The Association of Campus Journalists is an indivisible, indissoluble, independent, non-political, non-religious body established in 1963 and fully registered by the Division of Students’ Affairs (DSA) OAU. ACJ consists of all news agencies, news blogs and organizations on campus that are focused on disseminating information, holding leaders accountable within and outside the university community. As an active mother association, ACJ has more than 1000 members with membership cutting across news agencies, blogs and organisations.
The association oversees educating, enlightening, and entertaining the public through her publications. ACJ is also saddled with the responsibilities of improving the qualities of campus journalism and lift it to an enviable height, cooperating with news agencies or journalistic outfits within and outside the university community inasmuch as the aims of such outfits are not contrary to the ethics of journalism and catering for the welfare of member agencies.
The association is extensively committed to excellence and because of this, habitually organises lectures, symposia, workshops, seminars, and conferences to further groom its members on the approach to good journalism.
ACJ, over the years, tirelessly engages in the culture of breeding youngsters to become men of timber and caliber especially in journalism profession. The association has produced renowned individuals and achievers in various space of human endeavours both within and outside Nigeria.
Membership
Membership of the association is either by registration, induction, and renewal. Agencies, blogs, boards, magazines may be registered as member of ACJ if they are of worthy repute in the university campus, and their aims and objectives is in line with the modus operandi of the association as provided by the constitution.
A person shall be the member of the association by induction if such person is a matriculated student of the university with a studentship status, without previous record of formal accusation by any organisation or society on campus, and of good character. A person who fulfills the listed requirement will subsequently be entitled to a certificate of induction.
At the beginning of every session, members, both persons and agencies shall renew their membership status.
Structure of the Association
The Association of Campus Journalists carry out her activities through the following organs:
The Executive Council
The Guild of Editors
THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL
The Executive Council is involved in the daily running of the association. The council is made up of the:
President
Vice President (Administration)
Vice President (Special Duties)
Chairman, Guild of Editors
General Secretary
Public Relations Officer
Financial Secretary
Assistant General Secretary
Director of Socials
The Liberian
The Executive Council is constituted through an annual electoral process.
GUILD OF EDITORS
The Guild of Editors is the legislative arm of ACJ and it comprises of all the Editors-in-Chief on campus covering Editors-in-Chief of all member boards of the association. The Guild of Editors is headed by a chairman who is usually the editor of all Editors-in-Chief on campus.
THE GENERAL CONGRESS
The congress consists of all the members of the association and it is the highest decision-making body of the association. Pertinent issue is forwarded to the congress for resolution. For a congress to proceed, a quorum of ¼ of the membership of the association must be formed.
PROGRAMMES
The programmes of the association are annual induction, annual week and annual conference which include the annual dinner and award ceremony.
Induction
New members are ushered into the association during the induction. The induction is usually done at the beginning of every session.
Annual week
The association usually have an annual week towards the end of every session.
Dinner and Award Ceremony
The dinner and award ceremony usually takes place at the end of every session. New set of Executive Members are sworn-in and awards are given to the qualified members at the occasion.
Other programmes can be organised by the Executive Council as they deem it fit.
INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITY
The association makes internship opportunity readily handy to her members. This afford them the opportunity to have the practical experience of journalism at the mainstream media houses and other credible news platforms through recommendation by the Executive Council.
PUBLICATION
The association has a publicity committee who oversees publications. The association publishes annual magazine.
GUIDING DOCUMENTS
The association has two important documents guiding the association and they are the Constitution of the Association of Campus Journalists and the Ethical Code of Conduct for Journalistic Practices.
What DOES ACJ STAND FOR?
The Association of Campus Journalists, OAU stands for credibility and truthfulness when it comes to disseminating news and information to the public. ACJ believes that information is power, knowledge and security and must be rightly, in a pure manner, amplified to the public.
The association believes that it is both our duty to disseminate news and information to the public and at the same time hold power accountable. Journalism is a tool that can serve as the voice of the voiceless, and to promote justice for everyone in the society if properly used. Therefore, we perpetually train our members on the best approach to ethics of journalism.
ACJ strongly preaches against fakes news, manipulation, and unethical conducts. Before publishing a news, we meticulously check if the news is truthful, accurate, independent, and verifiable. We basically stand for the truth and the public interest.
The association will never use the power of the media to serve the interest of certain individuals in the society. We will not weaponise the truth at the expense of the public or to tarnish the image or impugn the character of any member of the society.
Our members shall do everything in their disposal to ensure that they do not harm the public through the media, but rather protect them and make their voice known. Members of the public should rest assured that ACJ stands for integrity and we will always seek the truth and pursue justice through the media.