By Emmanuel Onwusoro
It remains a memorable day as the pen-pushers from the six states of the SouthWest geo-political zone of Nigeria converged on Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, to join their counterparts across the globe to celebrate the 32nd World Press Freedom Day,WPFD.
The gathering was for a public lecture put together by the leadership of the Zone ” B ” of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, and held at its headquarters, Iyaganku GRA, Ibadan.
It was an assemblage that animated the entire environment of the Oyo state Council of the NUJ, as it pulled out both the ‘old sweat’, otherwise known as the veterans, those actively in practice, the retired, but not tired among other categories in the profession from different places to be part of the epoch-making ceremony.
A guest speaker, Vice Chancellor, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo state, Prof.Razak Kalilu, whose paper dwelt on the theme of the celebration ”, The Impact Of Artificial Intelligence On Press Freedom And The Media”, noted that Artificial Intelligence now plays a crucial role in various stages of the media value chain, ranging from research and writing to editing and publishing.
He explained that many global newsrooms have adopted AI systems to enhance efficiency and output quality. The varsity administrator cited The Associated Press,which uses AI automated platform called Wordsmith to produce thousands of earnings reports each quarter.
Similarly, the Washington Post, he informed, developed Heliograf, a bot capable of generating short news updates during elections and sports tournaments. These tools, according to him, help newsrooms free up human Journalists to focus on indepth reporting and investigative journalism. AI also aids in organizing massive databases, identifying patterns, and extracting insights that would otherwise be missed by human analysts.
Kalilu further pointed out that AI tools are used to transcribe interviews, transcribe content across languages.
However, the guest speaker said application of AI is not without challenges. Dissecting what he called the challenges and threats AI poses to press freedom, he said, ” while AI holds vast potential for improving Journalism, and media dissemination, it simultaneously introduces complex challenges that threaten the foundational principles of press freedom.
These challenges, he maintained, if not adequately addressed,can undermine democratic institutions, weaken the integrity of public discourse and facilitate manipulation of truth. But in all, the academic posited, AI is reshaping the media in fundamental ways. It can empower journalism by making news production more efficient and information more accessible.
Another lecturer, Senator Buhari AbdulFatai, said AI’s integration into media operations has the potential to support journalists by automating repetitive tasks and uncovering matters in complex data sets. However, as AI systems become more capable of generating realistic text, images,and even deepfake videos,they also pose significant threats to the credibility of journalism and the trustworthiness of public information.
AbdulFatai equally told the audience that the capabilities could be misused to spread misinformation, manipulate public opinion and erode trust in traditional news sources, an outcome that directly threatens press freedom and democratic discourse.
He highlighted some of the challenges and threats of AI to include:
-Misinformation and deepfakes;
-Bias and discrimination;
-Job displacement;
-Erosion of editing standards among others.
The Vice President, Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, Zone ”B”, Princess Ronke Afebioye-Samo, told the audience that the event was to reflect and explore the growing impact of Artificial Intelligence on journalism, media operators and press freedom, rise of misinformation and ethical hazards faced by media professionals, which formed the centrality of the celebration of the day.
She pointed out that the title of the celebration is also a pointer to the urgent need to ensure that technology serves public interest and do not undermine freedom of expression and democratic participation.
Samo, who is in her second tenure as the Vice President of the zone, described Press Freedom as a catalyst for good governance, pointing out that good governance engenders dividends of democracy. She reminded journalists of the need to uphold the vital role of ethical journalism in the practice of the trade to safeguard truth and democracy.
The NUJ Zone ‘B’ helmswoman observed that despite the challenges being faced by journalists in Nigeria,the NUJ remains committed to upholding principles of ethical journalism and promoting high standards of professionalism.
She remarked that the programme put together by the leadership of the zone to celebrate this year’s WPFD was a unique outing that reminds everyone to protect and support the media because without a free Press, there can’t be a free society.