By Habeeb Ibrahim
Two Nigerian journalists, Damilola Oduolowu and Idris Mohammed, have been selected among six journalists for the 2026 Dori Maynard Diversity Leadership Program of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).
The selection places the two Nigerians alongside four other journalists from the United States in a programme designed to connect journalists from underrepresented backgrounds with newsroom leaders, professional networks and opportunities for leadership within the journalism profession.
The six fellows are Jolene Almendarez, Ebony JJ Curry, Idris Mohammed, Damilola Oduolowu, Morgan Shay and Tiffany Tan.
They are expected to attend the SPJ26 Journalism Convention in Columbus, Ohio, from October 1 to 4, 2026, where they will participate in educational sessions, leadership discussions and networking activities.
For Nigeria, however, the selection also highlights two very different journalism journeys that have developed from local reporting into international journalism, research and academia.
Oduolowu’s journey from BlackBox Nigeria to the BBC
Oduolowu’s journalism career began on a campus in Lagos.
He started as a campus journalist with BlackBox Campus News Magazine in 2010 while he was a 100-level student at Lagos State University (LASU).
BlackBox Nigeria reported in 2018 that Oduolowu had started his journalism journey with the organisation before moving through other stages of the Nigerian broadcast industry.
According to the report, Oduolowu was one of the early producers of Television Continental’s “Wake Up Nigeria” breakfast programme and had spent five years with TVC before leaving the organisation for the BBC.
He joined the BBC Africa division in Lagos as a broadcast journalist in 2018.
At TVC, he worked on programmes including “Inside Lagos,” “Nasarawa Focus” and “Kano Spotlight,” while also developing a reputation for documentary and human-interest storytelling.
His career subsequently expanded beyond Nigerian broadcast journalism.
As a BBC senior journalist, Oduolowu reported and produced stories from across West Africa for television, radio and digital platforms, including web, video and podcasts. SPJ says he has about a decade of experience working with leading African and international media organisations.
He later moved further into journalism research and education.
Oduolowu earned a master’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of Lagos before completing a PhD in Journalism at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
He is now an instructor at the University of South Carolina’s School of Journalism and Mass Communications, where he teaches journalism and works as a researcher.
His research interests include digital journalism, citizen journalism and environmental and climate change journalism.
His work has also taken him back to Nigeria.
As a 2024 Pulitzer Center Reporting Fellow, Oduolowu reported on the destruction of Lagos’ mangrove ecosystems, producing work examining the environmental consequences of mangrove loss in Lagos.
In May 2026, the Missouri School of Journalism announced that Oduolowu had received the O.O. McIntyre Fellowship, described by the school as its highest postgraduate award.
His fellowship project, “One in 100: Inside Nigeria’s Maternal Death Crisis,” focuses on maternal mortality in Nigeria, with his reporting concentrating on Lagos State.
The latest SPJ selection therefore represents another stage in a career that began with campus journalism in Lagos and has since included Nigerian television, the BBC, doctoral research and journalism education in the United States.
Mohammed’s path through conflict journalism
Mohammed has taken a different route into international journalism.
A journalist, researcher and academic from northwestern Nigeria, he has spent more than a decade reporting on conflict, humanitarian crises, governance, climate change and media issues in Nigeria and the Lake Chad Basin.
His journalism has taken him into communities affected by terrorism, banditry, displacement and other forms of insecurity.
He has worked with or contributed to outlets including HumAngle, WikkiTimes and The New Humanitarian, while his work has also appeared in The Guardian Nigeria and other regional and international platforms.
The New Humanitarian currently describes him as an independent researcher, journalist and academic from northwestern Nigeria.
His reporting has included Nigeria’s humanitarian and security crises.
In 2024, he reported for The New Humanitarian on Nigeria’s malnutrition crisis and the deterioration of healthcare services in the country’s north.
He has also reported and written extensively on banditry in northwestern Nigeria, including the impact of insecurity on rural communities and the limitations of government approaches to negotiating with armed groups.
His work has increasingly moved between journalism and academic research.
Mohammed previously lectured at Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, where a university annual report listed him as a lecturer in print journalism and digital communication.
He is currently pursuing a PhD in Journalism and Communication at the University of Alabama in the United States.
His research interests include conflict journalism, the mental health of journalists covering terrorism and conflict, and the ethical implications of artificial intelligence in journalism.
In 2025, he published a systematic review examining the mental health of journalists reporting on war, conflict and terrorism. The study reviewed 88 peer-reviewed studies published between 2000 and 2024 and examined issues including trauma, anxiety, depression and the psychological risks faced by journalists covering violent conflicts.
In June 2026, Mohammed and Naziru Mikail Abubakar also published research examining the ethical and operational challenges of generative artificial intelligence for local journalism in Nigeria.
The study, based on interviews with journalists working in local news organisations in northwestern Nigeria, examined journalists’ use of AI and concerns around misinformation, bias, cultural misrepresentation, audience trust and editorial accountability.
His work has consequently moved beyond reporting individual conflict events to examining the broader conditions under which journalism is practised in conflict-affected communities.
Why SPJ selected them
The Dori Maynard Diversity Leadership Program was established in honour of the late Dori Maynard, a pioneering journalist and former SPJ leader who advocated for greater diversity and more representative newsrooms.
SPJ says the programme is intended to help journalists from underrepresented backgrounds connect with industry leaders, expand their professional networks and become more involved in the organisation and the wider journalism profession.
The 2026 fellows will receive complimentary registration for SPJ26, three complimentary nights at the convention hotel and reimbursement of economy-class travel expenses up to $600, alongside access to leadership activities, educational programming and networking opportunities.
The programme is named after Maynard, who joined the SPJ Foundation Board in 1999 and was named an SPJ Fellow in 2001. She was also involved in efforts to challenge news organisations over the representation of communities of colour in journalism.
For Oduolowu and Mohammed, the fellowship comes at different points in two Nigerian journalism careers.
Oduolowu began as a campus journalist in Lagos, moved through Nigerian television and eventually joined the BBC before moving into journalism education and research in the United States.
Mohammed developed his career through reporting on some of Nigeria’s most difficult conflict and humanitarian stories before moving deeper into research on journalism, conflict, trauma and emerging technologies.
Both are now pursuing work that extends beyond conventional newsroom reporting.
Their selection makes them the two Nigerians among the six journalists chosen for the 2026 Dori Maynard Diversity Leadership Program, with their professional experiences spanning campus journalism, broadcast journalism, international reporting, conflict reporting, journalism research and academic training.
