Egbemode Decries Subtle Economic Strangulation Of Media
President of the Nigerian Guild of Editors, NGE, Mrs. Funke Ebgbemode yesterday decried the subtle strangulation of the media through economic means even as some of the country’s leading media persons expounded on how the media can tackle challenges opened by the new media.
Mrs. Egbemode spoke at the World Press Freedom Day celebrations in Lagos organised by the Public Affairs Section of the United States Consulate in collaboration with Lagos Television (LTV).
Among leading media lights at the occasion were the publisher of Premium Times, Mr. Dapo Olorunyomi, publisher of The Cable, Mr. Simon Kolawole, Prof. Ralph Akinfeleye of the University of Lagos, Consul-General at the United States Consulate in Lagos, Mr. John Bray, himself a former journalist among others.
Noting the challenges facing the media, Egbemode said that though the media was still grappling with physical frontal attacks across the country, she nevertheless disclosed that authorities and economic players had introduced other subtle measures to challenge the freedom of the press through economic strangulation.
She said: ”If the publisher or the media owner is not making profits, is not breaking even, then he doesn’t pay and when he doesn’t pay what do we do? Press freedom in our economic environment must begin to take its pride of place in our discourse. We cannot be strong if we are economically impaired.
“When we are not strong, we cannot do strong things, when we cannot do strong things, we are all weak, and our institutions will be weak because we have a major role to play. The easiest way to stifle the media is to make revenue generation difficult and impossible. Stifling the media is what systems do especially in our environment. “I worked for an organisation that wasn’t getting adverts because the organisaiton wasn’t doing what the government wanted. So it is not always about arrest, there is also making life difficult, making business difficult.
“The press operates in an industry that is a business, we are not an advocacy group, and we cannot remain fit until they begin to treat us like a business,” Egbemode said.
US Consul General, Bray in his goodwill remarks, said that increase in press freedom would mean more responsibility from the press noting that “advances in technology and increased reliance on social media platforms as sources of information make the accuracy and objectivity of your reporting crucial.”
He urged the audience, mostly journalists to “Check and double check your facts before you put out a story- this increases your personal credibility and the reliability of your platform.”
Olorunyomi in his remarks added that good journalism must be accompanied by accuracy as he enjoined all those that have the responsibility of keeping the gates in the media to be diligent in their duties.
Kolawole also in his remarks urged the mainstream media to see the advent of digital media as a challenge that cannot be wished away noting that new media have provided opportunities for the citizenry to by-pass those obstacles that hitherto kept them out of reckoning.
