COVID-19: Journalists also frontline workers, govt should support media with palliatives, says AMPON President

Wole Arisekola

The novel Coronavirus pandemic has left many individuals, businesses, and even countries incapacitated and the role the media; journalists and broadcaster played in day-to-day activities cannot be an oversight.

A group of journalists and media practitioners, the Association of Online Media Practitioners of Nigeria (AMPON), has called on the Nigerian government to extend the palliatives support to the journalists those that are working tirelessly to gather information for public consumption.

The president of the group, Mr. Wole Arisekola, publisher of Ireland based journal; TheStreetJournal, said journalists are also frontline workers in the fight of the deadly pandemic virus; COVID-19 and they are also entitled to palliatives and relief packages.

According to Mr. Wole Arisekola; journalists are like the health workers, soldiers, policemen, and other security agents, are an integral part of essential service providers globally and as such must be included in whatever palliative package being rolled out by the Federal Government as well as other bodies.

He explained further 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 on. Their roles, therefore, are also key and must be factored into whatever palliative package the FG or any other body is planning.’