Awareness and Utilisation of the Services of International Press Freedom and Journalists’ Safety Organisations among Practitioners in Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

Journalists globally are increasingly becoming an engendered group as they are confronted with a variety of safety challenges. This has made safety and protection a necessity for journalists as well as the establishment of such organisations as Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), International Federation for Journalists (IFJ) and International Press Institute (IPI) among others saddled with the task of promoting press freedom and ensuring the safety of journalists all over the world. Considering the increasing safety concerns for journalists in Nigeria, this article examines the awareness of journalists about international safety organisations and the utilisation of their services by Journalists in Kano State. The objectives of the study are to examine whether journalists in Kano are aware of international press freedom and safety organisations and whether they utilise their services. A survey of 109 journalists in Kano reveals a considerable level of awareness among journalists yet with majority of them not utilising the services rendered by these global bodies. The paper concludes that majority of journalists surveyed are aware of the international press freedom and safety organisations. However, there are more of them that do not utilise the services of the international organisations. Therefore, the study recommends that NUJ and the journalists who are aware should, through roundtable discussions and workshops, enlighten their colleagues about the organisations and what they have to offer. Similar effort should be made by NUJ and members who utilise the services of the organisations to guide those who don’t utilise those services to do so when they encounter safety challenges.