Trusting at 20

In today’s world of journalism, there have been a radical change posed by the evolving new trend brought about by the social or new media as the name implies, which has been envisioned and born as information space driven beyond by innovations. It has redefined journalism, its practices and the journalist himself. It will sound clear that, the hitherto news consumers have become the news producers and that has changed the perceptions about journalism as a profession.

Today, the frequent questions asked by journalist and media organizations are; where are my audience and how can I reach them and make profits? And the simplest answer is, the audience are on the Web 2.0 and the smartest way to reach them is to be on the web. It implies that, for media organizations and journalist to continue flourishing, they must to inculcate the culture of convergence and multimedia journalism provided by the new media.

In fact, while many believe that, the traditional journalism is going into extinction, the dogged ones have already readjusted to leverage on the new platforms for survival amidst the global threat. In a vogue, the audiences are on the net and the news and story sellers has to be on the same net and Facebook has taken a lead with others like, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube has followed.

It took radio 38 years to reach 50 million listeners, terrestrial TV 13 years to reach 50 million viewers, in less than nine months, Facebook added 100 million users and as at the last quarter of 2017, Facebook attracted 2.2 billion monthly active users. While it took Twitter three years, two months and one day to reach first billion Tweets and as at first quarter of 2017, 328 million monthly active users on Twitter and has apparently shown the paradigm shift in the practices of journalism and operation of the media organizations.

In Nigeria, the history of the media is the history of the country herself. Newspaper business was started in the 1859 in Abeokuta with Iwe Irohin Fun Awon Ara Egba published by Rev. Henry Townsen. In effect, the newspaper has proved the transformational powers of journalism but was seen as an agenda to promote the Egba people, while those that followed like Weekly Record, Lagos News were seen as the models based on political dividend, instrument of political influence, entry model into the politics and mouthpiece to some politicians and because they lacked good business model, they majorly suffered premature deaths and till today running media organization is herculean.

Interestingly, in the same country, and with the accumulating challenges, today we are celebrating a newspaper that has survived for 20 years of robust journalism with viable business model and strictness to the professional canons of journalism. As the Media Trust publishers of the famous Daily Trust, Weekly Trust, Sunday Trust and Aminiya celebrate their 20 years of operation, it is fitting to give those behind this successful journey a rousing cheers and compliments, because it’s not easy to start a business where your contemporaries have drastically failed and growth to earned name, and people’s trust, no wonder the pioneers named the stable as Daily Trust.

Starting in a rented apartment in Kaduna and moving to have one of most beautiful and giant edifice in the heart of the capital territory Abuja with hundreds of staffs in their payroll, Daily Trust must be celebrated. For instance, on being fair to assessed that the Daily Trust stable has met the aims, aspirations and objectives of its founding fathers and can it also be said to have achieved tremendous relevance and influence among its competitors as well as the general public to the extent that its opinions and editorials are held in high regard among opinion molders, leaders of thought and the power brokers of the nation’s society.

I don’t miss the Monday’s Column of the newspaper by my mentor, Mahmud Jega, the Deputy Editor-In-Chief of the newspaper and I equally enjoyed the other columnist. As a matter of fact, we all know that, professionalism is what distinguished conventional media with the social media, when it comes to news, it’s always true and factual when you said, I read it in Daily Trust.

While some public policy analysts regard the Daily Trust stable as northern inclined newspaper out to reflect and uphold the viewpoint, interests and opinions of northern leaders, politicians, corporate titans and the population at large, nothing could be further from the truth that, the Daily Trust stable has never from inception declared its mission as one of defending the north or upholding the interests of the region as a corporate entity. But rather the Daily Trust has always emphasized the sacrosanct tenets of Amana, meaning ‘Trust’ in Hausa and so it seeks to enlist the trust and confidence of the people without regard to ethnic, religious, cultural, sectional, or partisan affiliations.

One interesting feature of the newspaper is that it has never been identified with any political party or personality in its two decades of existence preferring to work for the common man rather than any vested, primordial or oligarchic interest, no matter the section it emanates from. And this political nonalignment has formed a cornerstone of the Media Trust group’s operational raison d’être enabling it to report objectively and factually on nagging issues of the day without looking over its shoulder for direction or dictation.

Unlike some of its competitors in the press industry, the tone or direction of the newspaper cannot be taken for granted except that it is safe to guess that the Daily Trust stands strenuously in opposition to autocracy, tyranny, oppression, corruption, bad governance and maladministration not caring whose ox is gored in the process. What this translates to is the Daily Trust’s inherent belief in factual and objective journalism, the highest standards of professionalism and technical competence inline with global new trend of journalism.

One of the factors that has gained high marks and accolades for the Daily Trust is its proven reliability and adherence to factual, accurate and objective reporting no matter the sectional or sectarian interests concerned and its total disdain for sensational or screaming headlines used by other competitors to increase their daily circulation.

Another crucial factor that has also contributed to the steady rise in professionalism and objectivity of the Daily Trust is meeting up with its financially obligations by prompt and consistent payment of salaries, and allowances of its staff unlike other media houses that do not care a hoot about the welfare and wellbeing of their workers. The Daily Trusts salutary practice has raised staff morale and productivity while lessening the temptation to collect bribes or monetary inducements in order to influence the slant of stories or news features. Indeed at 20, the Daily Trust has a lot to celebrate and all well meaning Nigerians can raise 20 hearty cheers in felicitation with this credible, resilient and durable flagship of the nation’s news industry.

Kera, a Communication Strategist, wrote this piece from Abuja.