NAN must remain trusted source of authentic news – Editor-in-Chief

NAN must remain trusted source of authentic news – Editor-in-Chief

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) must continue to uphold its reputation as a trusted source of authentic, objective and balanced news, the new NAN Editor-in-Chief of the Agency, Hajiya Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu, has said.

Aliyu said in an interview that the agency’s strength in the era of rapid social media reporting should be in its commitment to in-depth investigation, verification and truth.

She said although the agency might not always be the first to break news because of the speed of social media, it must remain the platform Nigerians can rely on for accurate and well-researched reports.

“We go with authentic news, we may not break the news because of the present social media that we have all over the place.

“We may not break the news, but we go deep, do an in-depth investigation and at the end of the day we bring out the truth of every situation, the truth of every event.”

She said the agency had built a reputation for providing reliable, authentic and well-researched reports, stressing that such credibility must be sustained.

“If you get it from NAN, you know that, this is reliable, this is authentic and well-researched.”

Aliyu, who has served for 34 years, also described her appointment as fulfilling, saying she is happy to become the agency’s first female Editor-in-Chief more than four decades after its establishment.

“I feel happy and fulfilled, after serving for at least 34 years, and this is coming at this time, I feel good.

“I am happy that we are able to break the jinx of having the first female Editor-in-Chief of the News Agency of Nigeria after more than four decades of its establishment.”

Aliyu said she never had the target of becoming Editor-in-Chief, adding that the appointment came with more responsibilities.

“I commend the Managing Director, Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, who made it possible.”

She urged staff of the editorial department to promote unity, cooperation and mutual support, adding that they all shared the same objective of advancing NAN’s mandate.

“In the newsroom, there is a need for us to support one another, to work together, there is the need for unity, there is need for cooperation.

“We have to work together because our common mission and vision are the same. Our target, our common mission, our common vision is the same,” she said.

The Editor-in-Chief also called for a conducive working environment, urging staff to assist one another in carrying out assignments and support colleagues whenever possible.

She further urged journalists not to rush with rumours or unverified information, but to investigate and establish the facts before publishing.

“We should not rush out with the rumours, but to go in-depth, we should do investigation, we should find out what actually transpired, this is the news.

“This is what has earned us all this integrity, people believe in us when we say this is what happened, they will continue to trust us because we are authentic, balanced and fair,” she said.

NAN