Nigeria: PANEL FINDS ALLEGED $400 BRIBE TO JOURNALISTS UNTRUE

ANEL FINDS ALLEGED $400 BRIBE TO JOURNALISTS UNTRUE.
IN WARRI, BROADCASTERS STRATEGISE FOR ENDURING DEMOCRACY
MEDIA GROUPS FORGE ALLIANCE ON DEBT MANAGEMENT.
SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS LAUD NPAN
BON WANTS BROADCAST LAWS REVIEWED
MEDIA URGED TO TEACH GENUINE DEMOCRATIC VALUES
TALENTED PROSTITUTE
THE PRESS AND THE ELECTION YEAR
FREEDOM NURTURED BY RESPONSIBILITY
AGAIN, PRESS FREEDOM DAY WITHOUT FANFARE
HOW TO DEVELOP THE MEDIA INDUSTRY
PERSPECTIVES OF PRESS FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITIES

NIGERIA MEDIA MONITOR
MAY 6, 2002

PANEL FINDS ALLEGED $400 BRIBE TO JOURNALISTS UNTRUE.
IN WARRI, BROADCASTERS STRATEGISE FOR ENDURING DEMOCRACY
MEDIA GROUPS FORGE ALLIANCE ON DEBT MANAGEMENT.
SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS LAUD NPAN
BON WANTS BROADCAST LAWS REVIEWED
MEDIA URGED TO TEACH GENUINE DEMOCRATIC VALUES
TALENTED PROSTITUTE
THE PRESS AND THE ELECTION YEAR
FREEDOM NURTURED BY RESPONSIBILITY
AGAIN, PRESS FREEDOM DAY WITHOUT FANFARE
HOW TO DEVELOP THE MEDIA INDUSTRY
PERSPECTIVES OF PRESS FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITIES

PANEL FINDS ALLEGED $400 BRIBE TO JOURNALISTS UNTRUE.
THE GUARDIAN, Thursday, April 25, 2002
"Bribery is just one of the challenges the Nigerian
press faces as the country makes the difficult
transition from dictatorship to democracy."

That was the kernel of the report by a panel set up
last week by the Federal Government to investigate an
allegation in the Time magazine that foreign
correspondents resident in the country were bribed
with $400 each to give the nation a less negative
image.

The report, which was released yesterday in Abuja,
turned the tables on the Time magazine's writer as
Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Kanu Agabi
who chaired the panel, described the allegation as
unfounded, adding that officials of the Ministry of
Information and National Orientation "acted above
board in the circumstance."

Releasing copies of the report with four annexure to
journalists, the nation's chief law officer maintained
that what the writer described as "the whole truth
should more appropriately have been described as the
"the whole lie".

IN WARRI, BROADCASTERS STRATEGISE FOR ENDURING
DEMOCRACY
THE GUARDIAN, April 29, 2002
A summit for a better understanding of the National
Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and the Independent
National Electoral Commission (INEC) may hold next
month. The idea of an enlightenment meeting for
appreciation of the expected role of the electronic
media in the coverage of the on-coming local
government election and other electoral activities is
one major resolution reached by chief executives of
radio and television stations under the aegies of the
Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) in Warri,
Delta State last week.

At the end of its 31st General Assembly, the
broadcasters in a communique agreed that based on
recent development it has become imperative that a
"stakeholder summit of INEC, NBC and BON should hold
not later than the third week of May 2002 to ensure
better understanding of existing guidelines for
election coverage." This decision came on the heels
of admonition by Ambassador Segun Olusola, founder,
African Refugee Foundation (AREF), that broadcasting
stations must handle the coming electoral processes
professionally to ensure Nigeria does not join the
list of refugee nations.

Mr. Taiwo Alimi, Director-General Voice of Nigeria
(VON) who is also BON's chairman spoke in the same
vein when he underline the vital role of broadcasting
in sustaining an enduring democracy and national
survival.

On the responsibility of broadcasting stations in the
coming election, the BON's chairman called on all
radio and television stations in the country to
"ensure equal access to all political parties. We
must ensure freedom of expression. We must be
professional and the concept of fairness doctrine must
be guaranteed," adding that stations "should resist
attempts by politicians to regard broadcasting
stations and privately-owned electronic media as
instruments for electoral and electioneering
manipulation.

MEDIA GROUPS FORGE ALLIANCE ON DEBT MANAGEMENT.
VANGUARD, Monday, April 29, 2002.
Three media industry groups are currently poised
towards forming a joint alliance with a view to
checking the rising debt problems plaguing the
industry.
The groups, coming under the umbrella of Joint Media
Debt Management Committee include the Broadcasting
Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Outdoor Advertisement
Association of Nigeria (OAAN) and the Newspaper
Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN).

Disclosing this to newsmen at a press meeting last
week in Lagos, the Vice President of the Outdoor
Advertising Association of Nigeria (OAAN), Chief Ahmed
Ipoola Omisore, said this was a fallout of the just
held Media Advertising Summit in Abuja, stressing that
the objective of the alliance is to reduce to barest
minimum the high debt profile.

SEMINAR PARTICIPANTS LAUD NPAN
Vanguard, Monday, April 29, 2002
Participants at a seminar on "The Media and Challenges
of Reporting Elections" have expressed support for the
proscription of beat association by the Newspapers
Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN).
In a communiqué at the end of the seminar held in
Abuja, the journalists who were drawn from Nigeria's
electronic and print media said the proscription check
abuse in journalism.

BON WANTS BROADCAST LAWS REVIEWED
Vanguard, Monday, April 29, 2002
The Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) weekend
called for an urgent review of Nigeria's broadcast
laws as part of the measures to safeguard the interest
of media practitioners against political
victimisation.
BON in a communiqué issued at the end of its two-day
31st General Assembly in Effurun, Delta state,
demanded that the nation's broadcast laws be
comprehensively reviewed so as to protect the rights
of broadcasters in the course of performing their
legitimate duties.

They were of the opinion that such measure would
enable broadcasters discharge their abiding
responsibility of ensuring equitable access to all
political parties and ensure freedom of expression as
cornerstones of democracy.

BON also announced that an 8-man committee had been
set up to review the constitution of the organisation.

Other positions of BON as spelt out in the communiqué
include:
That rights acquired for the coverage of all
international and local events be extended to all
interested radio and television stations in Nigeria
and commended BON, NBC and TV Africa reconciliation
meeting.
That BON should strengthen and expand its
collaboration and co-operation with representatives of
US, French and German embassies, European Union and UN
agencies in Nigeria.
BON commended governments at both the federal
and state levels for upgrading broadcasting facilities
and enjoins those states that have not done so to
follow suit."

MEDIA URGED TO TEACH GENUINE DEMOCRATIC VALUES
The Comet, April 26, 2002
The Minister of Information and National Orientation,
Professor Jerry Gana, has urge the mass media to
inculcate the norms and values of democratic
principles in every Nigerian, as a way of ensuring
peaceful elections next year.

Gana, who made the appeal in an address delivered on
his behalf by Mallam Wada Maida, the Managing
Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the opening
ceremony of the 31st General Assembly of the
Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) in Warri
yesterday, noted that the media had a crucial role to
play in the elections.

He said that the theme of the ceremony, "Broadcasting
voters education; Values of Democracy and Coverage of
Elections," would not have come at a better time than
this when "the nation prepares for a crucial election
in the history of democracy".

Gana said democracy could only be sustained when the
individual was given a choice, adding that radio,
television stations and newspapers were expected to
provide Nigerians the necessary information to make an
informed choice on parties and politicians who would
govern them as preparations were on for council
elections in August and other polls.

TALENTED PROSTITUTE
TheNews Magazine, May 6, 2002.
He came out of the Agip Recital Hall of the
Onikan-based Muson centre in Lagos, shouting, "Press!
Press! Press!" The contempt in his tone was loud. The
man paused for effect. Then another shout, "Where are
these press boys now?" And from different angles of
the imposing hall, pressmen scampered to the foyer.
The man in his crisp white flowing agbada said,
"Choose a leader." I perched in a corner watching this
unfolding drama. If I wasn't a journalist, I would
have been captivated. "I say choose your leader," he
repeated. And the pressmen, waiting for what would
amount to a naira feast, did his bidding. "Now, see
Juliet my assistant for your welfare." As he stepped
aside, the journalists descended on the lady who said,
"wait" with absolute scorn. She promptly opened her
bag and, one by one, she doled out to our pressmen
keske, a package of money. I agree that some of them
merely passed off as reporters.

If you think that is unbecoming wait for this: A
newspaper organisation in Lagos called a press
conference as part of its preparation to mark the
anniversary of its evening paper. At the end of the
conference the journalists who came to report the
event refused to leave. They later sent one of them to
the Managing Editor who had addressed them earlier on.
"There was no way they could get back to their
newsrooms with only the snacks and soft drinks," the
spokesman explained. Surprised, the assaulted Managing
Editor asked one of his Security Officers to show the
journalists the way to the door. Expectedly, his
event, unlike that of the man in flowing agbada, never
got even a mention the following day.

I swear to God that these anecdotes are not
apocryphal. They are a true representation of some of
the abuses of journalism in Nigeria. Against better
judgement, this is one dehumanising way in which the
press is defeating its own essence. A new siege on the
sentinel muffling what ought to be a strident
eloquence. If the journalists who demand and take
bribe openly claim that privation makes them curiously
vulnerable, would their top editors and publishers,
whose conscience are bought constantly and cheaply by
governors, high-ranking officials, businessmen and
other public figures also give poverty as their
reason? The truth of the matter is that because of
greed of the worst kind the press is now its own
merciless antagonist.

Let those extortionists and blackmailers who parade
themselves as editors and publishers remind themselves
of this quote: "A journalists should neither solicit
nor accept bribe, gratification or patronage to
suppress or publish information. To demand payment for
publication of news is inimical to the notion of news
as a fair, accurate, unbiased and factual report of an
event," that's taken from the Code of Ethics for
Nigerian journalists.

When you genuflect and pick the crumbs of those who
want to enhance their own positions by undermining
your own, you automatically fragment the delivery of
genuine and truthful information and then erode public
trust in your profession. The outstanding outcome: you
will eventually be the loser because you will have to
look for another means of livelihood when the public
confidence that nurtures journalism dries up. Get what
I mean? When your papers or magazines stop selling you
will live on keske! More crucially, in the long run,
the country, which is now freestanding, by and large,
will be brought to its knees, begging for a lifesaver,
and you won't be there to offer it.

Yet section 38 sub-section one of our constitution
honours journalism with a liberal protection. In doing
that, the constitution assumes that the press will
rise to the challenge of knowing that it must provide
a responsible information service in the public
interest. This obligation is now being compromised.
Who will cleanse our papers of the smudge of
corruption?

The constitutional provision that I speak about also
assumes that the press is capable of being a sentinel
at the gate of public rights. This is an extraordinary
legislation, which only a scoundrel will not hold
aloft as a flag of honour for our journalism. It takes
for granted that journalists will be committed to
accuracy, that they will constantly demand
accountability, that pressmen won't be partisan (And
if they must be, they will do so on the side of truth)
and that they will not allow abuse of power by
government and businessmen.

But how do you hold a mirror before the larger
society, when the mirror itself is tainted? A
cash-and-carry-coverage is as obnoxious as the legal
constraints against good journalism, which we always
talk about. I'm convinced that this is the time the
press should be policed. A respectable press council
should step in and rein in every erring journalist on
the loose.

All of which brings us neatly to keske tycoons. Let
all those who are gagging the mouths of our watchdogs
know they can't bribe all the Nigerian journalists no
matter how fabulous their wealth. So, your keske is
not a guarantee that your misdeeds will never be
exposed. This is what some Nigerian journalists have
demonstrated many times.
The only antidote against bad press is good governance
and proper accounting.

This piece is my own modest way of expressing
solidarity with Stephen Faris of Time magazine who
wrote on corruption in Nigerian media two weeks ago.
The bullshit of a change of American imperialism being
levelled against the writer won't wash, for the guy
has not said that American journalism is free of
corruption too. Faris hit the bull'seye and he should
be celebrated for his painful truth.
Kunle Ajibade is the Executive Editor of TheNews
magazine.

THE PRESS AND THE ELECTION YEAR
DAILY TIMES, Monday, April 29, 2002.
It is a general belief that the right of the people to
speak out through a free press is a hallmark of a
democratic society.

This right to me is perhaps the most basic ethical
tenet of journalism the world over.

The press in modern democracy is expected to be
independent of government. But, can this be said of
the Nigerian press? My position is no.

Independence is at the very heart of any statement of
ethical principles respecting the conduct of the
press. The proprietors of a newspaper may choose to
ally itself with a particular political party or
interest, but an increasing number of newspapers and
journals in most civilized societies are politically
independent as well as independent of government.
This does not mean that they refrain from endorsing a
certain political party or a candidate for public
office, but rather that they owe no prior allegiance
and that they make the endorsement voluntarily, as an
exercise of their independence. That is certainly not
the case in Nigeria.

>From this it follows that an independent press must
cherish that role by resisting pressures of all kinds
from within and outside, from special interest groups
in the community in which they operate, from powerful
individuals, and from advertisers.

>From the foregoing, the question that readily comes to
mind is, are there truly independent newspapers in
Nigeria? I will leave readers to draw their own
conclusions.

>From this flows the point that the newspaper and its
staff should exemplify independence in their actions.
Not only should they be independent in fact, but also
they must be seen to be independent.
Mr. Omonhinmin, a senior journalist with Voice of
Nigeria, writes from Abuja.

FREEDOM NURTURED BY RESPONSIBILITY
VANGUARD, Monday, April 29, 2002.
We begin by saying that the news media as interpreters
of social reality are crucial to good governance in
any society. Because the mass media mediate between
the government and the governed, they offer choices
for informed decision. They help government in
publicizing its activities; they also give a feedback
on public reaction to these policies. For the media to
play their role of informing and educating the public
well, they must operate in an environment that allows
for a free exchange of ideas. An environment that
allows for a free access to information, for free
processing and free dissemination of information.

The media can hardly promote good governance without
knowledge of what it means.

When we talk of press freedom we usually refer to the
right to communicate ideas, opinions and information
without prior restraint. At the heart of freedom of
the press is the need, according to Dennis and
Merril," to encourage the existence of an educated and
informed electorate that can make decisions about
public affairs.

Press freedom encourage a free flow of ideas in the
conviction that everyone has the right to express an
idea but no one should be compelled to accept it. This
right is now regarded as a fundamental human right
"essential to the individual's self realization and
development." Because democracy is about choice, press
freedom is the vehicle to allow contending ideas to
intermingle. The belief is that in this process, the
forces of dialectics will throw up the superior idea,
which is expected to carry the day. Human beings being
rational, the principle of press freedom holds that
they will be persuaded by superior ideas freely
expressed.

The issue of absence of prior restraint simply refers
to a situation in which what the press publishes is
not subjected to some form of vetting before
publication. In other words, freedom of the press
refers to a situation where the press is free to
publish what it regards as news without any state
agency, masquerading as a big brother, breathing down
its neck or constituting itself into a big bother.
Whatever bone anyone wishes to pick with the media
should be after publication.

The concept of press freedom places a high premium on
the presumed innate goodness of human beings and the
power of the intellect. But we all know that even
though man is a rational being, he also has an
emotional side. Indeed, behavioural scientists say
that man is ruled more by his emotional side than his
rational self. It, therefore, follows that to enjoy a
right that right should not infringe on the rights of
others. Which explains why in exceptional cases, press
freedom is curtailed. Some of these situations touch
on state security, prevention of a crime from being
punished or when the country is at war. Let me also
add that there will always be constraints on human
conduct whether they are personal, social, commercial
and institutional.

But aside from the law restricting press freedom in
exceptional cases, the greatest tribute any journalist
can pay to the principle of press freedom is to
demonstrate a keen sense of professionalism through
ethical conduct. Ethics, as we all know, refers to "a
moral philosophy, which is concerned with the
standards of good or bad conduct in society."

We can go further to describe journalistic ethics as a
normative science of conduct that enables journalists
to deal with the challenges of their craft. It
acknowledges the basic understanding of the
requirements of the profession, its functions and
purposes; and the barriers that must be overcome for
the service being delivered to be meaningful and
useful.

Since the media do not operate in a vacuum but indeed,
exist to serve an audience, they have to ensure that
the service they render has value. One way to
guarantee that value is to ensure that what they
publish is credible. The surest way to maintain
credibility is by ensuring that what is published is
relevant, true, balanced, reflects appropriate
context; had depth and is sufficiently engaging to
hold the public's attention.

Media responsibility is as much an organizational
responsibility as it is individual and constitutional.
It is organizational in the sense that every medium
has a responsibility to its audience. A medium that
loses its credibility has lost everything. It is
individual in that every journalist has a notion of
what is good and bad, what is decent and tasteless and
at the end of the day, the author of a work is held
responsible for his product either for reward or
opprobrium. Media responsibility is also
constitutional because the constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria assigns to the media the duty of
monitoring governance. Section 22 of the 1999
Constitution directs the media to "uphold the
responsibility and accountability of the government to
the people".

Chapter 11 of the Constitution where Section 22 can be
found enunciates the fundamental objectives and
directive principles of state policy and directs the
media to uphold them. This covers concerns such as
war against illiteracy, diseases, corruption,
homelessness, the pursuit of inter-ethnic integration,
and fair access to economic opportunities. These are
the urgent concerns of our time that the media are
enjoined to help government in promoting. In other
words the Constitution envisages media-government
partnership for sustainable good governance. Whereas
the government is to formulate policy and govern, the
media are to monitor governance in the interest of the
people. A government is said to be good when it
fulfils the aspirations of the people, when it brings
improvement into the quality of their lives. A good
government will be alive to its constitutional
obligations. It will listen to public opinion;
consult the people or their representatives to
determine their needs. A good government is
action-oriented. It fulfills its electoral promises
and candidly explains its limitations. A good press
on the other hand is one that is responsible and
evenhanded in its coverage. It is one that not only
condemns, but commends and recommends.

Our constitution clearly subscribes to the social
responsibility theory of the press, which gained
currency in the early 20th century. The theory sees
press freedom as going hand-in-hand with
responsibility to the society. It emphasizes the
general will as opposed to the individual will of the
libertarian theory.

The Social Responsibility theory sees the media as
agents of society who are obliged to represent public
good in carrying out "essential functions of mass
communication in contemporary society". The theory
expands the traditional understanding of the role of
the media to include the following:
The media must serve the political system by
providing a platform to spread information and comment
on public affairs;
The media are expected to educate the public
on issues of the day;
The media must not only entertain the
society, the quality of entertainment must be one that
nourishes the mind;
The media should service the economic system
by linking buyers and sellers of service and goods.
The media should champion the interests of
the individual citizen and protect his rights by
serving as a watchdog against government;
The media should not only strive to be
financially independent of government and special
interest groups, some special media deserve to be
insulated from the pressures of commercial publishing.
The social responsibility theory urges the media as
an institution to monitor itself and where it fails to
do so, it expects the government or some other
pressure group to place checks on the excesses of the
industry since it appreciates that the media has as
much capacity for good as it has for abuse. We can
trace the origin of ethical codes and Press council to
these concerns.

In our own case, we know the efforts that went into
the establishment of our Press Council. After the
failures of 1978 and 1988, the Nigeria Press Council
was finally inaugurated in 1992. After operating for
about six years, the council now lies prostrate
following some objectionable claims that were smuggled
into the 1999 amendments to the decree establishing
it. That development has compelled a fresh look at
the desirability or otherwise of a Press Council.
While a school of thought argues for a council that
has nothing to do with the government, another calls
for a fresh tinkering with the existing statutory
body. The reality appears to favour the latter
position. The Nigerian media have not shown the
capacity to fund and operate independent Press
Council. So we remain saddled with a statutory one.
Whenever the current impasse is resolved a functional
press council can only enhance the capacity of the
media to render quality service to the public. Media
stakeholders have indeed reviewed all press laws and
codified their findings. These findings are lying
somewhere in the National Assembly. It is hoped that
the NPO will put in place a strong lobby to ensure
that the appropriate enactment is passed.

Another issue demanding urgent action is the Access to
Information Bill sponsored by some NGOs. That bill
seeks for the media untrammeled access to public
records. It has gone through the necessary readings
and indeed a public hearing has been held on it. If
it is finally enacted it can only speed up the
investigative power of the media and encourage better
public service. For example it would have helped in
ending the controversy surrounding the purchase of
houses in the USA and the UK by the Kogi State
governor. The media would have been able to establish
definitively whether he bought the houses this year or
earlier as he claims to have declared them on assuming
office in 1999.

Access to the media is still expensive. Cost of
production is high. For the print media, newsprint,
printing plates, films are all imported. The
situation is even more precarious for the electronic
media. Everything there from tapes to cameras is
imported. The outcome is that cost remains an
impediment to effective communication. There is,
however, something to cheer. Quite apart from what
obtained under military regimes, there is ample space
for the media to practice responsible journalism.
Proscription, seizures of publications and arbitrary
arrest, which were weapons of control, has given way
to due process. The Nigeria media operate in a free
environment where the journalist goes about without
the much-dreaded lurking presence of state officials.
Being paper presented by Lanre Idowu at the Nigerian
Guild of Editor's Forum on media and good governance
in Lagos.

HOW TO DEVELOP THE MEDIA INDUSTRY.
The Comet, April 26, 2002
Most originators or promoters of media enterprises in
Nigeria are motivated by some pull (and sometimes,
passion) that goes beyond just monetary expectations.
Some time before an investment deal is sealed,
however, the team of promoters will inevitably include
people whose interest is almost entirely the prospect
of financial dividends. In many cases, it is these
other promoters (distinct from originators) who
subscribe to the core investment that enables the
project to take off, and the media dreamer or visioner
is naturally grateful. This writer cannot, on the
other hand, claim ignorance of the few moguls on the
Nigerian media scene who single-handedly dreamt of
media empires and then proceeded to fund and launch
the enterprises innovatively. Three well-known
examples here are the founder of one newspaper
conglomerate and two private broadcasting giants.

The magnate class in media investment certainly did
not veer out into publishing or broadcasting because
they considered media business more lucrative than
whatever brought them the original fortunes. They are
all too smart to reason that way. So why do
entrepreneurs go into this business?

In some quarters, it has been argued that a media
business has a higher statistical chance of surviving,
of sustainable development, if the originator of the
enterprises is himself (or herself) a media
practitioner. For him, the motivation stems from a
sense of vocation, an occupational or professional
drive. Vocation is also a veritable motivation for
"captains of industry" who establish media organs.
What they experience is vocational in the more
classical sense of a calling of the deity, a feeling,
a longing, to put some of their wealth back in the
world, into a public-spirited enterprise, which
little, if any, consideration for such otherwise
sensible business indices as return on investment
(ROI) and so on.

More often than not, investors in the media, other
than journalists and other media professionals, are
known to also have a personal or narrow cause which
they which to pursue through their media organ:
partisan politics and religion are common, even if
they are hardly admitted openly by the persons
concerned.

Three more possible objectives or motivations: one is
the sheer drive to express oneself, someone who
believes that he has something to say, he has the
desire to pass on information, or has some new way of
doing it, someone who wishes to share his feelings or
conviction with others, rather like an author, or a
poet. Another in this list is development motivation,
clearly a cause also, but generally more altruistic in
the sense that this cause is not primarily meant to
satisfy a personal desire to win power or souls.
People who set up community newspaper or broadcast
systems fall under this category and officially of
course, all public service (in our case, state) media
organs are supposed to be development support agents.
It is a moot point whether entertainment as a genre is
admissible in the listing carried out here, but it is
quite possible that a proprietor may wish to provide
entertainment or a cultural expression, beyond
financial gains.

Funding the business
The professional in business is often driven by the
quest for excellence and sometimes, recognition. He
invariably starts out very optimistic, largely on
account of his confidence in his own capability. Most
such professionals recognize the competition in the
market place but believe that the main obstacle to
their success is raising sufficient money for taking
off. There are two options left to them; make do with
a little money from friends or convince a rich
investor to come aboard. The latter case is fraught
with the risk that the rich man may start calling the
business shots later on.

The investor expects and demands returns, which is
what a business is about. Professionals, on the other
hand, are invariably two pre-occupied with their
specialized technical or other skills to bother with
the business of profit management. Of course, they
like to make money, like everybody else, but keeping
the book, costing work, these are chores many media
professionals don't give enough attention to, or do
not understand, or simply cannot be bothered with. A
good media entrepreneur is not always a good
accountant and will, therefore, do well to hire a
proficient accountant. If he does not have one, his
business partners should insist.

There is a general feeling among Nigerians promoting
one business or another, and that is that there is
nothing that will not sell. This is probably true,
but products that have come before their time have
failed. Feasibility studies, as pointed out earlier,
tend to be unduly optimistic when they are written
with the objective of attracting funds from third
parties, that is, rich investors or banks. Such a
business may run into difficulties later due to
under-funding or to poor demand (market). Ironically,
many Nigerian "Traders" have gone into a business line
armed simply with haunch and no spreadsheet business
analysis, and gone on to succeed, some immensely.

It would be quite unwise to conclude that one should
embark upon a business venture armed simply with a
hunch, whether with or without other people's money.
It helps to uphold a good business sense over
sentimentality, if the ownership (or equity base) of a
company is shared among two or more investors. This
arrangement also serves to spread the failure risk or
any other risk in business; however, should the
business become immensely successful, the original
founders may turn around, erroneously, to wish he
could have made all that money alone if he had not
invited other people to invest in it.

Investing for growth
A media organ may, on the one hand, grow through the
expansion of the coverage or of the market in its
current product or, on the other hand, through the
development of new lines of product. In the first
situation, it would have become obvious (beyond doubt)
that a market gap exists to be filled. What may be in
doubt is the actual size of that gap and what share of
it our company can justly and correctly forecast for
itself. The next step is to determine what capital
expenditure is required and what new operational costs
are involved. This simplistic line of action is
really not exclusive to media business.

A newspaper or magazine organization in the scenario
just described would have observed that the demand for
its newspapers was already in excess of its
production/circulation. It is possible that it has
already seen a new or further demand for its
publication, based on special research or from
observing a trend, or simply from field reports. The
growth opportunity could, for example, take the form
of additional pages of advertisements, whether
monochrome or colour. In the electronic media, we
would be looking at the extension of broadcasting
hours or of the transmitter range or, indeed, the
complexity and type of programmes produced. All these
have implications for production capacity (press or
studio) and distribution network (transport/outlet)
outlet or transmitter, including satellite).

In the advertising industry, growth would be indicated
by the demand and complexity of the agency's services
in such areas as production and "media". While the
former would call for fixed capital, the latter might
just be a handsome injection of short-term funds, such
as would also be required for growth in the areas of
public relations or research.

There are many instances where growth is aimed in
relatively uncharted terrain. An example is an agency
that decided to open an office in, say, the Republic
of South Africa or in Ghana.

Diversification is another common form of growth, by
which a media enterprise could well take up a new set
of business functions, like real estate development,
to take a bad example. This might arise as a result
of the enterprise having excess cash in hand or simply
deciding to speculate in land and property. This
example would, strictly speaking, not count as growth
in media business, but an agency going into printing
or the production of gifts items would be diversifying
through what may be termed forward integration. In all
these areas where decision is deliberative and choice
is discretionary it is necessary to carry out a study
on the market for the new undertaking and the kind of
returns which will accrue.

Are there other forms of investment that could yield
better returns? These days of dizzy bank interest
rates, simply leaving money in a fixed account may be
considered quite profitable and less stressful in
financial management: there are not too many business
undertakings with 25 per cent annual yield or profit
(albeit with comparable capital depreciation). But
growth implies development and increased activity not
simply increased profit of return.

Sustaining Growth.
Growth in media business cannot be equated to only
growth in the profit of the enterprise. Profit is
perhaps the easiest way of measuring the success and
health of a business (in the short term), and this
writer would argue that profit in both the long and
the short terms should be sufficient for assessing the
success or otherwise of a business venture. However,
business principles, like other adages, may argue that
what is not growing must be dying. Besides, a
substantial share of a business market confers market
power on the holder, future profit is better assured
that way, and prestige also accrues.

A media professional who establishes a media venture
is likely to measure his success by the size of the
enterprise, his company's share of the market, the
reputation of his operation, and his earnings (which
will include profit or dividend, naturally). If the
company has accumulated profit (and cash) over the
years, he could continuously reinvest for incremental
growth, to acquire hard-ware and other logistic
facilities.

Significant new ventures will invariably call for
recourse to new equity and/or loan. It is assumed
that the company has a functioning board and that the
founders and the other shareholders, if any, have
remained friendly. Non-media directors of a company
may be more attracted to simply higher yielding
investments than media professionals, where there are
alternatives for investing surplus money. When it is
suggested that new equity be raised for financing
growth in the core or in related area, media
professionals will often have a harder job convincing
their partners on the board, or in the company, of the
need to part with more money. This is partly because
media investments are not considered high yield by
ordinary people.

Lately, Nigerian media entrepreneurs have begun to
enter into strategic partnerships with foreign and
international media organizations. Nigerians
newspapers strike up alliances with well-known
international journals like the Financial times (of
London), broadcasting organizations have programme
coverage and exchange arrangements as well as
technical assistantships, and Nigerian advertising
agencies are progressively affiliating with world-wide
agencies for strengthening their positions even in the
local market.

Given the drive of globalization and the convergence
of the media and telecommunications, the challenge of
growth points to high technology. Computerisation is
inevitable for both the print and the electronic
media, and in the age of the satellite, the Internet,
and mobile telephony, a new and common challenge is
presented to all media operators to continue to be
relevant.

Text, sound and picture are now instantly available in
fixed and mobile modes and with disappearing or even
non-existent territorial boundaries, competition is
rapidly ceasing to be local. Nigerian media operators
should increasingly, therefore, negotiate investment
inflow from otherwise competing international
organizations, through partnership or mergers.

It would be wrong to believe that technology is all
that is required to stay in the business of the
future. Technology remains essentially a tool, a means
of creating and delivering the message faster and more
faithfully. The generation of ideas, creativity, and
the management of the enterprise can all be aided by
technology, but will not be replaced. A major
characteristic of the age is the very rapid rate of
change and the vast array of opportunities that are
thrown up continuously by technology. Sometimes
technology is introduced for facilitating a specific
activity; only for it to present a whole new set of
possibilities to the business development people.
Vincent Maduka, former NTA director-general delivered
this address at the 2002 Media Summit held in Abuja
recently.

AGAIN, PRESS FREEDOM DAY WITHOUT FANFARE
The Guardian, May 3, 2002
For eight years since its declaration in 1991 as World
Press Freedom Day, May 3 has always been a beehive of
media activities in Nigeria.

The tempo as well as content of programmes that
feature during this yearly ritual has, however,
declined drastically in the last three years when the
country embraced democratic system of governance. The
scenario is expected to play itself out today.

Prior to May 29, 1999 when the present democratic
administration came to power, the press freedom was
usually used to articulate the significance of free
press as a major prerequisite for sustainable social,
political and economic development.

That was in addition to creating a veritable platform
to review the activities of media organizations in the
preceding year including the conditions of media
workers, particularly those that suffered violence,
intimidation or arbitrary detention because of their
commitment to conveying the truth.

In the vanguard of commemorative activities were media
friendly non-governmental organizations and human
rights groups such as Centre for Free Speech (CFS),
Independent Journalism Centre (IJC) Media Rights
Agenda (MRA) and lately International Press Centre
(IPC) among many others.

And activities such as lectures, workshops, symposia,
exhibition and sometime rallies were some of the
regular features of the celebration.

The disposition of soldiers who were then in power
with their attendant attempts to cage the press also
propelled the consciousness of journalists about the
freedom day anniversary.

Indeed, the last time the day was celebrated with much
fanfair was in 1999.

Apart from the regular anniversary statements from
Kofi Anan of the united Nations: Federico Mayor, the
then director of UNESCO and Mary Robinson, UN High
commissioner for Human Rights, the 1999 edition also
featured a lecture delivered by Odia Ofeinun, chairman
editorial board, The News/Tempo on reporting the
opposition, There were also exhibitions and public
presentation of 4th Estate, a bi-monthly publication
of JODER and IJC sponsored by the European Union.

Within three years of democracy, however it seems
press freedom day celebration is no longer fashionable
in Nigeria.

For instance last year edition lacked the plethora of
activities that usually marked the event. Except the
presentation of a handbook entitled: "Reporting ethics
conflict in Nigeria' published by the Media Democracy
in Nigeria project (MFD) in collaboration with the
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) the
occasion went unnoticed.

It is not certain whether the vanguard of the
commemoration are prepared to roll out drums today.
Except Independent Journalism (IJC) which will hold a
lecture today with "Nigerian Journalists and the
challenges of ethics" as theme, other active
participants in the celebration of the press day had,
uptil last Wednesday, not come up with a categorical
statement on how to mark the yearly event.

Visits to the premises of IPC in Ogba and MRA in
Ikeja, Lagos on Wednesday revealed no preparation for
today's anniversary.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Oluremi Oyo, president, Nigerian Guild
of Editors (NGE) is expected today as guest speaker at
the IJC lecture holding at the corporate headquarters
of the Independent Communications Network Limited
(ICNL) publishers of The News; Tempo and P.M News.

Scheduled for 3p.m students of the college of
journalism established by the management of ICNL as
well as journalists from print and electronic media
including media managers are expected to grace the
occasion.

Media analysts, however, attributed the low-keyed
status that the anniversary appears set to attain to
the current relaxed climate of journalism practice in
the country. But some practitioners faulted the
argument stressing that there is still a long journey
to press freedom in the country.

The reason, a practitioner adduced, could be lack of
funds. In previous editions programmes were bankrolled
by foreign agencies.

The journalist urged sectorial groups within the
media, particularly NGOs to develop avenues of
sourcing funds locally in other to continue to assert
their relevance.

On why a country like Nigeria cannot afford to be left
out in the celebration, observers see the day more of
an African Press Freedom day. The root of the
anniversary is believed to be African and since Africa
is noted for both military and civilian dictatorship,
the anniversary of World Press Freedom Day will
continue to be relevant.

The origin of the press freedom day was, in fact,
traced to a seminar on promoting an independent UNESCO
and the UN on May 3, 1991, which was held in Windhoek,
Namibia.

This date (May 3), according to a UN press release
No.40, commemorates the Windhoek Declaration on
promoting an independent and pluralistic African
press."

Hence the anniversary is a right platform to find out
what is the situation of press freedom in Africa as at
today, not only that it will be interesting for people
to know how freedom affects the income and lifestyle
of the African journalist? More importantly too, how
is press freedom used to promote national and African
goals of unity, socio-economic integration, as well as
economic growth and development?

Though cases of harassment and detention of
journalists in the country have reduced since 1998,
the importance of press freedom as a cornerstone of
human rights and a guarantee of other freedom of
information act and endorsement of a Nigerian media
bill, professionals have been canvassing abrogation of
anti-press laws still in existence.

Notable among these are the Newspaper Act of 1917;
Press Registration Act of 1933; Defamation Act of
1961; Emergency Power Act of 1961 Seditious Meeting
Act of 1961.

Others are the Official Secrets Act of 1962, Newspaper
(Amendment) Act of 1964, as well as the criminal code
and penal code.

PERSPECTIVES OF PRESS FREEDOM AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Vanguard, May 2, 2002
I want us to ask ourselves a basic question. What is
Press Freedom? My own view is that press freedom has
to be the provision of an atmosphere in which the
media, can without legal or constitutional inhibitions
or hindrances, make their contributions to the
development of primarily the society in which they
operate. It would also cover the economic
circumstances of their operation and the presence of
the human resources with which they can perform
optimally. I have limited myself to only these three
areas - constitutional, economic and human - knowing
fully well that they are not exhaustive.

But let us apply them to the Nigerian situation.
These days, you don't read in the print media or hear
on the electronic, any lamentation about the absence
of press freedom. The position today, I suggest, is
that our press is so free that our new generation of
professionals may be mistaking freedom for license.
To me again, we can demonstrate simply. I have the
freedom to stay in my garden and exercise my arm to
throw a stone up, or to the front, for as much as my
strength can take it. I also can do so several times
over. What I have to watch is that the stone does not
do any damage to a neighbour, his property or to an
installation or appliance. If any of those happen, in
the exercise of my throwing my stone, I could become
liable.

I am afraid that many of us in the practice today, are
going beyond the exercise of our arm to the possible
destruction of other interests. We take freedom so
much for granted that we don't think of it as a topic
worthy of mention or discussion, or consider that what
we have, we ought to guard jealously.

In a paper presented on February 9, 2002, at a
Presidential Retreat on "The Electoral process and
Violence" at the International Conference Centre,
Abuja, our colleague, Mohammed Haruna, now
Vice-President of the Newspapers Proprietors
Association of Nigeria (NPAN), described the Nigerian
media as "one of the freest in the world". We should
cherish such a description. But in doing so, we must
not lose track of where we are coming from and where
we may be going. I hope no colleague in this audience
would deny that there have been excesses of late.

Economic soundness is one area which can sustain the
exercise of press freedom. With a buoyant economy,
more newspapers can publish adverts (as more are now
doing), spend more on information gathering and offer
even greater linkage between government and people.
Readers will have more money with which to purchase
publications and readership will expand. As we
witness the birth of more newspapers, more radio and
television stations, we will attain a deserved greater
reach of our population in this country of about 125
million Nigerians. The media can also practice more
of what they preach.

As to the human resource component of press freedom, I
refer more here to issues like the intake into our
academic and professional institutions, to the quality
of training received, to the continuing education
programmes which they have access to, to the extent to
which they can acquire modern equipment - all of which
contribute to a fuller appreciation of press freedom
and the usage of it for the advancement of our
country.

I would approach the issue of responsibilities rather
broadly. I believe the utmost responsibility of the
Nigerian media is to the country itself, through the
promotion of what can help move Nigeria forward. I
suggest we then share responsibilities for the unity
of Nigeria, for its good governance, for the interests
of its citizens, for the image of the country and even
for the improvement of our own profession as an
inimitable pillar or a building block for democracy.
Again, I am not exhaustive here.

I suggest that our duties and responsibilities are
well spelt out, as far as the constitution is
concerned. At another stage though, we, as
professionals, have to also define what we want to
contribute to the health of our nation. And we must do
it by being critical of ourselves, even before others
do so.

I am appalled by the notion that some of those who
practice journalism in our country, not only do not
care about ethics, they do not even know about any
such thing. I have discussed my concern with
colleagues and I fear that some of those who come into
the profession "in a fit of absent mindedness" are
doing journalism a lot of harm.

There is nothing conservative about ethics. Indeed,
you cannot be a good journalist if you always practice
without them, or you choose to be oblivious to them.
For, What is ethics about? It is about finding out
facts, publishing what you can verify and defend,
being fair, seeking the other side of the story,
resisting undue influences, not publishing only
because of favours, not seeking only your own personal
interest, having the courage to admit when you are
wrong, etc.

One other area that has given many a lot of concern is
the extent to which our print media cross the board -
newspapers, newsmagazines and especially human
interest publications - seem to be competing for
sheer, sometimes indefensible SENSATIONALISM. I
understand it is all in a bid to capture the readers'
eyes and therefore the market. But these days, the
print media are over-reaching themselves in scary
hardliners such as. "War imminent", Madness and
mayhem", "anarchy and revolt", "Ticking time bomb".

The above are just four of newsmagazine cover
headlines of recent. We should, as professionals, be
able to sit back and see whether these "service" help
either our profession, or governance in the short,
medium or long run.

The final element I will refer to four now is the use
of language even by some of our so-called columnists.
My concern now is not how easy it is to become a
columnist these days, it is the inability of many of
those who believe they are now in that grade to
measure their language. I will suggest that some of
the younger ones among us should read "WINNERS TAKE
ALL" by ALLAH-DE. What I am referring to is the
sublime, not intemperate language. It is the lack of
violence in the deployment of words. It is decorum.
For as we all know, any high school student can put
pen to paper, but those who say they want to live by
writing must do so being humble enough to acquire more
linguistic expertise, which is not the same thing as
just splashing vitriol to attract attention.

Perhaps I should round-off by making some suggestions.
*NGE should consider for inclusion in its "media
charter" a reference to the "Fundamental Principles"
contained in Chapter 11 of the Nigerian Constitution.
They offer a consensual guidance.

NGE should liaise with NEPAD (New Partnership
for African Development) for which there is a Nigerian
representative, for collaboration on "Political
governance and the African Peer Review Mechanism"
which is part of an African initiative supported by
the industrialized world.
NGE should follow-up its continuing education
bid by involving non-governmental and governmental
enterprises which want to contribute to an improvement
in professional standards.
NGE should work further with NPAN and NUJ for
standardization and improvement in journalists'
salaries, wages and allowances.
NGE should enforce its guidelines on the
quality required for editorship, and if necessary
refuse to admit those who, in its view, are not
materials with professional responsibilities, and
sound judgment.

Finally, editors and newspapers can and should do
their own independent work and not limit their
publications to cynicism about government. They can
also complement other efforts.
Being paper presented by Mr. Oseni, Press Secretary to
President Olusegun Obasanjo at a recent Nigerian Guild
of Editors Forum on "Media and Good Governance".

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