Fides Media Living the Faith
. . I plan to Expose Students to Practical Framework of Online Journalism – Dr Duru
By Mercy Hill
First year students of the Mass Communication Department of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, have visited Fides Media Limited on a field project in line with a research on Online Journalism and other internet realities.
The event which was held last Monday, had discussants who took the students on Google Realities, Fides Online Platforms, differences between print and online media practices, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of online journalism in a changing world.
In an interactive session with the students, the event’s host and Director of Fides Media Limited, Rev. Fr. (Dr.) Martin Anusi, welcomed the group to Fides and commended the Department for giving young people the opportunity to receive practical knowledge beyond the classrooms. He took them on an eye opening session of online media and its effects on the changing world.
Rolling out the concept of Online Journalism to the group, Fides E- Personnel, Mr. Michael-Jude Nwolisa, took the students on a practical journey of Fides and its online platforms, such as its websites, blogs and social media handles. He cited some of the successes of Fides online and how they had managed in recent times to make a robust impact on the cyber space.
Taking the students on Google realities, a Fides member of staff and Nigeria Google Crowdsource Representative, Miss Uche Enem, exposed them on Crowdsource Image capture, image verification, sentiments, handwriting, translation and a course to promote the native heritage through the Google Crowdsource.
Miss Enem went ahead to speak on other Google experiences such as Google Maps, Google My Business, Google Digital Skills, and Google Street Views amongst others.
In an interview with Fides, the initiator of the Field Project and lecturer, Mass Communication Department, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Dr. Henry Duru, explained that he was motivated to give the students something extra outside normal classroom experience by exposing them to the field to interact with people who practiced online and internet journalism.
Dr. Duru further explained that he did it in order to complement the theoretical aspect which the course was principally designed to cater for. For him, it would be a practical phenomenon of new media and its application of the new realities, different from print, radio and television journalism.
He noted that his choice for Fides was because of its online presence and their being vibrant enough to pass the online experiences.
‘There is a huge difference between being online and being actively present,’ Dr Duru pointed out.
Speaking on the need for feedback, he said the students would access all Fides Websites and blogs to experience what they were taught and would assess Fides according to what their various expectations would be.
It is worthy of note that Fides had beefed up her online activities as evident in her various online platforms such as fidesnigeria.org (for Fides news), fidesnigeria.com (for Fides products and services) and smsfides.com (for bulk sms services). Also her social media handles at Facebook @Fidesmedia, Youtube @FidesNigeria, Instagram @ FidesNigeria; Twitter @FidesAwka, LinkedIn @FidesMedia, among others, consequent upon which they have occupied the online space and has been attracting the attention of media gurus within and outside the state who come to understudy and learn from them.
Highlights of the event were a facility tour of Fides then question and answer sessions between the students and the discussants.
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