By Yetunde Beecrooft (Lagos State Correspondent)
Worried by the present changing landscape in the media industry, media owners and practitioners in Nigeria converged on Tuesday in Lagos at the second edition of the Lateef Jakande Annual Lecture to profer solutions on survival options.
The annual lecture series designed in honour of the pioneer President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and former second republic governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, was introduced by the incumbent president of the Editor's Guild, Mr Eze Anaba, in fulfillment of his campaign promises in June last year when he vied for the office and was subsequently elected.
The event organised by the Nigerian Guild of Editors, was held at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Ikeja,.Lagos on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, with the theme: “Rapidly Changing Media Landscape: Media Survival Strategies”.
Speaking at the lecture, Chairman of ThisDay/Arise Media Media Group, Prince Nduka Obaigbena who spoke at lecture, canvassed for a legal amendment to enhance the survival of the media in the present changing landscape. He posits that the amendment must be such that Intellectual Property (IP) would be regarded as an asset which must be paid for. “what we do must be paid for”, Obaigbena simply offered.
He continued: “Let us pass a law that those who use our works online must pay for it. If we get payment for all our works used by online users, journalism will be better for it".
Obaigbena however urged enterpreneurs across the media genre not to ignore the power and influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI), saying AI has become a reality that the industry must accept.
The media mogul stated that today's world was being driven by technologies and AI, and that computers and phone technologies have changed things, making it essential for news to be easily ddistributed.
“The information in the print media has also been consumed by the people at night before the hard copies will surface, hence the need for the media to engage the future.
"Means of distribution is changing but good journalism is not changing. What is not changing is old fashioned truth, telling the story as it is and engaging the audience.
“Newspapers and Magazines are in the battle of survival. We are confronted and challenged by the Artificial Intelligence now.The threat we face is AI. Are we ready for a world that is being changed by AI?”
The impact of Artificial Intelligence on Journalism promotion, Obaigbena said, has made the society a better place, advising that owners of the media in the country should benefit from it's merits.
Eminent media veteran and publisher of the Vanguard Newspapers, Sam Amuka who incidentally is the Father of the Day, said; “Things have changed but the time and practitioners cannot stop time. This mobile phone has changed the way and for most of the media, it is a lot of work to produce a newspaper.
“Most people don’t buy newspapers on the streets anymore because by the time newspapers come out, people have read the story online.It is our responsibility as media people to do more things because time waits for no man. If we want to survive, we must engage our minds and brain.”
Amuka Pemu while lamenting the inflationary rate in the country and cost of publishing today, advised on the need for newspapers to continue to publish hard copies.
Managing Director of the PUNCH Newspapers,.Mr Joseph Adeyeye, called on practitioners in the media not be victims of the past, stating that Artificial Intelligence should not be viewed as a threat to journalism but a tool that can be deployed positively for the benefit of the media profession.
Adeyeye however canvassed for a re-education, rediscovery and realisation of the current media landscape to survive. “We need to re-educate ourselves about the nature of the business. We all agreed that things have changed.
"We need to understand that change, we need to address it in a very robust manner. We need also to rediscover our craft. We need to deepen our offerings, we need to be more creative in our approach.”
Adeyeye enjoined professionals in the media to also endeavour to comply with the ethics of the journalism profession.
In their own remarks, family of the late Lateef Jakande represented by his widow and eldest son, Deji, expressed great appreciation to the NGE, saying that their father’s name had always become a challenge to them. Deji assured his audience that the late Jakande's children would not disappoint the Nigerian people. NNL.
The lecture event attracted many journalists, media owners and professionals most of who also suggested survival Strategies to be adopted by the media in Nigeria in the ever-changing landscape. NNL.
