By Eberechi Obinagwam
The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions, (NASU), has identified some vital changes that must be made in the media industry if it does not want to be left behind.
General Secretary, Prince Peter Adeyemi, said this in a two-day Seminar organised by NASU for Labour Writers Association of Nigeria, (LAWAN), on a topic: Empowering Media Practitioners for Future Challenges Reflection on Covid 19, at Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.
He said strategy is a major factor that must be changed in the media industry, especially the print.
According to him, print media must be able to define itself from the medium. “Print media cannot be just paper. The strength and value do not only come from content control and distribution. Another strategy carried out by print media is by integrating newspaper content into electronic tablets”, he said.
Adeyemi, who was represented by Comrade Ivor Takor, pointed that distrust in the media is one of the challenges that Journalists need to look into. “in the eyes of journalists, the public’s trust in the media is increasing. According to 2020 global data, journalists believe that eliminating themselves from the ‘fake news’ stigma means ensuring content is 100 per cent accurate. To the reading public, providing correct content is seen as more important than revenue, exclusivity, or being the first to publish the story,” he said.
Explaining that the pandemic and related economic and social changes are having immediate effects but they will also change our lives in the long term because the negative impact of the economic disaster it has caused will hit the news industry hard.
“We may not know exactly how, but news media will certainly have to understand and reflect those changes. Technology is only part of the story of the future of news, but it will continue to be a critical catalyst for structural change,”. He said.
He however charged conventional media to maintain credibility and trust in the information presented because the credibility and trust of the community can only be built by the spirit of professionalism of journalists who adhere to the ethics of journalism, which is to present factual information that is well verified.
Also, Director of International Press Centre (IPC), Mr. Lanre Arogundade who spoke on the topic, “The Journalist and the Individual you can be in the age of COVID-19 and beyond” urged Journalist to embrace with no time the digital technology that has suddenly entered the world for the risk of being replaced by robots.
” They should be a reshaping in the media. A journalist can become a cross over Journalist, write for fellowship, be a motivational speaker, and so on. Good journalism sells,” he said.
He also stressed the need for Journalist to cultivate the habit of saving for the rainy day.