Media executive advocates ethical charter on religious reporting

Dapo Olorunyomi, the Chief Executive Officer of Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), on Monday proposed a new professional charter to aid religion reporting in the country.

Olorunyomi said the charter would curb sensationalism and bias, enable journalists to treat religion with higher professional ethics, accuracy and sensitivity to protect democratic stability.

He spoke in Abuja at a breakfast dialogue with the media on: “Religion and Freedom of Religion in Media Reports in Nigeria.”

It was organised by Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), a German NGO.

He said the country’s democracy needs a new professional ethics for reporting religion, which he called: “Faith Journalism.”

According to him, the proposed “Faith Journalism” would compel journalists to adopt higher ethical standards in religion reporting to strengthen democracy and promote national cohesion

He said: “Let me propose that the Nigerian journalism community deserves a short charter, not a legal code, but an ethical covenant for journalists, editors, religious leaders, and platforms alike.

“Its premise is simple: religious freedom and press freedom are not competing liberties; they are mutually reinforcing, and when one is weakened, the other inevitably suffers.”

Olorunyomi, who is also the publisher of Premium Times, urged journalists to always place truth above speed and verify before publishing.

He said: “The pressure to be first is relentless in the digital era, but credibility is earned by accuracy, not speed.

“In religious reporting, the cost of error is measured in more than reputation; it can be measured in lives.

“Media practitioners must, therefore, distinguish faith from those who speak falsely in its name.

“They must not let the misconduct of a Cleric indict an entire community, or an extremist minority define a whole tradition.

“Every report should begin from the premise that every Nigerian carries equal worth before the law, whether they worship in a cathedral, a mosque, a shrine, or nowhere at all.

If our journalism is truthful, our democracy will be wiser, and if our religion is compassionate, our citizenship will be stronger.”

Also speaking at the event, Resident Representative of KAS, Moritz Sprenker, said religion in Nigeria is not an abstract concept.

He noted that, beyond shaping identity, community, public debate, and politics, the freedom of religion is protected by the constitution.

Sprenker noted that in a diverse society like Nigeria, journalism can either build understanding or deepen mistrust.

He said: “A headline can clarify or inflame. 

“A report can shed light on complexity or reduce it to a harmful binary.”

He, therefore admonished journalists to understand that their role is central to promoting peace and tolerance.

𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕞𝕠𝕣𝕖/𝕨𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖𝕠 𝕙𝕖𝕣𝕖