'The Media and Covid-19' with Omolola Akinbo

Apart from the health sector, which we salute their work day in and out, the media has been a strong force in the fight against Covid-19. Today, we bring to you a seasoned broadcast-journalist, Mrs Omolola Akinbo, who will be telling us about the 'The Media and Covid-19'.

Arkore Writes: Kindly introduce yourself and one or two things about your media background.

Guest: My name is Omolola Akinbo, I’m a broadcast-journalist and also a diction coach. I reside in Akure, Ondo state. I’ve been in the broadcasting world for close to 15 years now and presently I am the head of presentation at Crest 87.7 fm. It’s one of the newest radio station in Akure, Ondo state – we’ve not gone into our second month of broadcasting. I am passionate about journalism. Even though I didn’t start with news in the beginning, when I started I took a chance or someone took a chance on me. That was the late Rotimi Kwekutegu of Grace Fm, then. He took me under his wing and he taught me what I knew then for presentation, how to get your script ready, how to pre listen to your songs and everything. But I knew nothing about news, I didn’t have any passion for news, though I used to cast the news. I left Lokoja couple of years ago and I relocated to Akure. Here, I had the opportunity of working with the first private radio station in Ondo state – Adaba Fm. And that was where I came across this amazing man called Jide Ogunloye.  And he taught me everything I know today in news. To the listener out there, who wants to get first-hand information from me without bias,  think that’s one huge thing. Everyone has a form of bias or the other. But, the thing about professionalism in journalism is the fact that you do not let so much of your sentiment come in. You have to balance your bias as you do not have a right to impose it on people. So, me in two sentences, I’m passionate about my work and I love it. 

Arkore Writes: Wow! So can you tell us the role of the media, which is your sphere, during this pandemic?

Guest: Apart from informing, educating and entertainment which has to do with giving hope, the media at this point is not the doom-sayer – it’s not supposed to be the place where you hear the news and life seems bleak. It’s supposed to be reported in such a way that it gives hope to the person who is at the very end of life and thinks there is no way out. I don’t want to blow our horns, but at the station where I work, one of the things we turned out to do was to always emphasize the number of people who were recovered, who have been discharged and who are recovering. We play that up and turn down the people who have died. I want to also reemphasise the fact that most people who have died always had underlining causes of illness. The role of the media, I believe, in this time is to hammer on prevention and the fact that having Covid-19 is not the end of the world. There are people who have recovered from it, without even having to go to the hospital. Unfortunately, most of these are asymptomatic. And this makes it a little difficult to track especially in this country where data is difficult to get. But, then at the same time, for me Covid-19 and the media is all about hope. 

Akore Writes: How is the media staying reliable and credible in the sea of fake news strewn all over different platforms? 

Guest: Well, unfortunately, when we talk about the media, there are lots of aspects that have not yet been regulated, it’s easier to regulate what goes on the electronic and print media, but, it’s not so easy to regulate what goes on the social media platforms and that is where the fake news comes in turns. People forward things which a lot of them don’t even go through, and that is where the problem actually is. The reliability of the media depends on where you as an individual get your source of information from. The fact that there are fake news means there are some people who will rather believe the fake news than believe the reality of how things are. If you want to find out the truth, where will you go?  Will you rather follow someone who has no idea of the situation or someone who is a professional in that field? Yes, there is the political aspect of the whole thing where maybe the bodies saddled with the responsibility, may be playing down the figures. But, how have the figures helped you? It’s not about false hopes, but where will I go to if I want authentic news. For example, if you have to make a research on a project, will you go to the social media or other reliable sources?  Same applies to finding out the real information about Covid-19.

Arkore Writes: I understand that journalists and some other media personnel have to take the risk of going out during this period. How has the experience been?

Guest: Yes, journalism is a very risky business, even before Covid-19 pandemic started, there are stories you cover e.g. Dele Giwa, Sowore – whatever people’s biases about him, there were stories he did break that rose uproar. Journalists have been infected with Covid-19. Ever since we got a case in Ondo State, when I get back from work, I follow a daily routine of disinfecting myself before having contacts with my family. I don’t go anywhere outside the house without a face mask, because I know a lot of people doubt the authenticity of the presence of Covid-19 in Nigeria. Please, I have seen a Covid-19 patient and it’s not beautiful seeing people trying to breathe and struggle for their lives, especially if you have a family. I don’t have contact with people when I go out for work, although it’s hard. You have to educate your kids, let them know we can’t relate with people as before. I find myself with my hand sanitizer, almost every six minutes.  For me and my colleagues it’s been difficult because we have to go to work. Even though we try to restrict people from specific areas of the office, there are some people that will have to enter the studio, whom you don’t know where they’ve been to or what they’ve touched. It’s hard but, you chose the profession and you have to learn to live with it. We take all the precautions that we can. One of the things I do tell my kids is, if I don’t come home, I probably feel I’ve come down with the symptoms and I will not come home. But, I will go straight to the health centre to get tested. That is me and that is how I want to safeguard my family.

Arkore Writes: Can you tell us some known facts about the Corona virus?

Guest: Some of the facts I know about Corona virus is the fact that, if you’ve been someone who has always lived irresponsibly as regards hygiene and thrown caution into the wind, you are more susceptible to the disease. It does not necessarily mean a death sentence. If you don’t have other underlining illnesses, there is a high probability that you can come out of it alive. Keep your immunity up. If you feel ill and get yourself treated on time, there is a high possibility of you being well. It’s not good for young people, kids below five or adults above 60 to get infected because they have more health issues and risks. It’s all about the underlining diseases – asthma, high blood pressure, bronchitis, and adults are more susceptible to it. Stay home if you can work from home, if you can’t, go out, take all the necessary precautions, keep clean.

Arkore Writes: What can you say to people who are still nursing doubts about the virus?

Guest: Covid is real. Yes, there is a whole lot of politics being played about it, and we cannot excuse the fact that we live in Nigeria. There will be no Nigerian factor about it, if all the state governors are truthful about their Covid-19 confirmed cases, I have no idea about that, and it’s none of my business. For me, Covid-19 is real. You're making it a death sentence if you still believe that there is no COVID-19 in Nigeria.

Arkore Writes: There are a lot of youngsters who would like to venture into this career path someday, can you give them a piece of advice?

Guest: Journalism is a beautiful career. Broadcast-journalism is an aspect I won’t trade for anything in the world. But, you have to be convinced, this is the part you’ll like to take. There is the investigative part that is very dangerous. But, the thrill of having broken the news and being the source of truth for people to know what exactly is going on, that feeling can never be compared to another. Journalism is a beautiful career that will propel you into opportunities and avenues other people do not have. You meet people, you get to shape people’s mind-sets and change their opinions about things as subtly and as unbiasedly as we all try to tell ourselves. We still have our levels of bias as I said earlier. Journalism is beautiful. It’s a course I will recommend for anybody but you have to be convinced about it. If you are in it for the money, you won’t make money in the beginning. But if you are persistent, stick to honesty and integrity, not only will you make money, but you will change lives which for me is actually the ultimate goal and the reason why I do what I do. Thank you.

Arkore Writes: wow! Thank you so much for the time. I feel so honoured having you here. And the impacts of what you’ve said can never be underestimated. Thank you so much and best regards.

Guest: Glad to be of help to you. Keep up the great work dear.