Beyond the smartphone: The trained journalist and the passer-by

The article discusses the growing blurring of the line between trained journalists and untrained individuals who publish information via smartphones and social media in Nigeria. It contrasts a passer-by who records and uploads footage of an incident with a journalist who investigates the circumstances, checks the facts and presents a balanced report. The piece argues that seeing is not the same as understanding and that publishing is not necessarily journalism. It states that the difference lies not merely in academic qualifications, equipment or newsroom employment but in professional practice.

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