TheCable

Dapo Olorunyomi, publisher of Premium Times, and Simon Kolawole, chief executive officer of Cable Newspaper Limited, will speak on media repression in Nigeria at a virtual conference organised by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ).

In a statement on Friday, Motunrayo Alaka, executive director of WSCIJ, said the conference was to put together to mark the 15th anniversary of its award programme.

Other discussants at the conference are Ruona Meyer, freelance and award-winning journalist; Ibanga Isine, managing editor, The Next Edition newspaper; and Amina Yuguda, award-winning broadcast journalist.

The conference with the theme “Masked, not silenced”, will hold on December 7 and December 8, while the public presentation of the awards will hold in Lagos on December 9.

“The theme has been carefully chosen to address the effects of COVID-19, the repression of freedom of expression and attacks on the news media in Nigeria and Africa,” Alaka said.

“Over the three-day event, media professionals and enthusiasts will speak to the status of legal frameworks for press freedom, the pandemic, protests and other sustainability factors that adversely affect the news media in the country. They will also discuss ways the Nigerian media has survived despite these odds as well as chart a way forward for the future.

“The conference is introduced this year as a build-up to the award programme to provide a platform for journalists, media professionals and other stakeholders to reflect on the state of the media profession, sustenance of ethics, investigative reporting and related issues in Nigeria, Africa and globally.”

The Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting launched in October 2005 as the flagship annual programme of the WSCIJ.