NUC CCMAS: Modifying journalism curriculum

FEW days after I advocated the inclusion of solutions journalism into journalism education at an event in Ibadan, the National Universities Commission (NUC) unveiled a new curriculum, Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) to replace Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS)  being used for universities since 2007. And a week after NUC unveiled the new CCMAS, I held a meeting with the international media literacy group comprising journalists and researchers from NGOs, fact-checking, research  and tertiary institutions across the world. The meeting which is the offshoot of the International Fact–Checking Network (IFCN) Global Fact 9 Conference in Norway further emphasised the importance of integrating media literacy at all levels of educatio

Incidentally, the debate is still raging in my department over the desirability or otherwise of introducing courses not stated in the BMAS when the NUC announced this new curriculum. One of the courses introduced by the department is “Reporting Religion” and by coincidence I am presently on a series of training on related issues, facilitated by Code for Africa and The International Center for Journalists (ICFJ). I was really disappointed when I could not find traces of these areas on the new CCMAS but I was relieved when I noted the ingenuity of the NUC allowing individual universities to contribute 30 percent of the courses designed in line with the philosophy of the institutions and development of their communities. Though, I would have preferred that these courses be made part of the 70 percent compulsory minimum course units, given their relevance to Nigeria’s media environment bedeviled with all sorts of challenges; getting the buy-in of all tertiary institutions to include them on the 30 percent is the way to go now.

Solutions journalism and problem-infected media space in Nigeria

It is no longer news that Nigeria media climate is problematic and negative oriented given the numbers of negative stories dominating the media space. One of the factors responsible for this pattern of reporting is the way journalism students are trained on what constitutes news value – oddity, conflicts, bizarre etc. Though, there is an argument that journalists do not invent the problems they are reporting, the efforts made at responding to the problems are not getting their fancy. I consider the foundation on which journalism training is laid as faulty. And the philosophy on which journalism is founded and practiced, is unsuitable to Nigeria’s climate. The Hutchins Commission responded to the failure of the Libertarian media environment and its recommendations gave birth to social responsibility theory. Though the advocacy for a New World Information and Communication Order (NWICO) did not materialise, it was supposed to not only address the imbalance in the information flow between the North and the South but to enable Africans to tell their own story. Even the intervention of Denis McQuail, who popularised the Democratic Participant and Development media theories, has not been adequately internalised and integrated into Nigeria’s media operations.

The rise and death of the communication policy in Nigeria has further worsened the need to imbibe the assumptions of these theories in the Nigeria media environment. The abuse of power, corruption, and violation of rule of law has given justification that the only way to bring sanity to governance is the brand of journalism currently practiced in Nigeria – adversarial, combative, partisan, advocacy, fire-brand and problem oriented investigative journalism.  The factory settings of the media in fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities as Fourth Estate of the Realm as enshrined in Section 22 and Part II of the 1999 constitution (as amended) is founded on philosophy alien to the assumptions of NWICO and McQuail on the colouration in which African Media should take. The issue of news avoidance is getting the attention of researchers who are looking for the causal relationship between negative-oriented news and an audience no longer showing interest in news products.

So, how can accountability journalism in Africa be achieved without using the present approaches? I proposed the integration of Solutions or Constructive Journalism into Journalism education. Though I have argued the need for this in previous articles and in news reports, I consider it important to restate this to convince individual departments offering journalism related courses to include it as part of their 30 percent before NUC will review the CCMAS to move it to be part of the 70 percent. Solutions journalism is evidenced-based reporting on the responses to social problems. It is hinged on the four foundations of response to social problems, evidence, limitations and insights. It will enable students exposed to the principles of solutions journalism to look beyond problems in reporting and perform their constitutional responsibility as a watchdog. It will also offer communities referred to as news desert to get the attention of the newsrooms.

Solutions journalism will report about problems and at the same time responses to such problems, the limitations of interventions and insights for anyone who intends to navigate the part of solving similar problems. Its uniqueness lies in its ability to promote accountability journalism in such a way that identifies what is (not) working and provide a framework that will offer those concerns to be properly positioned to address the problems identified by the journalism reports. In addition, the inclusion of solutions journalism into the curriculum will enable the new generation of journalists to properly situate the concept of newsworthiness and news value along this pattern. Similarly, solutions journalism also has the capacity of returning audience trust in the news product and reducing the rate at which exposure to negative induced stories contribute to depression and pessimism on Nigeria’s project to greatness. As revenue of media organisations are shrinking making the business of journalism not to be profitable and enticing as a career part to communication students, the adoption of solutions journalism has shown the increase in revenue based on news organisations that adopted them.  If tertiary institutions offering journalism related courses introduce this in their curriculum it will offer the budding journalists the unique selling proposition not only to be employable and contribute to national development but also improve the revenue base of the news outlets they will establish or be working with.

I have experimented with additions of modules into existing journalism related courses (print and broadcast respectively) at Crescent University, Abeokuta, while my colleague who was also a Solutions Journalism Fellow, Dr Rasheed Adebiyi had also successfully experimented with this model at Fountain University, Osogbo. While the capacity of lecturers in Ogun, Oyo and Osun States have been developed to integrate solutions journalism into communication related courses, it is not out of place to extend this to more tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

A clarion call on all Universities offering journalism related courses in Nigeria to include solutions journalism in the 30 percent allowance given by NUC. The value this will add to the programme and building the skills of the students is evidence. The Solutions Journalism Network (SJN) has developed resources to aid the mounting of solutions journalism courses in our Universities.

• Jamiu is a lecturer in the department of Mass Communication, Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State.