Austyn Ogannah, President, Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN), has announced that the third edition of OPAN news media conference would hold on January 16, 2019 ahead of the all-important general elections in Nigeria.
A statement from the OPAN boss on Wednesday said, “As Nigeria enters the election season, the Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN) is pleased to announce its 3rd Annual New Media Conference, which will hold at the Sandralia Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria, on Wednesday, January 16, 2019. The theme of the conference is: Free Press and Objective Reporting in the 2019 Election year.
He said the one-day conference will provide an interactive platform for new media practitioners–publishers, bloggers and social media influencers, to engage with government and state institutions on issues bothering on legal and regulatory frameworks for reporting elections, ethics and professionalism in reporting elections in Nigeria and the independence and media literacy of the judicial system.
Other issues to be explored according the OPAN President, are conflict sensitiveness and hate speech, the dangers of fake news in a multi-ethnic society in an election year, digitally reporting election results, the social media and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) rules, among other topics.
Ogannah said key government personnel from the presidency, legislature, judiciary, as well as representatives of civil society groups, business sector, political parties, the diplomatic community, foreign and indigenous media practitioners and stakeholders are scheduled to participate at the conference.