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Transcript/Script
Press Freedom: Nigeria Media Support (TV)
HEADLINE: Media Center Offers Emotional Lifeline for Nigeria’s Journalists
TEASER: A journalism center is offering support and resources to Nigerian journalists exposed to trauma
PUBLISHED: Tuesday, 04/19/2022, 9:07 pm
BYLINE: Timothy Obiezu
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Abuja
VIDEOGRAPHER: Emeka Gibson
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: JJ, BR
VIDEO SOURCE (S): All VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV_x_ RADIO__
TRT: 3:38
VID APPROVED BY: Holly Franko
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE:
EDS: For VOA Press Freedom. ))
((INTRO))
[[ Nigerian journalists on the front line of conflict reporting are receiving trauma support from a new media initiative. Timothy Obiezu has more from Abuja.]]
((NARRATOR))
Journalist and filmmaker Beevan Magoni has documented the sectarian violence ravaging his hometown in Kaduna State in northern Nigeria since 2016.
He wants his documentary to raise awareness about the killings and to hold those responsible accountable.
But Magoni says years of interviewing conflict survivors are taking a toll on his emotional wellbeing.
((Beevan Magoni, Journalist)) ((English))
“I go to a place where 40 dead bodies are being buried, I go to count graves of over a hundred people being buried. No matter how strong-willed you are, when you come back it’s going to take a toll on you. When women begin to tell you how their children were killed in their presence, when you come across survivors without limbs, whose hands were chopped off, their legs were cut off and all of that.”
(Mandatory Courtesy: Beevan Magoni)
((NARRATOR))
Magoni says coverage of conflict is affecting his mood and making it hard to finish his documentary.
((Beevan Magoni, Journalist)) ((English))
“Trust me, if this was happening somewhere else far away from home, I don’t think I would have the capacity to put myself through this mental stress.”
((NARRATOR))
The World Health Organization estimates one in four Nigerians – some 50 million people – suffer from some form of mental illnesses, sometimes triggered by conflict or economic hardships.
But access to psychological support at hospitals or with specialists is limited.
That’s where Nigeria’s Center for Journalism Innovation and Development comes in. Partnering with a psychological services group, the center offers support to newsrooms and free counseling to journalists experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.
((Radio: Oluwatosin Alagbe is the operations director at the Center for Journalism Innovation and Development))
((Oluwatosin Alagbe, Center for Journalism Innovation and Development)) ((English))
“Journalists see a lot of things but they cannot represent them on their various media, so they need an outlet. A number of them go through PTSD. For one of the organizations that we held a session for, more than half of their staff were going through PTSD.”
((NARRATOR))
More than 100 journalists have benefited from the program since it started in 2019.
Among them is Aisha Babatunde, who covers the Boko Haram conflict for the Nigerian news website, HumAngle.
((Aisha Babatunde, Crisis Reporter for HumAngle)) ((English))
“In the course of the program, I realized it was very important for me. [[cutaways]] We had to like point out some of the things we go through mentally like how do you react when you’re stressed? Are you passive, aggressive...it was a real pointer to what exactly I was feeling.”
((NARRATOR))
Babatunde says her employers include periodic trauma support as part of the benefits for its staff.
But the Journalism Center wants more newsrooms to welcome the initiative.
((Radio: Again, Oluwatosin Alagbe ))
((Oluwatosin Alagbe, Center for Journalism Innovations and Development)) ((English))
“This program is good to scale. Every newsroom should have an in-house therapist if they can.”
((NARRATOR))
The skills and support the program offers could help journalists like Magoni, who plans to attend a session soon.
((Timothy Obiezu, for VOA News, Abuja, Nigeria))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
Timothy Obiezu
Embargo DateApril 19, 2022 18:54 EDT
Byline
((Timothy Obiezu, for VOA News, Abuja, Nigeria))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
