NUJ and the Question of Membership: Why It’s Time to Embrace Journalism Beyond the Newsroom

For decades, a quiet question has stirred in Nigeria’s media landscape: what does it truly mean to be a journalist? Is it the newsroom, the microphone, or perhaps something in between? This conversation spans those who honed their craft behind the scenes and those who connect with audiences on air. As the profession evolves globally, exploring these different paths offers a fascinating glimpse into the many faces of journalism today.

The NUJ, as Nigeria’s foremost professional body for journalists, has naturally found itself at the center of this conversation. Its membership guidelines and standards reflect a long-standing commitment to professional rigor—but they also raise interesting questions about how journalism is defined today. Exploring the NUJ’s role offers a window into how traditional paths intersect with modern practice, and how the profession continues to recognize both experience and innovation in telling the country’s stories.

One of the most enduring points of discussion lies between those who “grew up in the newsroom” and those who made their mark on air. Newsroom-trained journalists have long been celebrated for their investigative rigor and adherence to editorial processes, while broadcasters bring immediacy, connection, and often a deep understanding of current affairs directly to the audience. Both paths contribute to the media landscape in meaningful ways, yet the conversation around recognition and professional legitimacy continues to spark curiosity – and sometimes controversy – within the industry.

I must admit that I too once leaned toward a narrow definition. I argued that only those directly involved in news gathering and dissemination should rightly be called journalists. My point, however, was not to dismiss broadcasting. A disc jockey, an on-air personality, or a presenter of purely entertainment content is not a journalist by default. But once a broadcaster ventures into news, current affairs, or issue-driven programming; once they engage the public in conversations that inform, interrogate power, and shape opinion, they are squarely within journalism, regardless of whether they passed through a newsroom.

As someone who has spent nearly 37 years in the profession, working in newsrooms, programme production rooms, managing broadcast outfits, and training upcoming broadcasters, I speak not as an outsider but as one deeply immersed in the craft. Over these decades, I have seen first-hand how broadcasters and programme hosts, even those without formal newsroom training, have risen to handle current affairs with a depth and rigour that match, and sometimes surpass, their newsroom-trained colleagues. My vantage point convinces me that the NUJ’s narrow criteria exclude valuable voices that have enriched Nigerian journalism.

History proves it: you don’t need a newsroom or a journalism degree to shape public discourse. Larry King became a global icon with his probing interviews; Oprah Winfrey turned daytime TV into a platform for national reflection; Trevor Noah transformed comedy into incisive political analysis. In Nigeria, Funmi Iyanda’s New Dawn fearlessly interrogated social issues, Mo Abudu’s Moments with Mo and EbonyLife TV elevated African narratives, and Ebuka Obi-Uchendu has grilled political leaders on Rubbin’ Minds with unmatched precision. Bisi Olatilo’s multilingual presentations chronicled Nigeria’s political, social, and cultural life for decades. In sports, Ernest Okonkwo, who never worked in a newsroom, electrified Nigerian radio with football commentary; John Motson commanded global football coverage; and Charles Anazodo, armed with an English degree but no newsroom training, became a defining voice on SuperSport Nigeria and SportZone. None were newsroom-bred, yet all embodied journalism’s hallmarks: rigour, relevance, and undeniable public impact. For anyone to denounce these iconic personalities as journalists is simply criminal!

The consequences of NUJ’s rigid posture are not merely theoretical. In one state, a media aide to a deputy governor was barred by the local NUJ chapter from using the title of Chief Press Secretary simply because she was not a card-carrying member of the Union. Her professional affiliation lay instead with the Radio, Television, Theatre and Arts Workers’ Union (RATTAWU). She eventually settled for the title of Director of Communications. That kind of trivial gatekeeping does little to promote professionalism; instead, it hurts developmental journalism by erecting artificial barriers where none should exist.

Some defenders of the NUJ argue that its restrictive membership posture is a way of ensuring standards among practitioners. But this line of reasoning is weak and unacademic. How does limiting membership to those with newsroom training or formal certificates guarantee professional standards? Doctors and lawyers are licensed because their trades rest on highly technical knowledge with life-or-death consequences. Journalism is different. It is not about certificates or regulatory seals; it is about truth-telling, verification, accountability, and informing society.

Indeed, UNESCO has consistently defined journalism not by degrees but by practice: “the activity of gathering, assessing, creating, and presenting news and information.” The African Union’s Windhoek+30 Declaration on Information as a Public Good (2021) affirms the same spirit, urging states and institutions to recognize diverse media actors in advancing democracy. And as Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel remind us in their influential book The Elements of Journalism, the profession is ultimately defined by enduring principles: verification, independence, and a commitment to citizens; not by a union card or a newsroom pedigree.

Across the world, professional associations in journalism tend to be more inclusive. The U.S. Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) admits practitioners across the broad spectrum of news and current affairs, whether they are print reporters, online editors, talk-show hosts, or multimedia producers. The UK’s National Union of Journalists (NUJ) similarly accommodates a wide variety of roles, from broadcasters to photojournalists. Even within Africa, countries like South Africa and Kenya run relatively liberal systems where unions and associations recognize the diversity of the modern media space, instead of reducing journalism to one path. Nigeria cannot afford to lag behind.

What our own NUJ needs now is a rethink. It must broaden its tent, not narrow it. It must recognize that journalism is not a one-size-fits-all craft tied to old newsroom hierarchies. The media landscape has expanded: citizen journalists, digital storytellers, and broadcasters who shape public discourse all fall within journalism’s wider orbit. To continue excluding them is to deny reality.

The Union has played a vital role in defending press freedom in Nigeria’s history, and it can play an even greater role in shaping the future. But to do so, it must align itself with international best practices and with the lived realities of the profession. Journalism thrives not on exclusion but on relevance, adaptability, and fidelity to truth. For the NUJ, the choice is clear: evolve into a forward-looking institution that embraces diversity in practice, or risk irrelevance in a world that has already moved on.

Babs Daramola is a Lagos-based broadcast journalist with nearly four decades of experience in newsrooms, programme production, management of broadcast outlets, and training of upcoming media professionals.