Rufai Oseni
God forbid that Nigerian television lacks interviewers with knowledge and courage, but a journalist must resist the temptation to complete the argument for the guest or force personal opinions down the throats of his viewers. When a journalist crosses that thin line, he risks creating the impression of partisanship, even though he is not necessarily partisan.
After reading my intervention on last week’s incident on Arise Television’s “Morning Show,” a friend, who is one of the leaders of public relations practice in Nigeria sent me a message.
“What’s your professional view about Rufai Oseni?” I replied as follows: “I think he’s bright, patriotic and objective. But he gets too emotional and descends into the arena, sometimes doing more than a journalist should do.”
My friend, who said they had known Mr Oseni personally for years, responded: “Really? He lacks every trait of a professional journalist!” They went further to suggest that the television anchor requires training and so on.
