The International Centre for Investigative Reporting, ICIR, Abuja, has announced the commencement of the second year of its media development project tagged, the Nigerian Investigative Reporting Project, NIRP.
The project, which involves a training programme will run from May 19 to May 21 in Abuja. It is opened to practicing journalists in print, electronic and recognised new/digital media platforms.
Organizers say Freelance reporters who show evidence of previous interest and work in investigative journalism can also apply as long as they have a guarantee of getting their reports published in a well-established news outlet. Nominations for the training will be accepted until Monday, April 20, 2015.
Speaking at the commencement of the project in April, 2014, Dayo Aiyetan, the Executive Director of the ICIR, said that the primary objective of the project is to equip journalists in Nigeria with up – date – knowledge of Investigative Journalism as well as help cash strapped newsrooms to undertake critical, watchdog reporting that can make government accountable to the people.
“First, we want to bridge the training gap in the Nigerian media, particularly as regards investigative journalism; and build a crop of committed, competent and well trained professionals doing critical reporting that can have an impact on good governance. But we also realised that we need to help the cash strapped newsrooms in which these journalists work with the resources to do serious investigative reporting,” he said.
The ICIR, an independent, non-profit, investigative reporting news agency, started the project last year. It is a two-part project, which offers capacity building for 40 reporters in investigative journalism as well as provides financial support for them to undertake critical, watchdog reporting.
The first year of the NIRP brought together 38 journalists from newsrooms across the country for a three-day training programme in Abuja.
The 2014 training sessions were conducted by two experienced media trainers, Mark Horvit, Associate Professor of Mass Communication and Executive Director of the Investigative Reporters and Editors, IRE, based in the United States, and Ron Nixon, Washington correspondent of New York Times.
The project is funded by the Ford Foundation, an international body that supports visionary leaders and organisations on the front lines of social change worldwide.
WhatsApp us