Juliana Francis
At least over 3000 journalists have been impacted by the Polaris Bank Annual Media Work in the last four years, says the Bank’s management.
This was even as a cross-section of journalists who participated in the fourth edition of the media capacity-building session for journalists organised by the bank expressed satisfaction with the quality of the workshop and the topnotch facilitators.
The annual media workshop, in its fourth edition held over the weekend, had in attendance over 152 participants, including renowned publishers, editors, Managing Directors of media houses, reporters, and other media-inclined professionals.
Earlier, while welcoming participants and declaring the workshop open, the Group Head, Strategic Brand Management of Polaris Bank, Nduneche Ezurike, said the Bank remains committed to its corporate citizenship of contributing to the development of the media in Nigeria. He explained that since Polaris Bank took up the responsibility of empowering media practitioners in 2018, the media has been better for it.
He added: “The highly engaging sessions, anchored by some of the best in the industry, have helped media practitioners to raise the bar of their practice while avoiding landmines that could ruin their blossoming careers.”
Polaris Bank, working through respective State Councils of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), has trained journalists in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo, Rivers, and Abuja on contemporary issues such as Best Media Practice, Fact Checking, Impact of Fake News, Digital Journalism, Art of Story Telling in a Digital Age, Media Convergence and Transitioning to a Multi-Media Journalist.
He further noted: “Since the commencement of this initiative, over 3,000 Nigerian journalists have directly participated in the Media Workshop, a key feature of the Banks’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) intervention. Most participants expressed their appreciation to Polaris Bank for the consistency in hosting the media seminar, despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. They promised to put to judicious use the rich nuggets learned from the workshop.”
The Deputy Group Business Editor of The Nation newspapers, Taofik Salako said: “The workshop was very educative and informative. As a matter of fact, I acquired new knowledge and information as regards Cybercrime Law and You.”
Another journalist, Toyibat Ajose stated: “Polaris Bank has indeed shown consistency as a media-friendly brand over the years by organising this annual high-impact capacity-building workshop for Nigerian journalists to broaden our horizons and enable us to practice more professionally. This, we appreciate.”
The Founder and Publisher of TheCable, Simon Kolawole, while speaking on “Managing a Virtual Newsroom,” explained how journalism has sharply moved from the traditional to the modern. He also enumerated the challenges and benefits that come with the new media.
A top Legal Practitioner and Principal Partner from E.A Orji & Co Law Firm, Barrister Eric Orji, spoke on “The CyberCrime Law and You,” highlighting legal landmines journalists should avoid while embracing the new media.
