Annual media seminar: Polaris Bank trains over 500 journalists on emerging digital journalism skills
Polaris Bank Limited, Nigeria’s leading digital retail commercial bank on Thursday held another media capacity training workshop, the 12th in the series for over 500 journalists within and outside the country.
The training themed empowering Journalists in the Digital Age: Storytelling, Tools & Transformation” held in hybrid format with focus on emerging digital journalism skills.
In his welcome address, Head of Brand Management and Corporate Communications at Polaris Bank, Rasheed Bolarinwa, highlighted the institution’s longstanding commitment to media education.
He noted that the bank had been investing in such initiatives for over 12 years and remained a leading advocate of digital capacity building in the Nigerian media industry.
According to Bolarinwa, enhancing journalists’ skills benefits society at large.
Citing a Chinese proverb, he explained that Polaris Bank believed in teaching people to fish rather than simply giving them fish—an approach that informed the executive management’s annual support for the seminar.
The Polaris Bank spokesman explained that the training was designed to help media professionals thrive in today’s fast-evolving journalism landscape.
The training featured sessions by two seasoned journalists: Mr Taiwo Obe, Founder and Director of The Journalism Clinic, and Mr Abayomi Adisa, a senior journalist with the BBC.
Obe reminded participants of journalism’s core mission—to provide citizens with the information they needed to make informed decisions about their lives, communities, and governments.
He traced the evolution of journalism since the early 2000s, particularly the rise of mobile journalism (MoJo), which enabled journalists to capture, produce, and disseminate news content in real-time.
Referencing Reuters’ 2007 introduction of the MoJo Toolkit—which included the Nokia N95, a small tripod, compact wireless keyboard, solar charger, and external microphone, he explained how mobile tools accelerated news delivery.
Obe encouraged journalists to explore free digital applications available on platforms like the Google Play Store.
He said these tools allowed reporters to go beyond traditional text by incorporating audio, video, and interactive graphics into their storytelling.
He also noted the increasing use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Nigerian newsrooms, especially for tasks such as copy editing, content illustration, strategy, and ad targeting—boosting both efficiency and creativity.
Obe further advised journalists to repurpose data from their stories into various formats such as guidebooks, archival materials, issue analyses, Q&As, and even books.
On his part, Adisa focused on writing for social media. He urged participants to create posts that compelled audiences to stop, engage, and share.
He shared strategies for crafting effective teasers and posts, stressing that content must be personal, relevant, engaging, shareable, and concise.
Adisa acknowledged the distractions prevalent on social media platforms and underscored the importance of producing content that was both influential and emotionally resonant.
Participating journalists (online and physical) took turns to appreciate Polaris Bank for the continued gesture of helping them function maximally on their jobs over the years with the training. They promised to give back gains from the training through quality, unbiased and up-to-date reports.
