By joshua 
Media Practitioners have been asked not to concentrate on issues that tends to divide Party’s in Conflict Sensitive Reporting.
Dr. Jide Jimoh, Senior Lecturer, Department of Journalism, School of Communication, Lagos State University gave the charge at a Practical Workshop on Sensitive Training Reportage by at a two day Community initiative to promote peace conflict-sensitive reporting workshop for media practitioners holding at Pearlwort Hotel, Alausa Ikeja, Lagos State.
While he urged the media not to assess the merit of a violence in reporting conflict, asked the media to guide against parties defining themselves in a conflict.
Similarly, Dr. Jide cautioned the media against reporting violent acts by describing the horror as well as avoid who started the violence.
He appealed to the media while Reporting Conflict not to dwell on the exclusive on the sufferings, fears and grievances of Party’s, as well as avoiding the use of victimizing languages.
Towards meeting with the tenets of Conflict Sensitive Reporting, stressed that the media must leverage on code of ethics in churning out stories that are balanced on Conflict Sensitive Reporting.
The “Conflict-Sensitive Reporting Workshop for Media Practitioners” is an outcome of the previous National Quarterly Policy Desk Review activity conducted by Savannah Centre with support from Mercy Corps, is a “once in a quarter” activity aimed at creating awareness and analyzing evidence-based assessment on the relevant existing States and Federal policies vis-à-vis developing policies/bills that could possibly influence conflicts.
The workshop is an immediate take out from the National Quarterly Desk Review where the Media Bill was reviewed and analyzed, there was need for SCDDD in collaboration with Mercy Corps Nigeria, African Radio and Drama Association (ARDA) and Interfaith Mediation Center (IMC) to address ways and manner of media reportage, hence the need for “Conflict-Sensitive Reporting Workshop for Media Practitioners”.
The Community Initiative to Promote Peace (CIPP) project, is currently being undertaking in partnership with Interfaith Mediation Centre (IMC), Pastoral Resolve (PARE) and Africa Radio and Drama Association (ARDA) with support from Mercy Corps Nigeria, is designed to mitigate violent conflict in at-risk communities in six states of Nigeria’s North West (Kaduna, Kano, and Katsina States) and North Central (Kogi, Benue and Plateau States) zones through an integrated, multifaceted program that; empowers communities to prevent and respond to violence and violent extremism by strengthening key skills and relationships, and fosters an enabling environment for peace through policy advocacy, media outreach, and linkages to development programs.