Ex NTA DG task media practitioners on effective communication
Kingsley Chukwuka, Jos
The media do not effectively communicate amongst themselves as professionals who are in the business of communication, says an erstwhile Director General of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Mr. Tony Iredia.
The former NTA DG stated this on Wednesday in Jos during the opening ceremony of the 19th National Conference/AGM of the African Council for Communication Education (ACCE), held at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS).
“Media practitioners lack intra communication discipline: you are working in an organization and yet you only get to hear about important issues of your organization on the radio, television or the newspaper; that is not right because communication entails feedback.
“Effective communication is not the same thing dissemination of information; people need to understand the information passed to them and respond accordingly by way of feedback,” he said.
Mr. Iredia said most people working in an organization have only hared of their disengagement through an advertisement in the media seeking for their replacement, “these employees don’t even have the opportunity to air their opinion on the reason why they are being sacked.
“Before we can disseminate information effectively to the general public, we must first of all learn to communicate effectively in-house.”
On his part, the Acting Director General, National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Mr. Jonathan Juma, said communication is at the heart of national development and plays a significant role in the realisation of national objectives.
Juma appeal to media instructors gathered at NIPSS for the four days conference to develop formula that will checkmate fake news which is having a devastating impact on the polity.
“The worrying phenomenon of fake news and its devastating impact on the polity should also attract the attention of this gathering; also important is the burning issue of the misuse of social media and it’s implication for national security.”
Earlier, the Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, who was represented by his deputy, Professor Sonni Gwanle Tyoden, said the Media Conference holding in Jos is apt, considering the place of research and publishing in communication education in the changing world.
“The African Council for Communication Education is the biggest association and forum for media professionals and educators in journalism, cultural studies and associated discipline in Africa,” Lalong said.
