By Okediran Adeyemi
As the coronavirus pandemic unfolds, the constant stream of reports will feel overwhelming. But for the online journalists reporting on the outbreak who can’t switch off, the personal toll is becoming apparent.
Online journalists delivering public service broadcasting have been identified as key workers along with health workers and those providing essential public services, which means they still send their kids to school while they’re going to work.
Many feel under enormous pressure to make sure that the public is getting the right information about the outbreak.
In atone to this, Mr. Wole Arisekola, President of the Association of Online Media Practitioners of Nigeria (AMPON) has said that online journalists are also frontline workers and as such must be included in whatever palliative package being rolled out by the Federal Government as well as other Continuing, he added that the media are also playing a critical and crucial role in the war against the coronavirus pandemic. Because without them no one will even know what is going on, including what those in the medical field are doing. They should, therefore, be included in whatever palliative package being planned and again be adequately protected. ‘They too are in the frontline, always there to write COVID-19 stories, cover COVID-19 outbreaks, supply all the necessary statistics, get the survivors to speak to them and so.
Their roles, therefore, are also key and must be factored into whatever palliative package the FG or any other body is planning.’
