By Pascal Oparada
“I am sorry to inform you (referring to Kingsley Moghalu, the guest lecturer at TheNiche lecture) that the situation of the media industry is not getting any better anytime soon.”
Funke Egbemode, President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors and Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of New Telegraph newspaper declared.
Egbemode was a discussant at the lecture where Professor Kingsley Moghalu, a presidential hopeful spoke on “Development Reporting and Hysteria Journalism in Nigeria.”
She said the media industry in Nigeria is under assault because of declining copy sales and advertising revenue
“They say the future of journalism is online. I have no problem with that. I have over 200 staff who work with me and if I am to go online, it means I have to fire about 150 of them,” she said.
Egbemode said she does not see any future for upstarts who are studying Mass Communication in various Nigerian universities.
She encouraged universities in Nigeria to take another look at admitting Mass Communication students because, according to her, there is no future in the industry for them.
“You can’t even take any intern because, apart from the fact that there is hardly any space for them, they can hardly give you any good story,” she said.
Egbemode lamented the high cost of doing newspaper business in Nigeria.
“Everything we use in producing newspapers is virtually imported and the high cost of importation makes it difficult to sustain the business,” she said.
The lecture was organised by TheNiche newspaper to mark its 4th anniversary. It was attended by Professor Remi Sonaiya, Professor of French Language and Linguistics, Obafemi University, Ife, who was the chairperson. Professor Kingsley Moghalu, former Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria was the guest lecturer. Senate President Bukola Saraki, was the guest of honour. He was represented by Ben Bruce, the senator representing Bayelsa East at the senate.
Traditional ruler of Abriba, His Royal Majesty Eze Kalu Kalu Ogbu, Enachioken of Abiriba, National Conscience Party (NCP) presidential candidate in the 2015 election, Martins Onovo, former director general of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Professor Anya O. Anya, Prof. Ben Nwabueze, minister of information, Lai Mohammed, represented by Bridget Yerima, a director at the ministry, an elder statesman, Dr. Umah Eleazu, were some of the dignitaries that graced the occasion.