By Eniola Amadu
Two student journalists of the Nigeria Union of Campus Journalists (NUCJ), Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) Chapter have clinched awards for the Alfred Opubor Next-Gen Awards 2024 organised by the Campus Reporter project of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).
The awards were presented during CJID’s Dinner and Awards Night, held at the Abuja Continental Hotel, in recognition of exceptional contributions to journalism excellence in Nigeria and West Africa.
Emmanuel Oluwadola, the incumbent president of the union won the Best Fact-Check Award in the Alfred Opubor Next Gen Award 2024, a category celebrating outstanding campus journalism across Nigeria. His fact-check was on “Incorrect: MTN, AIRTEL Are Not Giving Free Data, Airtime to Celebrate Hilda Baci's Guinness World Record.”
The Production Manager, Fatima Idera emerged as the Runner-Up for the Best Fact-Check Award in the Alfred Opubor Next Gen Award 2024. Also, her fact-check report was on “Are Asbestos Ceilings Cancerous, Banned in Several Countries?”
Reacting to the awards, Oluwadola attributed the success to passion to always seeking the truth as one of the pillars of responsible journalism practice.
He said: “I feel so elated to have won this category among different entries from student journalists across tertiary institutions in the country. Standing for truth has a reward and truth is one of the pillars of excellent journalism.”
“It serves as an encouragement for me as an upcoming fact-checker to continue to join in the fight against misinformation and disinformation plaguing our world today. My advice to others is that they should keep writing for impact,” he remarked.
Similarly, Idera expressed her joy for the award, stating that her story was fueled by inspiration to write for change and sanitize the society of misinformation.
“I was inspired to write for change and the passion to investigate fake news. My advice to campus journalists is that they should be focused and passionate on building themselves at all times because the rewards will come,” she said.
The Alfred Opubor Next-Gen Awards is in honor of the late Alfred Opubor celebrating his pioneering contribution to journalism as the first Nigerian Professor of Mass Communication.
0 replies:
Post a Comment