Tuesday, 5 May 2015

BETTER REPORTING AND SAFETY IN THE DIGITAL AGE, A PAPER PRESENTED BY IBANGA ISINE, REGIONAL EDITOR, PREMIUM TIMES NEWSPAPER, ABUJA DURING THE WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY CELEBRATION BY THE NIGERIAN UNION OF JOURNALISTS, NUJ, AKWA IBOM STATE COUNCIL ON MAY 4, 2015 AT THE PRESS CENTER, INFORMATION DRIVE, UYO – AKWA IBOM STATE





Distinguished Guests
My Colleague Gentlemen of the Press
It is a great honour to be invited to celebrate the World Press Freedom Day in the midst of colleagues, friends and relations, some of whom I have lost touch with for more than a decade. For me, this opportunity is not only a fitting home coming but a welcome break from being confined to the newsroom while the world talks about, advocates and celebrates our collective rights to practice journalism without let or hindrance.
Permit me, therefore, to please thank the leadership of the Akwa Ibom State Council for creating this platform for us to join the rest of the world not only to celebrate but to also ponder on ways of improving our skills and making our profession better and safer. I also wish to thank the Organizing Committee for finding me worthy to speak to you on this very auspicious day.
While this is a very serious intellectual discourse, I have decided not to give in to the temptation of making it look or sound like the lectures we received from professors and eminent scholars in our universities and colleges. We must, therefore, endeavour to make this as simple and interactive as possible so that at the end of the day, we all leave this hall with fresh ideas and skills that would add value to our professional practice as well as improve our individual and collective safety.
THE “EKPO NDOK” REPORTING PHENOMENON
I make bold to say that reporting had been practiced in many societies long before the advent of the mass media and journalism. Although the forms and modes of sharing information prior to the development of the printing word especially in Africa are largely seen from their crude and circumscribed perspectives, the reality is we had and still have some of the best forms and modes of communication anywhere in the world. I challenge mass communication scholars to come up with dissertation to show that our indigenous modes of communication are inferior to the ones that came with Western civilization.
As Mass Communication and Journalism students, we were taught that some of the elements of news are factualness, correctness, conciseness, timeliness, objectivity, fairness and balance. The Western text books and their authors failed to acknowledge that these elements exist in our traditional modes of communication. When they tell us that everything our forefathers did, some of which were transferred to us today are crude and seemingly unsuitable for use by modern people, we clap and dance “skelewu” and dump them in the dustbin of history. I have come here to challenge us to begin a renaissance of some sort to bring back some of the treasures of our history, our great heritage and culture. Even as reporters, we could learn a lot from some of the things civilization and modernity have thrown overboard.  
For instance in Ibesikpo clan, there is what is called “Ekpo Ndok,” a kind of masquerade that uses humour to share information about people, events and situations from one part of the community to the other. In Akwa Ibom and Cross River states, the name of this masquerade varies from one place to another.  
That masquerade had existed long before our grandfathers were born and are still around today.  Months before the season of “Ekpo Ndok” begins, the masquerade which is believed to come from the ancestral world is said to inhabit the forests and farmlands on the fringes of communities. Because it is also seen as a spirit, it is said to have powers to see and hear what the mortal eyes and ears cannot hear and see. But as soon as it hits the streets, all the secrets, all the crimes and all the scheming in the community and even those in far flung communities become commonplace stories. In a very humourous and fascinating way, “Ekpo Ndok” goes from one place to another, delivering fresh, hot and spicy “stories” about people, events and situations. What the masquerade did and is still doing is reporting.
While there are a lot of reasons, especially those derived from communication models and theories to classify what “Ekpo Ndok” does as traditional, crude and circumscribed, I beg to think differently. We had lived decent and peaceful lives as a people before we had schools and hospitals and bicycles and motorcycles and cars and airplanes and you name them.   
Colleague Gentlemen of the Press
We have a lot to learn from “Ekpo Ndok” in our daily tasks as reporters, editors, cameramen, bloggers, social media experts and journalism teachers. “Ekpo Ndok” tells only the truth (correctness). It tells only what it sees and hears from the right sources (factualness). Its gist is always fresh (timeliness). It gives every side of the story (fairness, objectivity).  Through its reports, people are informed, educated and entertained.
I want to ask us as reporters to do a soul search and find out if we are still applying the age-old elements of news reporting we learnt in school. “Ekpo Ndok” does not go to school. It has no degrees or certificates. It does not lay claim to being a professional and is not even being paid by anybody. But in telling its stories, it does not sensationalize. It does not lie. It does not fabricate and it does not say anything because it is paid to do so. But unlike the masquerade, reporters commit all the professional “crimes” and they do it all the time and get away with them.
WHO MASS MEDIA REPORTERS ARE
(In the course of this discourse, I will be using the terms reporters and journalists interchangeably because they mean one and the same thing when considering their roles in the mass media) 
A lot of people come into the journalism profession for different reasons. In this hall, I believe if each and every one of us is asked to say why they decided to train as journalists and or practice journalism even without any training, we would have a lot of things to say. For whatever reason we decided to be journalists, I have come to tell you that this profession is not for everybody and anybody and I say this with due respect. We might have been told that we can become great news reporters by scoring “A”s and “B”s in Mass Communication and Journalism courses but I know these alone do not make people great reporters. 
Reporting is a serious business and it is for people who have some level of madness in their DNA. Our lecturers couldn’t tell us this because they did not want us to feel insulted but as professional colleagues, we can tell ourselves the truth.   
A good reporter shares some characteristics with people who are somehow deranged. It is only a reporter who runs towards an armed robbery scene just to get a smashing report and take pictures either with his camera or phone. Normal people take to their heels at the mere sound of gunshots. Reporters give public office holders nightmares and even dare those who have the power and resources to kill and or send them to jail. Reporters expose sordid details of transactions in the public and private sectors and force anti-graft agencies to take action. Reporters dig up cases of human right abuses and cause perpetrators; some of whom are very powerful people to face the full weight of the law.
Reporters bring to the reading and viewing public, accounts of accidents, natural disasters, crimes, human triumphs in sports, in science and technology. Reporters celebrate the good work of people and castigate the undeserved. Reporters are people who turn commonplace occurrences and situations into amazing stories, documentaries and cartoons. Reporters sack governments and bring down multinationals. Reporters are judges in the courtroom of public opinion. They are a set of professionals with unquenchable appetite for risk-taking.
If you have not, in the course of your career, done many of the things mentioned here, you better look for something else to do and stop going about with an old recorder and deceiving yourself around town. People don’t take you serious.
Perhaps, you are one of those who has done only a few of the things mentioned here or one of those going about town with an old recorder, or you have none of the characteristics mentioned here, I have some good news for you. You can still make it.
WHAT MAKES AN EFFECTIVE NEWS REPORTER
To function effectively in life, one needs a broad based education. Those who aspire to be doctors go to medical schools, lawyers complete full academic programmes in universities and proceed to law schools, and pastors go to seminaries and theological colleges, while journalists study mass communication and journalism. Unfortunately, while one cannot be a medical doctor just by wishing or a lawyer just by gut feeling, many people are practicing journalism today just because they can write well. But the profession is not all about fine writing. Even when one has been trained in the best journalism or mass communication school, the education alone does not make them good reporters. As said earlier, great reporters are not very normal people. They have an overdose of courage, passion, team spirit, intelligence and curiosity, inventiveness, logical thinking, organisation and self-discipline, research skill, patience, strong ethical background, discernment and patriotism. These are what can turn you into a world-class and award-winning reporter. You can read more at http://www.investigative-journalism-africa.info/?page_id=155.
COUNTING THE COST
Being a great reporter does not guarantee you will have an attack-free professional life. In fact, journalists who write commonplace reports and who lack some of the attributes listed above are not threats to the establishment and powerful people who have a lot of things to hide.  On the contrary, reporters who produce great investigative reports are constantly targeted for attacks. No government or politician is interested in journalists who have come to gain the infamous title of Press Center Press Corps, PCPC, because they could be bought with even a few bottles of beer.
While media houses invest huge resources and time to get investigative stories, the real costs of such reports are borne by journalists who embark on the long and dangerous roads to file them. Many reporters have lost their freedom, their limbs, their lives and even their sanity in the course of the job.
Do you remember the haunting photo of a vulture stalking an emaciated Sudanese girl who collapsed on her way to a feeding station? It was Kevin Carter who took that picture in the Sudanese killing fields and it was published in the New York Times on March 26, 1993. Mr. Carter won a Pulitzer Prize in1994 and later became notorious for sticking to the journalistic principle of being an observer and not getting involved. He had left the dying girl after taking his photo and neither he, nor the New York Times, knew what happened to her. A few months after he won the award, Mr. Carter committed suicide. He won an award but he lost his sanity.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, CPJ, over 1123 journalists have been murdered globally between 1992 and now. In its report, the group listed some of the 20 deadliest countries to practice journalism. These are - Iraq: 116, Syria: 80, Philippines: 77, Algeria: 60, Somalia: 56, Russia: 56, Pakistan: 56, Colombia: 46, India: 34, Mexico: 32, Brazil: 31, Afghanistan: 27, Turkey: 20, Bosnia: 19, Sri Lanka: 19, Tajikistan: 17, Rwanda: 17, Bangladesh: 17, Sierra Leone: 17, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory: 16.
In Nigeria, 10 journalists have been killed in the line of duty between 1992 and now include Enenche Akogwu, Channels TV, January 20, 2012, in Kano, Zakariya Isa, Nigeria Television Authority, October 22, 2011, in Maiduguri, Borno State, Sunday Gyang Bwede, The Light Bearer, April 24, 2010, in Jos, Plateau State, Nathan S. Dabak, The Light Bearer, April 24, 2010, in Jos, Plateau State, Bayo Ohu, The Guardian, September 20, 2009, in Lagos, Fidelis Ikwuebe,  Freelancer, April 18, 1999, in Anambra State, Okezie Amaruben, Newsservice, September 2, 1998, in Enugu State and Tunde Oladepo, The Guardian, February 26, 1998, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Samson Boyi, The Scope, November 5, 1999, in Adamawa State and Sam Nimfa-Jan, Details, May 27, 1999, in Kafanchan, Kaduna State.
Similarly, nine other journalists in the country have been killed but the motive for their killings were not confirmed. These include: Ikechukwu Udendu, Anambra News, January 12, 2013, in Anambra State, Nansok Sallah, Highland FM, January 18, 2012, in Jos, Plateau State, Edo Sule Ugbagwu, The Nation, April 24, 2010, outside Lagos, Eiphraim Audu, Nasarawa State Broadcasting Service, October 16, 2008, in Nasarawa State, Paul Aboyomi Ogundeji, ThisDay, August 16, 2008, in Lagos, Godwin Agbroko, ThisDay, December 22, 2006, Lagos, Bolade Fasasi, National Association of Women Journalists, March 31, 1999, in Oyo State, Chinedu Offoaro, The Guardian, May 1, 1996, and Baguda Kaltho, The NEWS, March 1, 1996. (Source, Committee to Protect Journalists)
THE EVOLUTION OF DIGITAL OR INFORMATION AGE
The digital age also known as computer age or information age is a global epoch that underlines a shift from the traditional industry created through industrial revolution to a knowledge-based system founded on Information Technology. Simply put, it is a time in human civilization when access to and control of information through the use of computers and other technological devices drive the global economy.  The digital age started in the 1970’s with the introduction of personal computers commonly referred to as PCs’. The innovation has made it possible for data and information to be transferred more freely and quickly than ever before. Today, people buy and sell using not only computers, but their mobile phones and microchips.   
Many computer historians trace the beginning of the Information Age to the work of the American mathematician, Claude Shannon.  SearchCIO.com indicates that at age 32, Shannon, who was a researcher at Bell Laboratories, published a landmark paper proposing that information can be quantitatively encoded as a series of ones and zeroes. Known as the “father of Information Theory,” Shannon showed how all information media, from telephone signals to radio waves to television, could be transmitted without error using this single framework.
It was, however, the development of Internet by the United States Department of Defence in the 1970s, followed by the adoption of personal computers a decade later that prepared the ground for the evolution of the Digital Revolution. Further technological advancements including the development of fibre optic cables and faster microprocessors accelerated the transmission of information. 
With these innovations, the World Wide Web (www) which was initially used by firms as a sort of electronic billboard for their products and services transformed into an interactive platform for the exchange of consumer goods and services. These gave birth to the electronic mail otherwise known as email which permitted near-instant exchange of information and was widely adopted as the primary platform for workplace and personal communications.
These innovations and their application in a variety of forms have had a profound impact on traditional media businesses such as the music industry, book publishing, major television and cable network and the film industry. It has given rise to major social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Whatsapp, etc. Today, newspapers and broadcast media have moved online and many have developed applications and shared their contents globally online. The world has moved from the traditional printing word in the form of newspapers, books, compact disks and DVDs. We now have online newspapers, online broadcast stations, e-books, online music stores and online outlets for almost everything sellable. 
NEWS REPORTING IN A RISKY AND CHANGING WORLD
When many of us started out as reporters many years ago, there was no Internet and email and online newspapers and magazines. There were very few telephones and fax machines.  Reports were filed through fax machines. To even file a report, reporters spent hours at NITEL offices and sometimes left without being able to send a single page of their stories.  Today, the story has changed. Since 2001, when the Global System for Mobile communications, GSM, was introduced in the country, Nigerians were rescued from the grip of an inefficient but once powerful monopoly called NITEL.  With over 139 million active telephone lines in the country as at December 2014, the Nigeria Communications Commission, NCC, had in January, 2015, confirmed that Nigeria has attained 100 percent teledensity. Teledensity or telephone density is the number of telephone connections for every hundred individuals living within an area.  Currently, the NCC says about 188.9 million lines have been connected across the GSM, Code Division Multiple Access Operator (CDMA) and the fixed wired and wireless technology platforms.
The huge increase in the number of people connected to the telephone has increased the number of Nigerians who have access to the Internet. News reporting is no longer practiced as it was at the beginning of the new Millennium. Although reporting thrives through human interaction, news is now being generated, processed and disseminated through digital devices.
With the new platforms offered in today’s global multimedia environment, it has become increasingly possible to practice journalism in a multimillion naira newsroom or from the comfort of a family kitchen. Whether in a conventional newsroom where reporters file written copies or in a paperless newsroom where reports are sent in through email, journalism practice goes with enormous risk. It is risky to those who produce the reports and equally risky to news sources especially when what is produced tells some bitter truths, challenges power and exposes corruption and or crime.
Unfortunately, the barrage of attacks on reporters is not only from the outside. Reporters also procure attacks on their colleagues. We must tell ourselves the truth – some of the attacks directed at journalists are carried out in connivance with our colleagues. In the past, we were told dogs don’t eat dogs. But that is an old story. Now dogs don’t only eat dogs, they also “sell the meat to the cats and the mice.”
But if we must continue to offer the platform for the free speech, shed light on the operations of corporate entities, hold government accountable to the people, expose corruption, ineptitude and more, then journalists must be protected. Safety for journalists, including digital safety, should be a matter of public concern as societies where reporters are encouraged to report freely grow and prosper more. While the known physical threats to reporters have not abated, the vast array of digital platforms has thrown up new vulnerability across the value chain of the digital interface.
SAFETY CONCERNS AND HOW TO ADDRESS THEM
Journalists and other actors doing journalism with digital technologies face a range of digital challenges and dangers, which sometimes contribute to the hostile environment they face in the physical world.
A recent report by CPJ indicates that 57 per cent of the 21 journalists already recorded globally as killed in direct relation to their journalism in 2015 were journalists who worked for online media platforms; 44 percent of the 61 journalists killed with motive confirmed in 2014 were online journalists; and also 44 per cent of the 70 journalists killed worldwide for their journalism in 2013 worked for online media outlets.
A UNESCO report on Digital Safety for Journalists, indicates that all actors whose journalistic activities interface with electronic technology, whether through their use of computers to process information, their utilization of telecoms or the Internet for news gathering and research, or simply their reliance on email for communications – face serious danger.
A lot of us do not know that our telephone lines, our computers, our email and even Facebook accounts are constantly under threat. As long as you employ digital means to research, process and transmit your reports, you cannot be totally free from attacks. Let’s look at some of the ways such attacks manifest. 
Surveillance and mass surveillance
Surveillance involves the monitoring, interception, collection, preservation and retention of information that has been generated, stored and relayed over communications networks. Through surveillance, your location can be tracked, your face can be identified in a crowd and your information sources uncovered. Surveillance can target an individual reporter or a whole media organisation through bulk interception methods for voice, SMS, MMS, email, fax and satellite phone communications. Install good antivirus software on your phones and computers and update them regularly. 
Software and hardware exploits without the knowledge of the target
Surveillance technology can also be used to infect computers worldwide with malware ‘implants’ allowing external entities to break into specific computer networks. Tools that allow access for monitoring and surveillance include intrusion software and Trojans, which operate as attack vectors. A Trojan is a non-self-replicating type of malware program containing malicious code which causes loss or theft of data, and possible system harm. Be sure your computers have good anti-virus protection and update it regularly.
Phishing attacks
Journalists and news organizations can be targeted for surveillance through phishing. Phishing is an illegal attempt to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords, and credit card details, often for malicious reasons, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. It uses links or attachments laden with malware that are sent via email or social media. Although malware differs in its capabilities, one of the most malevolent forms of malware that has been known to affect journalists’ work is a Remote Access Trojan (RAT). The more sophisticated a RAT is, the more likely it is to avoid detection by anti-virus software. If clicked on or downloaded, these RATs allow the attacker to gather anything they want on the compromised computer. Don’t open attachments from sources you do not know and trust.
Fake domain attacks
State actors and criminals have been found to create fake websites that look like the ones used by journalists and media organisations. In a fake domain malware attack, the fake domain copies the existing content from the targeted website and serves injected malware to visitors of the fake website. Attackers looking to expand their reach of victims may also create social media accounts to link to the fake site in order to have a higher Google PageRank of the fake site than the real site when searched. Constantly look out for websites that are designed to look like or imitate the features of your blog or website and report to the police, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC. 
Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks
A MitM occurs when attackers insert themselves, or their technology, in between a user and a target site. During such attack, the man in the middle can silently obtain information from both sides and even change the content without either the user or the target knowing. Their exchange continues while the man in the middle watches.
A common variant of a MitM attack involves an attacker who uses a WiFi router to intercept user communications. One illustration of this is when an attacker configures a wireless device to act as a WiFi hotspot and then gives it a common name in a public place to trick individuals into believing it is a legitimate connection. As individuals connect to it and access sites such as online banking or email, their credentials are captured and stored for later use by the attacker. Avoid naming your router or WiFi with anything associate with your brand and always restrict access through the use of complex password. Do not connect to free WiFi in public places including hotels and parks
Denial of Service (DoS) attacks
A DoS attack is another tactic used to intimidate online media actors and limit freedom of expression. A DoS attack is when one computer and one Internet connection is used to flood a server with packets with the intention to overwhelm the site and make it inaccessible to others. Another type of DoS attack is a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS), which utilizes a number of computers and connections, often distributed around the world to attack a computer or server. Similar to a DoS attack, a DDoS attack overloads websites, rendering them inaccessible. Engage the services of cyber security organisations to monitor and mitigate any attack on your website. An example of such organisation is Cloudflare from the United States. 
Website defacement
There are many ways a website might be defaced. A common tactic involves using MitM attacks to compromise legitimate user accounts. Alternatively, an attacker might exploit vulnerabilities in the website’s web server software. Defacement of a web page is a frequently used attack against media organizations. Guard against situations where your Internet connection could be compromised either through a router or WiFi.
Compromised user accounts
The goal of most attackers is to steal information they do not already have. User accounts, such as for email, social media or Skype, can be compromised in a variety of ways. A phishing attack may install malware on a journalist’s device that uses keylogging software, capable of capturing passwords and other sensitive information as a journalist types their login information. An attacker can also use a fake website, and after the user puts in his or her login information, the attacker can then use it to access the real website, without alerting the user. Two-factor authentication can help avoid having an account compromised because it requires the user accessing an account to both know the account password and have a device (like a mobile phone), which will receive a one-time code when logging in.
Unfortunately, even two-factor authentication can be bypassed by a skilled attacker. Sometimes user accounts are compromised through sophisticated social engineering tactics, such as when the Associated Press Twitter account was hijacked in April 2013. As the account was compromised, it falsely reported that US President Barack Obama had been injured in explosions at the White House, thereby causing serious capital market crisis in the country. 
Intimidation, harassment and forced exposure of online networks
Intimidation, harassment and arrests of journalists are not new phenomena. However, journalists and others who contribute to journalism are now experiencing threats on multiple platforms. Sometimes journalists are intimidated into giving up their digital account information. For example, authorities might detain or threaten a journalist, forcing him or her to divulge passwords to their social media and/or email accounts. To try to circumvent some of these restrictions, journalistic actors sometimes share passwords with colleagues. If they are arrested, colleagues can log in and remove information that might be enough to detain someone under strict freedom of expression laws.
Sometimes, NGOs are able to work with companies to shut down the account of a journalist as soon as it is reported that he or she has been abducted or arrested. Distributors of content also create multiple accounts, so if forced to reveal their account details, an especially sensitive account can remain secret.
Disinformation and smear campaigns
Disinformation against journalists is not new, but online smear campaigns are particularly troublesome for journalists because they may have an active life online and this can spread far and rapidly. Smear campaigns involve many different intimidation tactics that are often both online and offline. Such tactics include setting up fake websites where disinformation can thrive online, or intimidating a journalist with compromising photos or videos and then spreading them online. Other times, attackers choose to clone a website to confuse readers and threaten the credibility and legitimacy of a news organization. Other digitally interfaced media actors report instances of cyber impersonation, online propaganda campaigns, smear campaigns, and attacks in online forums. Journalists and media organisations should try to live and act right.
Confiscation of journalistic work product
Confiscation of journalistic product is not a new tactic when seeking to intimidate or harass journalists. However, in an increasingly digital environment where journalists store vast amounts of information on portable devices such as laptops and mobile phones, journalists’ confidential sources and information are at risk. These devices contain rich information and data that can reveal sources’ names and contact information and put people in danger. Ensure that you password your devices and also be vigilant when using them in public places.
Data storage and mining
Data storage is becoming cheaper and more efficient, allowing data – including content of emails, texts and other communications – to be collected and stored for longer periods of time. This facilitates the process of data mining, understood as the practice of searching through large amounts of computerized data to find useful patterns or trends. For example, it can be used to pinpoint journalists’ probable sources. There is a significant market for analyzing big data, with many of the same companies who service consumer markets like Facebook, also servicing intelligence and law enforcement agencies and without proportionate checks and balances. There are cases where data, including mobile phone locations and traffic data, stored under approved data retention regulations have been accessed to compile lists of high-profile journalists’ sources.
HOW TO KNOW WHEN YOUR PHONE IS TAPED
Battery Temperature: One of the ways of knowing your mobile phone is tapped is the temperature of phone battery. When the temperature of the battery is warm when you haven’t used your phone, it means the phone might be in use even when you are not making calls. But heat may also result from overuse. However, if your phone is powered down and it is still hot, there is cause for worry.
Phone Not Staying Charged:  When you have to charge your phone more often than normal, then you have to watch out.  A tapped cell phone loses its battery life faster because it is constantly recording conversations in the room, even when the phone appears to be idle.
Not Shutting Down: If your experience delay when you shut down your phone or the indicator light remains on for a while after shutting down or the phone refuses to shut down when you press the button it means something in interfering with it. Always be aware of inexplicable activity on your phone. It may also happen as a result of hardware or software malfunction. 
Background Noise: When on a call, a taped phone will often include background noises. Usually in the form of echoes, static, or clicking, these sounds can either be caused by interference, a bad connection, or someone else listening in. If you ever hear a pulsating static noise coming from your phone when you are not using it, however, you may have a problem.
Receiving Unusual Texts: have you been receiving unusual or strange text messages containing random numbers, symbols or characters? The remote control feature of spy software works by sending secret coded text messages to your phone and in some cases these can be seen – if the software is not working correctly. But if it happens regularly you could have a spy app on your phone.
Caution: Endeavour to restart your cell phone at least twice a day if you observe any of the following. You can also install an effective anti-spyware on the phone and update it regularly. Do not pick calls or respond to sms from unusual or encrypted numbers.




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