It was an excitement for members of the editorial staff of New National Star at the Abuja headquarters as management organised a retreat for them last Friday 17 March, 2023. The retreat, which, by every standard, could be described as very successful was attended by almost all the editorial staff in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The retreat started with an opening speech by chairman of the planning committee,  Demola Abimboye, who explained that the retreat, which is the first of its type, became necessary because of the lapses observed in the editorial content by the management team.

Abimboye stated that the retreat is also necessary to update and refresh the editorial staff, even as he called on participants to take the training very seriously.

Managing director, New National Star, Dr Obinna F. Nwachukwu, who declared the retreat open, on behalf of management, expressed hope that from next week, there would be a change in the newspaper content, especially in news and feature writing, opinion writing and other writings.

Obinna said that management also appreciates the importance of having a house style, because before now, the newspaper did not have a house style, adding that it is expected that the retreat would serve as train-the-trainer exercise.

Presenting the first paper for the retreat, titled: Critical Review of New National Star, the managing director explained that participants need to review the newspaper to know how they have done and also to appreciate their achievements and performance.

He noted that one thing common with the publication over time is errors, even as he pointed out that the errors have become minimal since the previous week, adding that a four-member committee would be set up to draw the house style for the newspaper.

In his paper, titled Media Law, Libel, etc, Dr Ibrahim Mainasara mentioned the qualifications of a journalist to include, knowledge of history, sociology, law, demography of Nigeria and must be a man of integrity. He continued, “Journalists must be socially amiable. Journalists should know the matter of security. Journalists should make friends who can promote his job. Journalism is responsible for public education.”

This was followed by the third paper, titled, Feature Writing, presented by Demola Abimboye, who listed four differences between a feature story and news stories.
Abimboye advised participants to learn the art of feature writing and to do more on feature writing for the newspaper.

Speaking on the paper, titled, Investigative and Interpretative Journalism, Nwachukwu also explained the importance of investigative journalism, even as he advised reporters to delve into the field and make an impact.

He stated that an investigative journalist must be Interpretative, observant and must be a crawler and discreet, adding that it is a delicate field, but an area that moves a journalist up the ladder in journalism.

Also, speaking, the  editor of  Authority Newspaper, Malachy Uzendu, who spoke on a paper titled, Newswriting, stressed the importance of a good news report for the newspaper.
This was followed by a presentation titled, Newspaper Production, by the acting editor, Williams Orji. The acting editor explained that newspaper production involves a process and that it is time bound. He noted that everybody is important in the process of newspaper production, even as he advised reporters to once on a while visit the newsroom to learn how newspapers are produced.

Theme: Avoiding Electoral Crisis in the 2023 General Elections: The Role of INEC and other Stakeholders