By Lekan Otufodunrin
Are Nigerian newspapers and magazines dead? The obvious
answer should be NO.
With only The News Magazine and PM Evening newspaper ceasing
print publication and migrating fully online, the question should probably not
have generated much debate, but it did at the #MediaCareerClinc held on August
15 in Lagos.
A participant at the clinic declared emphatically that
though newspapers and magazines are still
circulated daily and new publications are hitting the newsstands,
newspapers and magzines in Nigeria, as we used to know them are dead.
Expectedly, his assertion did not go unchallenged by some
other participants who felt the declaration was rather hasty.
“No, our newspapers are not dead and will not die despite
the various doomsday prophesy based on the impact of the Internet and new
media on the industry.
“When the television was invented, it was said that
newspapers will die. That projection has not come to pass and newspapers have
been with us forever,” another participant countered.
The participant who stirred the controversy was not
persuaded by the counter arguments.
“I insist that our newspapers and magazines are dead for a
number of reasons. Can our newspapers be said to be alive when they no longer
break news and they don’t add enough
value to the reports they publish sometimes more than 16 hours when the reports
have been on social media.
“Can they be said to be alive when most of them don’t
provide enough perspectives on stories published and don’t sufficiently engage
readers?”
These assertions may not be completely true but some other
participants agreed that the performance of most newspapers in the country
leaves much to be desired in the face of the fierce competition from online
publications.
“Even if they are not dead, the signs are there
that they are hemorrhaging and it may be a matter of time before many
disappear from the newsstands. The combined daily circulation figures for all
the newspapers is shamefully low and does not justify the continous existence
of some of them,” the moderator of the discussion noted.
He also noted that journalists working in a number of
newspapers and magazines in the country are unable to put up their best
performance due to poor or irregular pay.
“What kind of content do you expect a journalist who has not
been paid for six months and more to produce? “
While another participant agreed that our newspapers may not
die soon, he said “someday, they will eventually die leaving many traditional
journalists who have refused to learn new skills jobless”
His advice is that it is better for journalists to prepare
for the eventual death by learning new skills required to compliment
traditional journalism experience to remain employable, not matter what
happens.
“If you are not ready and the unexpected happens, who will
employ you. It can take time to learn the new skills, but the earlier the
better,” he counseled.
Back to the recurring question, will the Internet kill
newspapers and magazines in Nigeria? The Managing Director of Daily Independent
Newspaper said it won’t in a recent lecture titled Tomorrow’s newspapers,
today’s newsroom.
He however warned that if his optimism proves false, the
coroner’s report on the death of Nigerian newspapers will not be murder but
suicide.
Murder not by the Internet, but suicide by newspapers and
journalists who refuse to adjust to new media demands.
“We don’t have to agree with the assertions that our
newspapers are dead, but the issues raised about their inadequacies should be
food for thought for media owners and journalists to take concrete actions on.
“It should serve as a wake-up call as we dangerously slip
into the valley of irrelevance by not coming to terms with the reality of the
new information age,” the moderator rounded up the controversial discussion of
the faith of our good old newspapers.
What do you think? Share your views with me here or send a mail to lekanagency@yahoo.com, Tweet at me @lotufodunrin Text 08023000621
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