“Mass Communication makes you limitless” – Ajayi tells Unizik students

 By Noahlyne Chinenye Onuorah

Alfred Ajayi, a broadcaster with Purity FM, Awka has taken the year one students of Mass Communication through the basics in writing clear and concise news report. He also took them on the basic things they needed to know as mass communication students including,_’how mass communication makes you limitless!_

Ajayi spoke as a guest of Dr. Odogwu Emeka Odogwu, a lecturer in the department of Mass communication, UNIZIK, on 13th of June, 2023. The session was arranged  inorder to educate the students on how to write news story and gain some experiences from those already practicing. 

Ajayi started by introducing himself as one of the leading journalists at Purity FM, Awka, where he had worked for 15 years.

 He further told the students that due to his intentions in journalism and his well bred communication skills, that he had been promoted severally in his place of work.

According to Ajayi, being a reputable and known journalist is derived from reporting true news and developing skills for it too.

 Ajayi told the students that being a student journalist is very possible, as it just requires being deliberate, finding true interesting and unbiased stories too and creating a platform to disseminate information or trying to broadcast it in a formal way.

Collaborating Dr. Odogwu, Ajayi told the students that as students they have the opportunity to create news in school which they will publish later which made the 100 level students happy.

 He told them about his experience as a student when he studied Mass communication, adding that Mass Communication requires using money to carry out researches and projects before writing or publishing. He encouraged them to find something doing; adding that during his time he had to buy video tapes and cassettes to sell to his course mates in order to make profit.

 He emphasized that being a journalist is not a license to poverty, because journalism has introduced him to many high officials, respectable and reputable men in the society, the students were amazed and happy.

He told them that the opportunities are limitless even as he proudly announced several of his achievements, how he was so bold, was always updated, researching, how he wrote and presented articles which fetched him great money and awards. 

 He emphasized that though the salary might not be so palatable, his meetings with great men and other sources of journalism has earned him a lot both in cash and travels. He insisted that JOURNALISM doesn’t LIMIT anyone, rather it pushes one forward daily.

Mr. Ajayi educated the students on the need to express ourselves as journalists; of a truth no one can know that hidden treasure or virtue in you except you communicate it, voice it out or write it down.

Ajayi confirmed that a bad news is a good news in journalism and he used this paradox to explain that ‘no news is bad news’ and ‘no good news is a news’. When a bad news is exposed and is being brought into the media house, the media company takes a quick action to try to fix the problem and find the solution to it, then it becomes a good news.

He further spoke on solutions journalism as a response to social problems even as a journalist, one is meant to have solutions to many groups, even as he explained the four pillars of solutions journalism to include; Response, Evidence, Insight, Limitations.

Ajayi said :”You must stand out as a journalist; be different and never soil your hands. Never daint a person’s image while making a report, lest you’ll be sued, it is very bad for you to condemn someone publicly.

Ajayi said  journalists could face challenges such as little pays, sensorships  libel among others. 

The students were enlightened on different ways they can source news because news is everywhere, even as he added that news can be sourced from: our school, church, street, market, social media, etc.

He also talked on the need for a journalist to be a good writer and a voracious reader too,even as he described freelance writing or journalism as one of the ways to make money through journalism.