For the second year running, the Managing Director of ARISE NEWS Channel, Ms. Ijeoma Nwogwugwu, has emerged as the most powerful woman journalist in Nigeria.
Last year, Nwogwugwu made it to the top of the list of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Journalism Award, organised by WIJAfrica.
This year, she maintained the lead position among the selected 25 Most Powerful Women in Journalism.
According to a statement from WIJAfrica, the organisers of the 25 Most Powerful Women in Journalism, Nwogwugwu topped the list again this year, based on her national and industry credence, especially in her objective reportage of the #EndSARS campaign in Nigeria last year.
According to the citation from the organisers of the award, “Nwogwugwu is the undisputed champion of #EndSARS reportage in the year 2020. She was one of a few media chiefs who quickly noted that the growing movement of young people against police brutality would become a global campaign for change.
“She rallied her organisation to provide uninterrupted coverage of history in the making, as most major cities in Nigeria were at a standstill. ARISE NEWS moved from a middle-of-the-road player into a news juggernaut, with its digital news gathering, generating tens of millions of views and comments from young Nigerians becoming politically conscious for the first time. Nwogwugwu brings to journalism something rare but not impossible – a combination of traditional journalistic pedigree on the one hand and strong appeal to Generation Z on the other.”
Nwogwugwu, who was the former Editor of THISDAY Newspapers, was listed among 24 others in WIJAfrica’s list of “25 Most Powerful” women in journalism for 2020, where she emerged top of the list.
She was chosen because she “brings to journalism a wealth of experience across private and public sectors.”
Apart from the top 25 list, a number of other journalists were also nominated as worthy of mentions.
They are: Editor, Vanguard Allure, Jemi Ekunkunbor; Editor, THISDAYStyle Online, Konye Nwabogor; Acting Editor, The Will Downtown, Onah Nwachukwu; Editor, Punch Online/New Media, Adesola Ayo-Adenrele; Group Features Editor, THISDAY Newspapers, Chiemelie Ezeobi; Sharon Ijasan of Television Continental (TVC); and Nike Sotade, a veteran journalist.
WIJAfrica is the annual gathering of women working in the field of journalism and the media across Africa. The award is organised by WIJAfrica, supported by local and international partners to advance conversations around the practice of journalism in Africa, promote best practices, and supporting innovation in professionalism.
The first WIJAfrica conference was held in 2014 at the Civic Centre in Lagos, with the CEO of Thomson Reuters Foundation, Monique Villa as the Keynote Speaker. Since then, notable speeches have been delivered at subsequent conferences by Rhodes University’s Professor Anthea Garman; Courage in Journalism Winner, Chris Anyanwu, and award-winning international journalist, Anna Cunningham in October 2019.
WIJAfrica has also seen extensive collaboration with the Nigerian Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ), UNESCO, the School of Media and Communication at the Pan-Atlantic University, and the Mass Communications Department of the University of Lagos.
Emma Okonji
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