news”, says Professor Opubor. African Editors Forum deputy chair, Cheriff Sy, also added that the developmental issue can be blamed on bad governance which neglects journalist’s knowledge and leaves them vulnerable to NGOs which only approach journalists out of lobbying interest towards certain politics and environmental issues.

The solution to this issue is complex but also possible once approached “We need to take journalists out to the streets and out of the classroom. We need to make sure that they are well informed about society”, says Professor Opubor.
by Anele Ngwenya