Veteran Journalist urges Media on marginalisation of PWDs

A veteran journalist and publisher of Stallion Times Online Newspaper, Isyaku Ahmed, has said that media have an important role to play to end marginalisation and ensure increase representation of People With Disabilities (PWDs) .

Ahmed stated this at a one-day training on techniques of reporting people with disabilities in the media for journalist organised by Stallion Times Media Services Limited in collaboration with Wole Soyinka Center for investigation Journalism and MacArthur Foundation.

‌In his welcome address, the Project Coordinator, Alhaji Isyaku Ahmed, said the aim of the training is to engage journalists in reporting people with disabilities issues, highlight their concerns in media.

He said the training is under the Participatory Governance and Media Literacy project
tagged “Get Involved, Dialogue and Improve (G-DRIP)” being implemented by
Stallion Times Media Service in Kano and Kogi states.

According to him, the G-DRIP is in collaboration with the Wole Soyinka Center for Investigative Journalism under the Collaborative Media Engagement for Develo pment, Inclusion
and Accountability Project (Collaborating for media independence and government
accountability), with support from the MacArthur Foundation.

“With all the challenges media face in terms of funding and poor capacity, it still occupies a unique position to reshape the public image and improve the living condition of persons with disabilities through research and proper reporting of critical issues that affects the day-to-day living of disable people in the society.

“Journalists have an important role to play in the media space to professionally increase representation of PwDs, and reinforce positive thinking rather than portray PwDs in stigmatizing ways, as objects of pity, or as mere data,”he said.

Ahmed said the idea of this training is to provoke positive action that would amplify and make good issues of disability in Kano state and Nigeria through feature stories and investigative reports.

NAN reports that two papers were delivered during the training, “overview of disability issues in Kano”, by Richard Musa, Advocacy and Communication Officer.

“Generally, the world is not People with disabilities friendly which increases at an exponential rate the vulnerability and marginalisation faced by them.
The second paper dwell on “Tips in News writing and reporting” delivered by Dr. Mainasara Yakubu Kurfi, Heads of Department Mass communication in Bayero University Kano.

“As a good journalist you need to be fair, thorough and versatile.