About 40 journalists gathered at a roundtable at the Civic Lab in Abuja on August 28, 2018, to brainstorm on the poor condition of service among journalists as well as initiate a strong campaign for its improvement.

The project was the brainchild of Premium Times Centre for Investigative Journalism (PTCIJ) and its strategic partner, the Coalition for Whistleblower Protection and Press Freedom (CWPPF).

The gathering, which included Mr. Waheed Odusile, President of Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), emphasized the importance of the media in a democracy and regretted the worsening condition of journalists in the country as a result of poor pay and the miserable or non-existent welfare benefits from media owners.

Journalists took turns to share experiences on the various pathetic conditions in their media houses with one participant describing the condition in his broadcast organization as “hellish.”

Participants noted the collapse of circulation in magazines and newspapers, and a global decline in advertisement as a component of growth in the media and tasked media owners and practitioners to invent new creative ways of generating revenue.

The welfare of journalists that needs urgent attention for effective practice was categorized into three major areas: financial, non-financial and the legal framework.

In the face of the abject and beggarly conditions, the gathering noted that the quality of journalism practice would continue to take a nosedive and this will severely hamper the constitutional duty of journalists to monitor governance and serve as the voice of the voiceless.

The campaign for an improved welfare has begun and the organizers have pledged to also engage media owners and other relevant stakeholders towards finding a lasting solution to the problem of poor welfare in the journalism profession.

The discussion also featured sessions on messaging and communication design, and digital security tips.