MANAGING INFORMATION CRISES

IN THE ERA OF
CITIZEN JOURNALISM

By Uche Nworah, Ph.D

Thoughts shared by Uche Nworah, Ph.D, at the
2022 Bloggers Summit organised by Nigeria
Union of Journalists, Anambra State Council on
Friday, 8th July, 2022.
I am honoured to have been invited by the Anambra
state council of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ),
to share some thoughts on crises informa on
management in the era of ci zen journalism.
I wish to appreciate Dr. Odogwu Emeka Odogwu,
Chairman, NUJ, Anambra state council, and his
execu ve for all that they have achieved within the
li le me they have been in office. We quite
appreciate their robust engagements with
stakeholders, and introduc on of pla orms for
regular sharing of informa on, and exchange of
ideas. We can only con nue to wish them the best.
And to my friends and colleagues in the media,
many of whom I shared convivial rela onships
during my tour of duty as the Managing Director
a n d C h i e f E xe c u v e O ffi c e r o f A n a m b ra
Broadcas ng Service (ABS) from July 2014-March
2022, this would have been a wonderful
opportunity to see everyone again.
I am sorry that I couldn't physically a end this
event, it is due to professional exigencies. However,
I am hoping that there would be another
opportunity some me in the future so that we can
all get together once again.
Introduc on
This is probably the most difficult and challenging
me to be an informa on manager, whether in the
public or private sectors.
With the availability of mul ple social media
pla orms (Tik-Tok, Facebook, YouTube, Twi er,
WhatsApp, Instagram etc), and millions of people
having access to the smart phone, the job of an
informa on manager has become much more
demanding and challenging.
In an era of ci zen journalism, dominated by 'copy
and paste, like, click and share' ci zen journalists,
how can professional informa on managers cope
with the tons of false narra ves and misinforma on
1
that populate various social media pla orms?
How can professional informa on managers tell
their own story be er, faster, and more effec vely
in crisis situa ons, such as the ones we presently
find ourselves in?
How can they shape the narra ve, and drive the
informa on agenda in the best interests of their
organisa ons and principals?
The world, Nigeria, and indeed the South East have
been facing myriad of challenges, both on the
economic and poli cal fronts. It appears as if the
gates of hell have been opened, and all manner of
demons unleashed upon the earth. From the
Russian invasion of Ukraine, dubbed 'military
opera on', rising infla on in Europe, to the almost
regular gun violence being witnessed in America.
Back home, Nigeria appears to be on the edge. We
have always been living dangerously as a na on,
having failed to manage our commonwealth. Now
everything is coming to a head. There is crises
across the various regions, North East, North West,
Middle Belt, Southwest, Southeast, and South-
south.
Even our beloved South-East, once the darling of
the whole country, formerly the most peaceful in
the country has come under heavy a ack in the
hands of a murderous group known as Unknown
gunmen.
As informa on managers, whether as journalists,
public rela ons officers of organisa ons,
informa on officers in government, etc, how does
one make sense of all that is happening around us,
and s ll come out on top, with one's head held
high?
The Age Of Ci zen Journalism
Ci zen journalism is another demonstra on of
people power. It is perhaps, the biggest single
disruptor of the journalism sector in the last two
decades. Ci zen journalism arose out of the
demand by news consumers for more access, open
access, journalism independence, encouragement
of mul ple stories and more voices as against
informa on suppression, and encouragement of
single stories in mainstream media.
Tradi onal and mainstream media have been found
wan ng in some of these areas. The debate
between tradi onal mainstream media and ci zen
journalism prac ce always centres on Objec vity
and Accuracy versus Speed and Traffic. Both sides of
the divide have their different strong points and
shortcomings.
Ci zen journalism has also been aided by
technology, both hardware and so ware. With
mul ple available free so ware on the internet
such as blogger, Wordpress etc, everyone could
now become a news agency, and also earn a living
through adver sing if such blogs and websites have
sufficient traffic and are mone sed.
While it is not the focus of this presenta on to
discuss the merits and demerits of ci zen
journalism, it is important to men on some of the
downside of ci zen journalism. These include:
(1) Lack of professional training by some of the
ci zen journalists
(2) Lack of adherence to professional journalism
ethics and codes. Many have termed ci zen
journalism as irresponsible journalism because the
prac oners are some mes faceless, and are
accountable only to themselves and their sponsors
who are majorly faceless.
(3) The anything goes, and cash-and-carry
philosophy. Stories are usually not verified before
publica on. They only care about being the first
with the news, and what will a ract traffic to their
pages and pla orms.
(4) Preponderance of fake news on ci zen
journalism pla orms etc.
Other Perspec ves On Ci zen Journalism
A Wikipedia entry describes ci zen journalism as
follows:
“Ci zen journalism, also known as collabora ve
media, par cipatory journalism, democra c
journalism, guerrilla journalism or street
journalism, is based upon public ci zens "playing an
ac ve role in the process of collec ng, repor ng,
analyzing, and dissemina ng news and
informa on”.
2
Courtney C. Radsch (2022), defines ci zen
journalism "as an alterna ve and ac vist form of
news gathering and repor ng that func ons
outside mainstream media ins tu ons, o en as a
response to shortcomings in the professional
journalis c field, that uses similar journalis c
prac ces but is driven by different objec ves and
ideals and relies on alterna ve sources of legi macy
than tradi onal or mainstream journalism".
Managing Informa on In Crises Situa ons
Globalisa on has shrunk the world, and technology
has helped in escala ng issues on the internet, that
normally will not a ract the a en on of mainline
media.
An informa on manager, on a regular if not daily
basis, has to contend with several crises situa ons.
Some of these may include;
* Financial Crisis
* Economic Crises
* Management & Board Crisis
* Organisa onal Crisis
* Technological Crisis
* Natural Disaster and Environmental Crisis
* Labour Crisis
* Crisis of Malevolence
* Poli cal Crises
* Cultural Crises
* Social Crises
* ETC
Informa on Management In Crises Situa on
A crises situa on is any natural or man-made
occurrence, beyond the control of the organisa on,
state or country, but which could poten ally impact
on its reputa on, or affect its stakeholders,
opera ons, and ability to op mally func on or
operate.
In crises situa ons, informa on or communica on
managers are required to help bring the situa on
under control using effec ve management and
deployment of informa on.
Ideal Situa on In Crises Management
It is advised that organisa ons, governments at
both the federal, state and local government levels
should take certain cri cal steps in their daily
opera ons to help them an cipate, manage be er
and resolve developing situa ons before they blow
into full crises. These can be achieved through;
(1) Se ng up a mechanism of monitoring and
scanning the opera ng environment (internal and
external). Early warning signs of impending crises
once iden fied, should trigger introduc on of
measures that would help to nip the crises in the
bud at the early stages. This is also more cost-
effec ve than managing a full-blown crises.
(2) Strategic engagement of cri cal stakeholders,
par cularly the media. Such engagement should be
on an ongoing basis and not only when there is
crises. Many organisa ons, and government
officials treat journalists with contempt, and only
remember them when there is nega ve press, or an
informa on crises. The Governor of Anambra state,
Profess Charles Soludo has started well with his
mul -pla orm approach of engaging cri cal
stakeholders in the state through town hall
mee ngs. His appearance on live radio and
television phone-in programmes on Anambra
Broadcas ng Service (ABS), on Wednesday, 29th
June, 2022 is unprecedented and encouraging. The
Governor has said that he will be doing more of such
media appearances in the future.
Fred Chukwuelobe, Senior Special Assistant (SSA)
Media and Publicity to former Governor of
Anambra state, Dr. Chris Ngige, shares his own
perspec ves on how organisa ons and government
officials can manage rela onship with journalists
and other social media influencers.
In a Facebook post he made on Tuesday, 5th July,
2 0 2 2 t l e d ' H o w To W i n O v e r Wr i t e rs ' ,
Chukwuelobe advised thus;
“Iden fy them. Court them.
Call them. Discuss direc ons you want. Not all of
them need your money to write. Many don't.
But you must court them.
Those who court them get them to write for them
3
and sway public opinions in their favours.
How many good writers do you have their (phone)
numbers?
How many have you reached out to? How many
have you acknowledged their ar cles (wri en) in
your favour?
Nobody is asking you to give them money. Even
though others are giving them money, use your
phone as money. Call them.
Remember, it is called poli cs.
Those who play it well win elec ons.
I have not asked anybody to give me money.
I have not said I am a good writer.
I have only asked, how many good writers do you
have their (phone) numbers?
How many have you called?
How many ar cles in your favour have you
acknowledged with a simple 'thank you very much'
(message)?
I write this not targe ng any par cular candidate,
but based on complaints I have received about you
from many good writers.
Pick up your phone. Make that call. Now!”
(3) Recruitment and resourcing of informa on
officers, professional public affairs officers, public
rela ons managers, community rela ons and
engagement officers by organisa ons and
government.
(4) Management and government officials should
listen to and take construc ve advice, without
regarding anyone who holds an alterna ve opinion
as a member of the opposi on. Social media has
made it possible for people with varying views to
have a voice , and they are using it. Government
should device a means of harves ng the countless
viewpoints that the ci zens express everyday on
social media, on radio, TV and press, and dis ll such
sugges ons. There must be good sugges ons that
the government can implement.
(5) Organisa ons and government officials should
operate an open system where it is easy for the
media to contact officials. They should also create
func onal social media pla orms that will be
regularly updated, email, and telephone contact
addresses. Media prac oners have o en
complained of inaccessibility of key government
officials and company execu ves when required.
This is part of what creates misrepresenta on in the
media.

(6) Use available technological so wares and

applica ons, news aggregators such as Google
alerts to monitor what is being said about the
organisa on, it's employees and opera ons. You
can use this also to track what is being wri en or
discussed online about a state, country, local
government or respec ve government official.
Respond appropriately where necessary.

Conclusion

Those who manage informa on for organisa ons

or for government should not wait un l crises
occurs. Through regular engagement of cri cal
stakeholders, it is possible to build sustainable
rela onships, which makes managing informa on
in mes of crises easier.

References

Ci zen Journalism
h ps://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ci zen_journalis
m#:~:text=Ci zen%20journalism%2C%20also%20k
nown%20as,.%22%20Similarly%2C%20Courtney%
20C.
Accessed Monday, 27th June, 2022

Fontanella, Clint, 8 Types of Crisis Your Company

Could Face (and Protect Against)
h ps://blog.hubspot.com/service/types-of-crisis
Accessed Monday, 27th June, 2022