On Saturday, May 4th, the Ajose Lecture Theatre at Obafemi Awolowo University hosted the 2024 Internatonal Campus Journalism Conference (ICJC). The event brought together a diverse group of journalists, media professionals, and speakers to discuss the changing landscape of journalism in the digital age. The aim of the conference, which was organized by ACJ OAU, was to provide aspiring journalists with the knowledge and skills required to succeed in an increasingly interconnected and digital world.
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The event was graced by several industry experts including Oluseun Onigbinde, Global Director of BudgIT, who gave the keynote address, and several others including Titilope Fadare, Asst. Podcast Editor, SciDev.Net; Blessing Oladunjoye, Publisher at BONews; David Afolayan, Co-founder of Technext; Ganiu Oloruntade, Reporter at TechCabal; and Bolu Abiodun, Senior Reporter at Techpoint Africa who served as the panelist.
Other notable guest speakers present include the Deputy Speaker of the Osun State Assembly, Prince Akinyode Oyewusi, Rahaman Abiola, Editor-in-Chief of Legit.ng, Dataphyte Academy team led by Mr. Bifola Raji.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Simeon Bamire was ably represented by the Dean, Division of Student Affairs, Professor John Odedire. Also present at the event were students from Obafemi Awolowo University as well as students from University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin, University of Lagos, Osun State University, Adekunle Ajasin University, and Usmanu Danfodiyo University
Gbolahan Latinwo, the President of the association, during his welcome speech, emphasized the vital role of campus journalists as guardians of truth. He extolled the importance of the conference in providing participants with the necessary knowledge and skills to navigate the digital landscape effectively and encouraged participants to network, interact and be open to sharing their experiences.
The keynote speaker, Mr Oluseun Onigbinde elaborated on the democratization of information facilitated by the internet, highlighting the power of individuals to effect change with a single click. He emphasized the need for media innovation and technologies to adapt to the evolving digital landscape, stressing the importance of connecting with audiences, but not at the expense of maintaining journalistic standards. Similarly, The Deputy Speaker of the Osun State Assembly, Prince Oyewusu, emphasized the interplay between technology, politics, and the media, acknowledging the media’s role in holding public institutions accountable and shaping public perceptions.
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The conference had two-panel sessions, with the first moderated by Tosanwanmi Elizabeth Tarre, UCJUI President themed ‘Building an innovative newsroom: strategies and best practices for encouraging and implementing new ideas’, and featuring Titilope Fadare and Blessing Oladunjoye. Titilope Fadare advocated for newsrooms to embrace change and adapt to emerging trends in technology, emphasizing the importance of collaboration, both within newsrooms and with tech companies, to develop AI tools that benefit the public. She also acknowledges resistance to change among some journalists but stresses the need for them to evolve with the times, as media consumers increasingly demand innovation.
Blessing Oladunjoye, also echoes similar sentiments, underscoring how innovation has streamlined the news generation and dissemination process. She emphasizes the necessity for journalists to undergo training in innovation to effectively leverage new tools and technologies. Oladunjoye also highlights the significance of mobile journalism, likening it to ‘TikTok with facts’. She notes its role in delivering breaking news, combating the spread of fake news, and enabling journalists to establish themselves as individual brands.
Rahaman Abiola, Editor-in-Chief of Legit, speaking on ‘Media Innovation and Technology: Role of Social Media in Newsroom’, narrated the transformative shift from digital denial to a digital-first mindset, accelerated by the COVID-19 era. He explained how Legit.ng had been able to grow a robust audience base through narrative shaping on social media, particularly Facebook. Some of the tips he mentioned include optimizing pages for social media compatibility and employing features like reels, infographics, and social storytelling. He highlights the importance of crafting effective picture posts, incorporating elements such as social leads, compelling visuals, and clear calls to action to drive engagement.
Mrs Ibilolia Akahome from Dataphyte Academy also introduced Goloka, a data collection solution that unlocks hyperlock research for business, government and development organizations. Thereafter, a breakout session on the introduction to data analysis and AI was organized for the set of people who showed interest during the registration of the conference by paying.
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In the second panel session moderated by Olatunji Uthman, Erstwhile UCJ Unilorin Editor, David Afolayan, Ganiu Oloruntade, and Bolu Abiodun discussed the theme ‘The Business of News in the Digital Age: Finding Sustainable Revenue Models in a Competitive Online Environment’. David Afolayan explained that media platforms are self-sustainable, capable of generating revenue to fund both developmental projects, and their internal projects independently. Ganiu Oloruntade identified three criteria of high-quality journalism, operational efficiency, and innovative revenue generation as crucial elements of defining sustainability for a newsroom, while Bolu Abiodun highlighted the need for continuous evolution in financing strategies. Abiodun explained the need for balancing human interest stories with revenue generation and maintaining a clear separation between editorial and business content.
The panel also highlights the significance of cultivating a loyal audience base and exploring diverse reporting niches, such as tech-related sectors like banking and telecommunications, to foster sustainability. Afolayan further emphasizes the need for media to stimulate public discourse on technology’s societal implications while advocating for government support through initiatives like media development funds, tax breaks, and less stringent regulations to facilitate media evolution towards data-driven journalism.
Tijani Abdulkareem, a student journalist with Osun Defender, and one of the participants of the conference was thankful and full of appreciation to the ACJ OAU. ‘I commend the organizers of this great event. I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to them for organizing this kind of event to equip us journalists with the necessary skills we need to improve ourselves in this career, he said. On what he learnt from the program, he said ‘I was able to connect with topnotch journalist such as Rahmon Abiola. I was very impressed hearing that he is a student of OAU. I was also able to get some things I would need to improve myself in this journalism field’.
Similarly, Ruth Boama described the event as insightful and eye-opening. ‘It has opened my eyes to see how media and journalism are evolving from the old times to the new times, and how AI can also help us to improve our media prowess. As one of the panelists said, we should go for more training, and I think that is another way you can grow personally. She also thanked the organizers and hoped they would do more of these programs even if on a smaller scale “I want to say thank you to them for this event. And I am looking forward to more, even if not as big as this, but smaller conferences and workshops that can bring us to connect,” she said.