By Emeka Odogwu
Bishop of Amichi Diocese, Anglican Communion, Right Reverend Ephraim Okechukwu Ikeakor has asked journalists to continue to be responsible and always report with service in mind.
Bishop Ikeakor spoke during his keynote speech presented at the 35th Anniversary of Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Anambra State Council on Thursday 10th September, 2026.
He commended the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Anambra State Council led by Comrade Odogwu Emeka Odogwu PhD for inviting him as Keynote speaker for the 35th Anniversary of the union and 2026 Man of The Year Awards as well as championing journalism beyond news writing and reporting.
Bishop Ikeakor noted that public interest was the reason journalism was supposed to matter beyond the journalist, and reporter; adding that, it was not out of place if I state and posit that Journalism is not just a Profession, but more than a profession, it is a Calling. Many journalists tend to believe that their job is about creating and distributing content.
He said: “However, Jeff Jarvis, director of CUNY’s Tow-Knight Centre for Entrepreneurial Journalism suggests that Journalists and news media companies are actually in the Service Provision Business, instead of the Content Creation business. What kind of service do journalists and reporters provide? The answer is very important and intriguing.
“They help individuals in particular, and society as a whole to stay informed.
Jarvis argues that the internet and technology have made it possible for journalists to think way beyond the traditional article, and explore a much broader range of possibilities.
“Journalists and reporters should adopt this mindset of identifying users’ information needs, and providing solutions to meet them by creative reporting. For example, Parents in Texas, who are worried about the best school choice for their children, the Texas Tribune has developed a search engine that allows and enables them to easily explore and compare Texas State Districts and public schools, with data on demographics, academic performance, college readiness, and average teacher salaries for each school. This service provided by Texas Tribune is making it easier for Texans to make an informed choice on schools to enroll their children.
“The New York Times has a customizable push alert system for breaking news. Such alerts are not a content stream. They arrive and are available when there is something the user should know. That is a service.
Furthermore, Wire Cutter, which is an online product review and recommendation service owned by The New York Times Company provides users an informed opinion on which gadget to buy, while Pro-Publica which is a non-profit organization that is constantly seeking new ways to serve the public has not only created a group that allows patients who have been harmed by medical practitioners to share their experiences, but has also built a database that tells you how many of the surgeries your doctor performed ended in complications.
Bishop Ikeakor continued: “This is journalism anchored on and propelled by service. Nigerian journalists need to go beyond reporting of news and events by emulating their foreign counterparts in providing service-based reporting and journalism. To be a service, news must be concerned with outcomes rather than products.
“How many State Councils of NUJ have robust, reliable, and up to date database on burning issues like political manifestos, Judicial system, researchers and researches that serve the Nigerian Public. People who work on Community Newspaper, Radio and Television news staff, have long seen their jobs as public service.
” Why? Because local news organizations should offer information vital to the health of their communities and democracy. Nigerian journalists, should see themselves more as servants of the masses, than servants to the politicians and the elites. Three strong tools journalists use to connect citizens accurately to each other, and their leaders are:
Robust coverage; Reliable Documentation, and Resilient Information sharing.
The greatest motto, and vision every journalist, especially in Nigeria should have and pursue to render credible and impactful service to the whole country and her citizens are:
Hold the powerful accountable through watchdog and investigative journalism; and
Give voice to the voiceless through story choice, sourcing and execution. This is nothing, but reporting as service to the people.
Bishop Ikeakor concluded that at 35, NUJ Anambra State Council is neither a suckling nor a toddler and therefore, “lamentation, is not an excuse for non-performance, redundancy, compromise, and junk journalism. The world is travelling with a supersonic speed in all dimensions, careers, and professionalism”.
He noted that the call for reporting with truth, responsibility, and service is not a suggestion, but a demand for all journalists and reporters in the 21st Century, adding that however, “it is very pertinent to remind all of us, whether a journalist, businessman, technocrat, politician, or public servant that a deformed mind can never work towards a reformed society. Truth must germinate in the heart, before it can flourish in the land. The heart of the problem of man is the problem of the heart of man”.
