Nigerian editors set to launch Trust Fund to address challenges of journalists
Nigerian editors set to launch Trust Fund to address challenges of journalists
The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) intends to launch the Nigerian Editors Trust Fund, tailored to address the professional and welfare requirements of media houses and editors in Nigeria.
The initiative is in accordance with the resolution of the All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC), recently convened in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
During the ANEC in Akwa Ibom State, publishers, media executives, and editors emphasised the pressing need for the Guild to initiate a strategic endeavor that will specifically focus on the professional and welfare needs of media houses and editors in Nigeria.
This forms part of several efforts to support them in fulfilling their constitutional and social responsibilities to society without compromising their ethical standards.
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In a statement issued on Monday by the President of the NGE, Mr Eze Anaba, and the General Secretary, Dr Iyobosa Uwugiaren, the professional body of editors and media executives indicated that the initiative is a response to the escalating professional and welfare challenges faced by the highest echelon of Nigerian journalists in executing their duties.
‘’The trust fund, which is expected to be launched in the first quarters of 2024, will also address the daunting economic challenges that the media executives and editors are faced with during and after office. The fund will benefit the Guild’s members in the print, electronic and online media.
‘’The trust fund will be a collaborative effort among all the stakeholders in the media sector, including the public sector – aimed at addressing key challenges that affect the professionals, who are the ultimate gatekeepers in their media organisations’’, the Guild added.
The Guild, at its annual conference in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State recently, set up a committee headed by its Vice-President (East), Mr. Sheddy Ozoene, to liaise with media stakeholders and coordinate the launching of the outfit in the first quarter of next year.
According to the statement, ‘’The trust fund will create the much-desired impact in the journalism profession in the country as the editors and media executives will be exposed to empowerment programmes and innovations in the media industry, retraining and networking opportunities with colleagues from around the world.’’
The Guild added that the trust fund, which will be managed by trustees made up of eminent personalities from within and outside the media, will be a fallback cushion for media executives and editors in critical situations, and a source of addressing their welfare needs as well as funding for key media projects that will impact Nigeria’s democracy, good governance and national development.