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UNESCO Abuja, in collaboration with the Channels Media Group, organized to commemorate the 2020 World Press Freedom Day. The webinar was declared opened by the Regional Director of UNESCO Abuja, with the Resident Coordinator of United Nations in Nigeria, Mr. Edward Kallon, presenting the Secretary General message. The keynote address at the virtual event under the theme: Journalism without fear or favour in the period of pandemic was presented by Dr. John Momoh, Chairman, Channels Media Group. 

Dr. Momoh used the occasion to charge journalists to be bold in discharging their work and also not work out of fear, but daring with the investigation and factual in their reports and presentation. He also advised journalists not to compromise their safety and security, but to imbibe the nuggets of surviving in a dangerous environment such as that of COVID -19 and commended the government for sharing information with journalists through the daily media briefing.

According to him, the epidemic of mal- and disinformation has, to some degree, forced the society to confront the enormous change in technology and external political and social environment. He believes that the past decade has been defined by the twin technological upheavals of mobile and social media, which fragmented attention and weakened the role of gatekeepers taken by journalists. In other words, people are gradually losing faith in the media. Especially under the current critical circumstances, Dr. Momoh regarded the pandemic as a “war situation.” “It is time to rethink the media. Truth is the priority, and trust should and could be found in the journalism,” he said.

On the proliferation of misinformation that occasions by COVID-19, he advised journalists to equip themselves with correct information about the virus, its spread, and update on the ever-fluid information landscape for accurate news the people can use. This great pandemic reaffirms most unequivocally that the free press is playing a pivotal role in offering reliable and valid information. “Therefore, research, information sharing, and exchange of ideas as we are doing through this webinar event are critical to counter the misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation flying around,” he added.

While presenting their views, the Presidents of the Union of Journalists in Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone who were panelists at the webinar, highlighted the challenges of reportage and journalists in their countries and the need to initiate remedial measures to sustain the profession. The reiterated the need for good conditions of service, security and protection for journalists, that address impunity in all forms.

The United Nations General Assembly declared May 3 as the World Press Freedom Day; observed to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression enshrined under Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and marking the anniversary of the Windhoek Declaration, a statement of free press principles put together by African newspaper journalists in Windhoek in 1991.

The webinar had 68 participants in attendance and 199 views on the Facebook, live streaming.