A
REPORT OF
SIX
WEEKS INDUSTRIAL TRAINING
DONE
AT
THE
VOICE PUBLISHING COMPANY OF NIGERIA LTD, ABAKALIKI EBONYI STATE
COURSE
TITLE: MEDIA ATTACHMENT II
COURSE
CODE: MAC 372
DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION
FACULTY
OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE - - - - - - - - I
DEDICATION - - - - - - - - II
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - - - - - - - II
TABLE OF CONTENTS - - - - - - - IV
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - 1
IMPORTANCE OF
MEDIA ATTACHMENT- - - - 1
OBJECTIVES OF
MEDIA ATTACHMENT- - - - 1
BRIEF HISTORY
OF THE PLACE OF ATTACHMENT - - 2
ORGANOGRAM OF THE ESTABLISHMENT - - - - 3
CHAPTER
TWO
DIFFERENT
SECTIONS OF THE NEWSPAPER COMPANY
ADMINISTRATION
DEPARTMENT - - - - - 4
EDITORIAL
DEPARTMENT - - - - - - 4
NEWS DEPARTMENT
- - - - - - - 4
PRODUCTION
DEPARTMENT - - - - - - 5
MARKETING
DEPARTMENT - - - - - - 5
ACCOUNTS
DEPARTMENT - - - - - - 5
PUBLIC
RELATIONS DEPARTMENT - - - - - 5
COMPUTER/TECHNOLOGICAL
DEPARTMENT - - - 6
THE EDITORIAL
SUITE OF THE VOICE NEWSPAPER - - 6
CHAPTER
THREE
MY INDUSTRIAL TRAINING EXPERIENCE - - - - 7
CHAPTER
FOUR
CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED AND ACHIEVEMENTS
- - 12
CHALLENGES - - - - - - - - 12
ACHIEVEMENTS - - - - - - - - 13
CHAPTER
FIVE
RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION - - - - 16
CONCLUSION - - - - - - - - 16
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CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
Media
attachment is without doubt a milestone in the development of academic activities,
which forms part of the approved minimum academic standards in various degree
programmes for all Nigerian university system. It is an accepted skill programme,
which is an effort to bridge the gap existing between theory and practice.
However,
it is aimed at exposing students to machine and equipment, professional work methods
and ways of safeguarding the work areas and workers in industries and other
organizations. The minimum duration for the programme for students of mass
communication is six (6) weeks in 200 level and another six (6) weeks in 300
level respectively.
The
scheme is a tripartite programme involving the students, the universities and
the media establishments (employers of labour). It is funded by the federal
government of Nigeria and jointly co-ordinated by the Industrial Training Fund
and the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC).
IMPORTANCE
OF MEDIA ATTACHEMENT
Generally,
media attachment or industrial training is responsible for producing
qualitative graduate with higher practical experience for better performance in
industries and labour market. It enhances economic development and advancement
in Nigeria. It enables the students to acquire necessary management practice
needed for securing lucrative venture for effective production. It equips
students with the basic knowledge required for self-employment than relying on
government establishment for job/work creation.
OBJECTIVES
OF MEDIA ATTACHMENT
The
objectives of include the following;
1. It
provides the students with the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge
in real work situation, thereby bridging the gap between university classroom
work and actual practice.
2. It
prepares students for the work situation they are likely to meet after
graduation.
3. The
scheme also provides an avenue for students in Nigerian universities to acquire
industrial skills and experience in their course of study.
4. It
exposes students to work methods and techniques in handling equipment and
machinery that may not be available in universities.
5. It
eases transition from university to the world of work easier and thus enhances
student’s contacts for later job placement.
6. It
enlists and strengthens employers’ involvement in the entire educational
process of preparing university graduates for employment in industries.
BRIEF
HISTORY OF THE PLACE OF ATTACHMENT
The Voice
newspaper is believed to have started
on February 1st 2000 by a group of professionals led by Mr. Imo Eze
who is also the publisher. It is a privately owned newspaper.
As the
name implies, it is a print medium which dwelt on the publication of stories on
newspapers on weekly basis.
It is
incorporated which means that is registered under the companies and allied act
by corporate affairs commission and the office is located at N0 4 Ebonyi Voice
Avenue, Mile 50 GRA in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State.
The
newspaper was formally called Ebonyi
Voice but due to the fact that it is privately owned, it was later changed
to “The Voice” on March, 2010. The
logo of the establishment is a “rabbit”. The rabbit shows how the media outfit
digs deep underground to uncover truth just as the rabbit does when it has
things it want to get. The motto is “Hunting for news”. Its full name is The Voice of Reason.
The
media’s slogan is “only the truth can save the nation” and that is the aim of
the medium to uncover truths wherever they are so as to take the nation to
greater height. Their major interest is to protect the interest of the people and
to serve as voice to the voiceless.
ORGANOGRAM
OF THE ESTABLISHMENT
CHAPTER TWO
DIFFERENT
SECTIONS OF THE NEWSPAPER COMPANY
The
media establishment is made up of the following departments:
·
Administrative
department
·
Editorial
department
·
News
department
·
Production
department
·
Marketing
department
·
Accounts
department
·
Public
relations department
·
Computer/technology
department
ADMINISTRATION
DEPARTMENT
This unit oversees the day-to-day
running of the establishment. They regulate the other departments. They monitor
what each of the other departments do and ensure that the right things are
being done at when due. They are also responsible for staffing, welfare and
punishment where necessary.
EDITORIAL
DEPARTMENT
This
department is accountable to the administrative department and is interested on
what goes in as the editorial of the media. It consists of editorial board
members. Their work is to decide what to write as the editorial, how it will be
written and who writes what. They meet every week to do this.
NEWS
DEPARTMENT
This
department is saddle with the responsibility of news gathering, writing, and
editing. They decide what goes into every edition of the newspaper as news. The
news editor heads this unit.
PRODUCTION
DEPARTMENT
This
is a very important department in the media outfit. This is because it is in
charge of the production processes. It ensures that all factors of production
are in place for smooth production of every edition. Their work begins immediately
after news editing.
MARKETING
DEPARTMENT
This
department canvases for advert and advertorials through which the company generates
funds for its day to day running. It also ensures the circulation of the
newspaper, this they do by carrying the newspaper to the respective vendors at
the newspaper stands and at end of the week retrieve all unsold copies. The
unit as well monitors the market situation and as well advice the management
for the growth of the publishing company.
This
department also undertakes all the financial transactions of the establishment.
ACCOUNTS
DEPARTMENT
This
department has as its role, financial record keeping and prudent management of
the company’s resources. All the funds generated by the marketing department
are being forwarded to the accounts department for proper documentation and
accountability. This unit also undertakes the payments of staff salaries and
allowances.
PUBLIC
RELATIONS DEPARTMENT
This
department as the name implies is the link between the newspaper company and
the public. This unit ensures that the image of the company is protected using
all the instruments within their reach. It also ensures that complains from the
public as regards to the media outfit are carefully addressed.
COMPUTER/TECHNOLOGICAL
DEPARTMENT
This
department ensures the typesetting of the news stories. It also has the
lithographers who films and plates and as well pastes the pictures in their
appropriate places. That the news stories and all the newspaper contents are
arranged properly during the production processes is the responsibility of this
unit/department.
THE EDITORIAL
SUITE OF THE VOICE NEWSPAPER
Publisher/Editor
in Chief
Imo Eze
Chairman
Editorial Board
Mathew Nwankwo
Chief
Editor
Angela Nweze
News
Editor
Riches Efeome
Special
Projects
Chinwe Eze
Public
Relations
Angela Nweze
Information
Technologist
Chinyere Nwani
Editorial
Adviser
Prof. Ralph
Akinfeleye
Princess Alu
Akanu Ibiam
Legal
Adviser
Barr. Nnenna
Evelyn Eze
CHAPTER THREE
MY INDUSTRIAL
TRAINING EXPERIENCE
Every
training one embarks on in life, such an individual is expected to acquit
himself with the needed knowledge and skills in such an area as a prove that
such training was actually done. There is no exception to this, because even if
the training is a day, week, months or year. He must have something to show for
undergoing the training.
The same thing was applicable to the
six weeks industrial training I embarked on after the second semester
examinations.
The industrial training started on
the 10th day of March, 2014 with The
Voice Publishing Company. First I
went to the company and submit my attestation letter with the application
letter to the News Editor. She quickly conducted a test for me to access if I
was prepared and capable of doing the training with them.
After the assessment was
orientation. The News Editor oriented me on the house style of the media house.
The things they do and what they don’t do. I was told the things that interest
the media house in news gathering. i.e what The
Voice look out for in news gathering and also their news writing style.
Then some days later, I was assign
to a beat and the beat was court. Immediately I started visiting the court to
get stories. I covered a court judgment at Mgbo High Court in which five men who
were accused of kidnapping were acquitted and discharged.
My
industrial training experience was not just limited to my beat alone as I
covered numerous stories outside my beat. The first story I covered outside my
beat was the Nzashi-Ugbo Echara Ikwo bad road. I went to the place and
interviewed the residence of the area on their plights as a result of the bad
road and filed in the story and it was published.
I also went to the university after
school resumption and many weeks later, students were yet to come back for
academic activities. I went round the school, took pictures of students chatting
while in class, the low turnout of the students during lectures. This was
written and filed to the news editor ad it was published.
The second week of my industrial
training, after the sit rep (situational report) – a daily meeting comprising
of all the staff and industrial training students at the company together with
the publisher, we were sent to Abakaliki metropolis to interview the residence
on the N15million naira bond the state government intent to obtain. We went and
gathered their responses and filed in the story, which was as well published.
While still on duty, I learnt of the
kidnap of the former coordinator of Okposi Development Centre from one of my
sources. Immediately I was sent for his picture and called the
minister-in-charge of the church where he was kidnapped, who confirmed it. I
further visited the government house press unit to get other stories related to
the kidnap after which I filed in the story and it was published.
The following week, unfolding
stories about the assassination of the former coordinator of Okposi Development
Centre erupted. I followed it up and wrote it and it was also published.
I also covered a story on the story on
the state of Abakaliki metropolis as dirts take over some residential houses add
schools, and it was published. I went ahead to write an opinion article on the
national conference which was as well published.
The third week was also a week of
more breakthrough in the news gathering as I covered a court judgement
delivered at Mgbo High Court on the kidnap there, the presiding judge acquitted
the suspects stating that they were innocent. It was as well published.
I also visited Abakaliki Rice Mill
Industry same week to seek the opinion of the rice millers on the ejection
notice which they gave them. The story was written and published.
Again, same week, I went out for a
vox populi on the national conference, what Ebonyians expect. It was later
published. And on the 28th of March which is still the third week, I
went to Women Development Centre, Abakaliki to cover the story on the Town Hall
Meeting held by Abakaliki Capital Territory Developement Board to discuss on
how to make the state capital one of the best in the country and I write the
story after the coverage and it was published. And on the burial of the
assassinated former coordinator of Okposi Development Centre, I went for the
coverage, wrote the story and it was published.
My fourth week with the Voice
Company as an Industrial training student was yet another challenging one. I
was always on the road looking for news worthy events. On one of those outings,
I ran into an accident scene where a pregnant woman was knocked down by a
vehicle along water works road causing her to bleed profusely. The driver ran
away on seeing the incident, I went to the scene, covered it, interview the eye
witnesses and filed the story which was published.
I was again at Mgbo to cover a land
dispute story between Mr. Harrison Onwe, the chairman Ebonyi State Civil
Service Commission and others. It was written, filed and published. Although,
it was a very tasking coverage as I was taken to a very far away community and
I was meant to track several miles on foot just to dig out the truth.
Also, I conducted two vox-populi
same week on private university and public university which one Ebonyians like
best and on the house rent increment in the state. These two stories were
written and it was published although without a byline.
And on Saturday of the fourth week,
I covered the burial of Michael Eze, a management committee member of Ezza
South Developement Centre. I wrote the story and it was published as
advertorials.
The fifth week was a good one as I
had good records too. I went to several ministers of God in Abakaliki and
beyond to seek their opinion on the horrific killings recorded in the state
recently. I compiled the reports and it was published. I also followed up the
sack of the coordinator of Okposi Development Centre, Mr. Mark Onu and his
replacement with Mr. Magnus Aja-Eze. It was written but not published.
Again, I went to Women Development Centre
with others, to cover the town hall meeting of the governor on the N15million
bond and it was published. We also went to the school authority to get the
names of EBSU students that scale through to get Japanese scholarship.
And finally, on my sixth week, I got
a letter from the committee for the defence of human right protesting over the
irregularities of the defunct NEPA, PHCN and EEDC and I wrote the news and it
was published. Also, we wrote a story on Ndibe beach Afikpo and it was
published.
My six weeks industrial training
experience at The Voice company is a
very good and exciting one, I have not regretted for a second doing my
industrial training with The Voice.
They offered me the opportunity to
practice journalism practically as if I was an expert already.
They gave me the opportunity to go
to places and meet people I never thought it was possible for me to come in
contact with now, like speaking with the commissioner for Information, the
Chairman of Abakaliki Territory Board and so many others. Through these
exposures, I was able to establish good contacts with people higher than me in
several areas which I know will one day be profitable.
I was also made to take part in news
editing. I learnt that editing styles varies from one media house to another as
The Voice method of editing is very
much different from what we taught in class.
The publisher on several occasions
taught me how to carryout investigative reporting which is otherwise called muckraking.
He said one can use any means to achieve this even disguising oneself if that
will fetch you what you want. He charged us to be extremely careful as one can
be arrested and even killed on the process.
We were also made to write some
editorials and how to design dummy sheets, the various processes in newspaper
production and also the various machines that are used in printing.
The
Voice within this sex weeks contributed greatly to making me better. They
built me spiritually, morally, socially and otherwise. I must confess, my
industrial training days, though short, was not a waste despite that it was a tedious
task as we had no leisure time but I have nothing to regret.
CHAPTER FOUR
CHALLENGES
ENCOUNTERED AND ACHIEVEMENTS
CHALLENGES
Challenges
most times are inevitable although as humans, we pray against them, but hardly
can any man stay without meeting one. While on the six weeks industrial
training at The Voice, I encountered
some challenges, which includes;
Lack of
Finance
This
was one of the major challenges that confronted me during my media attachment
period with The Voice. As a student,
transportation from the place I reside to the office, through and flow and to
my beat and some other places I was requested to visit was at my own cost since
I was not paid or sponsored by the establishment. As a result, sometimes trek
for a very long distance to ensure that I didn’t fail my duty. However, in all I
was able to cope financially in completing the programme but it was very tasking.
Lack of
Gadgets
Since we work as individuals reporters,
we were expected to have our own gadgets like recorder, camera, video recorder
sometimes but because I don’t have them, doing the work was more stressful as I
was meant to use my phone in place of recorder and camera and in some occasions
where reporters without cameras and recorders are not allowed to enter the
place, I am always left stranded. Sometimes I will go as far as borrowing these
gadgets just to ensure that I record success on the assignment I am sent on.
Stress
Actually,
this is inevitable in one’s life as it is impossible to get anything on a
platter of gold but to be real; the entire period was extremely stressful, as I
never had time for myself. In most cases, we report to the office by 8:30am and
depart earliest by 6:30pm. In some cases, we stay until 7:30pm, which was not
easy.
Omission of My
By-lines
Another
discouragement I got was not seeing my bylines on some of the stories I covered
and was published without my bylines and this of course was a very big
discouragement. But thank God I still recorded successes as I have over sixteen
stories of mine with my name excluding those that was omitted.
Working Alone
As
an industrial training student, doing all the coverage, outings, news writing
etc alone was a challenge as I thought I would always have people around me to
be doing it together with but this was not the case. Therefore, this made it
challenging but with more time, I adapted and overcame them all.
ACHIEVEMENTS
Not minding some of the problems or
challenges one met, I was able to make the following achievements.
Published
Stories
While
serving as an industrial training student, over seventeen of my stories were
published in The Voice Newspaper.
The
list of the published stories are:
1. Stay
clear from our Land-April 13, 2014, page 10.
2. Mgbo
High Court Acquits 5 for kidnapping, 30th March, 2014. page 6.
3. Okposi
kidnap update: victim killed, dumped in Edda forest. April, 6. 2014, Page 3.
4. Ikwo
communities decry state of Nzashi – Ugbodo Echara Road – page 7. April 6.
5. Governor
Elechi sack threat: price of rice on the increase – Rice Mill Boss page 9 of
April 6.
6. Low
turnout greats EBSU resumption. Page 16 of April 6.
7. Tears
as Hon. Michael Eze is laid to rest. Page 15 of April 6.
8. Abakaliki
Territory master plan is for our good – Chairman ACTDB.
9. N15million
loan divides Ebonyians, page 9, March 30th 2014 and banner headline
and front page.
10. Okposi
kidnap saga: kidnappers demand N50million ransom, set victim’s vehicle ablaze.
Page 3 of March, 30 and front page.
11. Help:
Refuse take over residence, school in Abakaliki. Page 3 of March 30. Front
page.
12. Towards
a successful national conference. Page 19 of March 30th.
13. 2
EBSU Students bag Japanese scholarship, page, April 20.
14. Horrific
killings: what the clergies speak. April 20, page 20.
15. Expect more loans: Governor Elechi tells
Ebonyians. Page 6, April 20.
16. Women
knock down by a hit and run driver. April 13 edition
17. Ndibe
beach in shamble. Page 6 of April, 27.
18. Protest
greets irregularities in power sector, May 13. Page 7.
And
others.
Working
Experience
This
is one of the greatest experience and achievement I made as I was opportune for
the first time in my life to have a working experience in the field of
journalism practice.
Gaining of
Skills
The
training helped me to learn the skills of journalism in this present daytime.
Meeting
Friends and Establishing Good Relationship
My
training to a large extent exposed me to different kind of people, both those
that are seen as stakeholders in the society, the average men and others which I
believe are all for good.
CHAPTER FIVE
RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION
To make the
scheme more interested to the students for their own benefits, the benefit of
the institutions and their place of attachment, I therefore recommend the
following:
1. That
the programme should be much more encouraged by all the institutions and its
great importance made more explicit to students as it serves as an avenue
towards the achievement of student’s success.
2. The
media houses should be more enlightened on the need of the training so as to
give students the basic and best training which will boost their potentials.
3. It
will be very necessary for supervisors who shall from time to time pay regular
visits to the students in their place of attachment to ensure that adequate
training is being given to them and also for those students who takes it as a
jamboree to sit up.
4. That
the time of the training be extended as 6 weeks is not in any way enough to
learn all that is needed in the training.
5. The
students should be paid stipends to encourage them in the area of
transportation and feeding.
6. Students
on media attachment should be provided with Identity card to avoid
embarrassment from law enforcement agents and the public.
7. Finally,
media establishment and indeed the general public should stop seeing internees
as inexperienced and never-do-well as most of them have the potential to be the
best in the field of journalism, and also that life is a process, one step at a
time.
CONCLUSION
The
media attachment has played a great role in exposing me to what I might likely
meet in the field of journalism as a news reporter after graduation. It has
also unravelled the mysteries I encountered during classroom work, thus bridged
the gap that exists between theory and the actual practice.