News Room Joey Off-Air, a media platform established to amplify underreported issues in Nigeria’s North Central region, has announced the launch of a four-month Community Journalism Mentoring Programme that will select 10 university students in the region for practical journalism training, professional mentorship, and opportunities to report on issues affecting their communities.
The programme aims to bridge the gap between journalism education and professional newsroom practice by equipping participants with the skills, editorial judgement, and practical experience needed to use journalism to advance social accountability, counter misinformation, and strengthen social cohesion.
Founded by journalist and new media strategist Joey Shekwonuzhibo, Joey Off-Air began as an audio platform for telling stories from Jos, with a focus on community experiences and issues that often receive limited attention in mainstream media. Over time, the platform has expanded its reporting to include investigative series examining a range of community issues, including gaps in social infrastructure, internet scams, road accidents, and violent conflicts.
Through these investigations, Joey Off-Air has sought to document challenges affecting local communities, scrutinise issues of public interest, and bring greater attention to stories that might otherwise go unreported. Its reporting experience also informs the new mentoring programme’s emphasis on evidence-based journalism, public accountability, and community-centred storytelling.
The platform has also expanded its work beyond publishing stories to supporting emerging journalists. With the involvement of a co-founder and editorial mentor, Joey Off-Air developed an informal mentoring initiative that provided guidance and editorial support to young people interested in pursuing careers in journalism.
Some of the young journalists who benefited from the initiative have subsequently accessed fellowships and professional opportunities with organisations including HumAngle, the Solutions Journalism Africa Initiative, and Prime Progress. Others have secured reporting grants, roles in media organisations, and international bylines.
“We have also seen what mentorship can do for young people trying to find their place in journalism. This programme is an opportunity to build on that experience, give more students the guidance and practical exposure they need, and support a new generation of journalists who can tell important stories from their communities,” said the founder of Joey Off-Air.
The new programme, which is bootstrapped, formalises and expands this commitment by creating a structured mentorship opportunity for university students across the North Central region.
Over four months, the 10 selected participants will receive training in reporting and storytelling, audio-visual and multimedia journalism, journalism standards and ethics, fact-checking, social accountability reporting, conflict-sensitive journalism, and policy communication.
The training will be delivered through practical sessions and mentorship from experienced journalists and media practitioners, giving participants opportunities to develop story ideas, conduct interviews, gather evidence, and receive editorial feedback on their work.
Beyond the training, participants will be invited to pitch stories investigating issues within their communities. Selected pitches will receive mini-grants to support reporting, alongside editorial guidance throughout the production process.
Joey Off-Air will also provide a publishing platform for participants, allowing them to showcase their work, reach wider audiences, and begin building professional portfolios. The publishing component is intended to give students practical experience in developing stories for an audience, responding to editorial feedback, and producing journalism that informs public debate.
The programme will encourage reporting on issues ranging from public service delivery and local governance to misinformation, displacement, and social cohesion. It will also emphasise responsible and evidence-based reporting, particularly when covering vulnerable communities and sensitive issues that require careful attention to language, framing, and representation.
The programme’s faculty brings together journalists and communications professionals with experience across conflict reporting, investigative journalism, multimedia production, governance, public relations, and development communication.
They include Joey Shekwonuzhibo; Johnstone Kpilaakaa, Standards Editor at HumAngle; Nankpak Cirfat, Communications Associate (Media Relations) at Connected Development; Nanji Nandang, an investigative journalist at the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR); Ajifa Solomon, a journalist whose work focuses on human-interest stories, social justice, and community development; Samuel Ojo, Media Production Director at SAMFREN OJO MEDIA, amongst others.
By the end of the programme, participants are expected to have developed stronger reporting skills, a practical understanding of journalistic standards and ethics, and experience producing stories on issues affecting their communities. Through mentorship and publication opportunities, the initiative also seeks to strengthen their readiness for professional newsroom roles, journalism fellowships, grants, and other career development opportunities.
Ultimately, the Community Journalism Mentoring Programme seeks to nurture a new generation of journalists who can connect rigorous reporting with the everyday concerns of their communities, hold institutions accountable, challenge misinformation, and contribute to more informed and cohesive societies.
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