Despite recession, our readers are still king - Media Trust chair
The Chairman, Media Trust Ltd, publisher of Daily Trust, Aminiya, Teen Trust and Kilimanjaro titles, Malam Kabiru Yusuf, has appealed to stakeholders in the media industry never to forget that the readers remain king despite the economic challenges.
Malam Yusuf, who was the Chairman of the 2017 Convention of the Nigerian Guild of Editor (NGE) hosted in Lagos, in his address, said industry players, especially journalists, editors and owners of media organizations must look beyond the current economic challenges and ensure that priority is given to readers and what appeals to them.
“They are the ones who constitute the larger part of the populace and may easily switch loyalty if they discover that their issues are no longer being prioritized.
The most important of it all is that we should never forget that the readers are king. Most times, we do stories that appeal to the powerful perhaps because of the economic challenges. But we must do stories that are relevant to our readers because if not, when the recession is over, we would just discover that the readers are no longer where we left them. They have moved,” he said.
Yusuf also advised media stakeholders to form partnership and work together. He said it is expedient that journalists under the aegis of Nigerian Union of Journalism (NUJ), editors under the aegis of NGE and publishers under the banner of Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) come together to function under the Nigerian Press Council (NPC).
The Media Trust Chairman also advised media practitioners to start paying attention to smaller adverts being placed in the newspapers, saying it is another way of confronting the economic challenges.
The Lagos State governor, Akinwunmi Ambode who was the Guest of Honour urged media practitioners to embrace partnership to push for good governance.
“The convergence of journalists, editors and publishers is quite important. You are the real drivers of good governance. But there is a need to embrace partnership because we are all serving the people from different platforms. The media should be able to strike a balance between nation building, selfishness and making profit,” Ambode said.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Muhammed, who was represented by the Director General of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Bayo Onanuga, advised media practitioners to keep informing the populace and eschew blame-game, especially as it relates to the cause of the current economic recession and how the government is tackling it.
The Guest Speaker and former Managing Director, Champion Newspaper, Emma Agu, who spoke on the theme, “A nation in recession: whither the Nigerian Media?” harped on the need for media organizations to operate within their means.