▪️Why I couldn’t hold back tears – Veteran Journalist opens up on why A Lifetime of big stories ends in tears
Emotions overtook veteran journalist, Shola Oshunkeye, as he shed tears while speaking at a colloquium and book launch organised to mark his 70th birthday.
NOP NIGERIA reports that the colloquium, themed “The Decline of Human Interest Journalism in Nigeria”, was held at the Sir Kessington Adebutu Media Resource Centre of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Ogba, Lagos.
Explaining the reason for his emotional moment, Shola Oshunkeye expressed gratitude to his wife and children for their support over the years, saying, “I thank my wife for her perseverance. All my children, they have been wonderful. They have endured not having their daddy around.”
He attributed his tears to a painful family loss, adding, “The reason I am emotional is that we lost two brothers within eight months to COVID. The stars of the family. We thought it was a joke, but they died.”
Explaining the inspiration behind his book, Byline and Backbone: A Lifetime of Big Stories, Oshunkeye reflected on the passion that has driven his decades-long career in journalism.
Speaking on the aspect of byline, he described the significance of a byline in deeply personal terms.
He said: “Byline because nothing intoxicate a journalist or reporter more than the beauty in him of having his name to a story. The meaning of byline is what your byline tells to your reader, or viewer if you are in television, or audience if you are on radio.
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“Concerning this story, I was there. This thing happened, this was how it happened. For me, byline is everything. Nothing intoxicate me more than having my byline, my name to a story.”
He recalled his excitement after his first published work, adding, “When I got my first byline in 1989, I was traveling between Ilorin and Lagos, I bought many copies, I took them to the office the following morning, and I was showing it to my friend. Yes, yes, I have written an article. Nothing intoxicate me, not money, but you see my byline, that is fulfilling for me.”
On the idea of backbone, he stressed the importance of inner strength and conviction, stating, “The backbone of life is your spinal cord. Without spinal cord, nobody can stand. It goes beyond that. It is in dedicating the power of conviction. With power of conviction, you don’t have to wait for any editor to tell you to do this, do that.”
He also offered candid advice to aspiring journalists, warning that the profession is not primarily about financial gain.
He said, “If I want to speak to students, I tell them that if your aspiration and ambition is to make money, please, maybe you can go and look for a job in banks or in some manufacturing industry. Because in journalism, the only thing to be made is your name or impact. Impact in societies or human interest.”
NOP NIGERIA
