The Acting Vice Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Prof. Olugbenga Ige, has advised journalists and campus media groups in the Institution to always verify information to ensure fairness and balance in their news reports.
Prof. Ige gave the advice on Wednesday, last week, while welcoming the various media groups and student journalists operating on campus under the aegis of Campus Journalists Association of Nigeria who paid him a courtesy visit in his office.
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He also called on them to showcase their talent in music, comedy, talk shows, and interviews by taking advantage of the various opportunities and platforms provided by the Institution.
While saying that exhibiting their talents would positively project the image of the University, the Acting Vice Chancellor further tasked them to always ensure objectivity in their news reports and writings.
In his words, “Never forget that your Certificate will bear the name of this University. Therefore, you must be careful not to tarnish the image of the Institution. You should verify all information from the Public Relations Unit and other appropriate units before publishing them. And there are many good things happening on campus that you can write about.
“It is my wish to see many of you shining in areas like comedy, music, movies, news broadcast and interviews. We have a radio station that you can utilise to achieve your dreams in the areas I listed above. You must never forget that you are critical stakeholders in the University.”
In his own remark, the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Francis Gbore, admonished the students to be wary of what they write about the institution as such could demean their certificate.
“People will always remember bad news, and if you de-market your university through bad news, it is sure to affect your marketability as you could have inadvertently tarnish the certificate you will ultimately carry to the labour market,” he counselled.
While appreciating the Acting Vice Chancellor, one of the students promised on behalf of his colleagues to henceforth do everything to verify information in order to positively project the image of the University to the outside world having realized that they too are stakeholders.
The meeting, which was tagged ‘An evening with campus media groups’, has in attendance the Acting Registrar, Mr. Opeoluwa Akinfemiwa, and other senior University officers in attendance.
The media groups present include Oasis, Sparkle media, Echo Newspaper, students from the Mass Communication Department, as well as representatives of Association of Campus Journalists of Nigeria.
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