Jakande Lecture: Publishers, Others Point Way To Media Survival
…Hail Jakande’s contribution to journalism, governance
Chairman and Publisher of Vanguard Media Limited, Mr Sam Amuka-Pemu; Chairman of THISDAY and ARISE Media Group, Mr Nduka Obaigbena; and President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, Mr Eze Anaba, Tuesday, marshalled innovative measures into which media practitioners can tap to enable print journalism survive in Nigeria.
According to them, artificial intelligence, AI, if properly used, could advance the profession.
They spoke at the Lateef Jakande Annual Memorial Lecture, 2024, with the theme: ‘Rapidly Changing Media Landscape: Media Survival Strategies,’ organised by the NGE in Lagos.
Those who graced the event included Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, represented by Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso; Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Malagi, represented by Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria, Mr Muhammed Ali; former Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ike Nwachukwu; Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of Punch newspapers, Adeyeye Joseph; wife of former Lagos State governor, Alhaja Sikirat Jakande; President of Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, Maureen Chigbo; Senior Special Assistant (media) to President Bola Tinubu, Tunde Rahman; Director at International Press Centre, Lanre Arogundade; Executive Director of the Centre for Free Speech organisation, Richard Akinola.
Why media practitioners need to put on their thinking cap – Sam Amuka
Speaking at the event, Sam Amuka said: “Producing a newspaper is a tug of war. Most people don’t buy newspapers on the street anymore because by the time the newspaper hits the street, it is already online. There’s one single reason why you don’t find newspapers on the street. It is because there are no vendors like there used to be.
“I was in Warri a few months ago for a funeral, and I didn’t see newspapers. Last week, I spent three days in Ife, Osun State. In those three days, I could not sleep because I was worried. I did not see newspapers on the street. The reason we don’t see newspapers on the street is that it is not profitable for the vendor. If he doesn’t sell enough to make some money for himself, he won’t do that job. And how do you sell enough when most people are not reading the paper? Here we are. They say time waits for no one
“We have to decide, think about what we can do if we want to get a pass. It takes a lot of work to publish a hardcopy paper. It is stressful. You see people in different sectors, including reporters, journalists and other sections all involved in its production. It takes a lot of work to produce this kind of content, yet we don’t sell it. What is the essence if it is not sold? We must do our serious thinking. How many titles are making money now? We need to engage our minds. We need to do more thinking.”
How to survive in the current situation – Obaigbena
In his remarks, the lead speaker, Obaigbena said: “Journalism in Nigeria started 165 years ago today. Iwe Irohin started in 1859. In those 165 years, a lot has changed. Today, we are all seated here. What is the average age of the editors who are here? Most of us here are over 40. Where are the young people who are 30, 40, 50 per cent of the population who are reading, who are engaging, who are on social media? Why are they not among you? How old was Uncle Sam when he was in Daily Times? How old was Peter Enahoro? How old was Ike Nwachukwu? They were all young people in their 20s and 30s.
“And today, we say we are in survival mode. That survivor must come from the audience. And your audience in Nigeria are young people. Are you engaged with them? Are you working with them? Are they part of your news today? We are in a new world. The United States of America has an election in about 100 days. Donald Trump was engaging with the crypto community and telling the world that he’s going to keep part of US reserves in crypto. Then you have a woman who may also make history with her own directions.
“So, that is the world that we are going into, led by one of those two people. How prepared are we if crypto is a new currency? For instance, how will we engage? How will our media present our country? The world is being driven by technology and technology is shaping the media. I heard the lamentation of Uncle Sam that he could not buy his paper again in Ife, Osun State. Yes, but the content he could not buy was already in Ife the night before. People had consumed it.
“People had read it. So, that information is still there. We are only a means of distribution of that information. As journalists, we write stories and engage with audiences. The newspaper is just a form of distribution of that news. Your phone is for distribution. Your computer is for distribution. So, let us not confuse the idea and the means of distribution. That means of distribution is changing, but good journalism will not change. However, what is good journalism?
“Old-fashioned truth, getting your facts right, telling the story as it is, engaging with your audiences and building a future. However, that does not mean that journalism is under crisis. We have what they call artificial intelligence.
Artificial intelligence
“So the world we are going to, we are confronted and challenged by artificial intelligence. What is AI? AI is a conference of software, hardware and proper algorithms which have an impact across the board. But more importantly, in the media. They can take your face. They can take your voice. They can take your identity. And create anything. So the threat we face is in AI, but AI is a machine. We have to train AI. We have to treat AI. We have to challenge AI. Then AI will respond. Are we ready for a world that is being changed by artificial intelligence? Where young people of seven and eight take the computer, take their phones and can do a lot with it. Therefore, my friends and colleagues, that is where we face challenges, but we can also use it for good.
Build brands
“We can use it for medicine. We can use it to cure diseases. We can use it to do many other things. So how do we confront the advantages of AI? And use it to promote good journalism? How do we challenge AI? Build our brands. Build our journalism. And ensure that we make our society a better place. We are in a country where the young are much more than the old. We need to get them employed and we need to banish poverty. We are here, faced with newspapers and magazines, in the battles of survival. How do we survive, is what I’ve been told to address today, as newspapers and magazines. First, is to have the laws changed. Where intellectual property, IP, is recognised as an asset.
Pay
“We have to enable the IP, the work of your brain, as an asset class. That asset class, you can, has to be bankable. So you can raise money against it, and you can create value. And the first thing that I challenge the Minister of Information and the past minister to do is to ensure that we pass a law that those who use our work online – Google, Facebook, Instagram – must pay for it.
“If we get payment for the work we do every day as journalists, we’ll be in a far better place. That’s the first survival instinct that we must build either as a group, led by the Guild of Editors, working with the government to ensure that our intellectual property, what we do, is shared every day on social media, once that order is paid for. That is the first step. The next step is to be prepared for AI. It’s to promote education and to ensure good governance.”
Jakande exemplified values of honesty, integrity – Anaba
On his part, Eze Anaba said: “At the inaugural lecture last year, we heard from his colleagues, associates, and students who stated how great he was. We were told how he worked assiduously to create a platform I and others sought to create.
“The current desk of the Guild thinks it’s important to institutionalise a culture of appreciation, which at the same time gives us the institutional memory to know how we got to where we are and how to build on the legacy and accomplishments of the past. The man in whose memory this lecture was instituted lived a principled and professionally impactful life. At large, he devoted his entire professional and political career to advancing the values of liberty and social justice.
“He also exemplified the values of honesty, integrity, courage and fairness. He told the stories of the fathers and held the powerful to account. He demonstrated commitment to our journalistic freedom and long-term survival. When he and his colleagues founded the Guild in 1961, the purpose was to address the issue and to preserve the media data.
“He and his colleagues lit the torch for us to chart a way forward in addressing our issues today. This quest has led to a determined effort by many to search for contemporary and effective solutions. Besides, the circumstances in which we report, produce, distribute and obtain the news have changed so dramatically. The cost of production has hit the roof. Sales have fallen heavily because of a depressed economy.
Innovative solutions
“As media managers, we have to think of innovative and sustainable solutions. We should also find ways of addressing the impact of new technologies in every part of our work as journalists and media practitioners. We have to work harder and do more to adjust and adapt to survive and bring our work to new audiences.
“The search for solutions or ideas on the way forward formed the basis for the theme of today’s lecture. And there is no better person to deal with this topic of survival of the media than the man who has survived and has continued to break new ground in the person of the chairman of this day-on-the-rise television. Ladies and gentlemen, we require solutions on the way forward today.”
