Online publishers move to rescue new media

·  Establish OPAN to regulate and improve online journalism
These are not the best of times for traditional print media as recent research findings revealed that, new media, also known as online news media, is gradually taking over publishing and journalistic space from the orthodox print media. A recent survey revealed that, sales of newspaper have drastically dropped in the last three years as many people now rely heavily on the internet to get news updates. Consequently, many newspaper publishing firms have diverted either partially or totally to the online media.
However, the porous nature of the internet has led to the rise and empowerment of some bloggers who have no professional qualification in journalism to exploit the medium. Their imitative activities, widely condemned as plagiarism, oftentimes result in wanton violation of journalistic as many of them are known for copying and pasting verbatim, other people’s intellectual works and ideas without making attribution to the original source.
In order to protect and promote the real ideal of journalism, the qualified professional online publishers decided to form the Online Publishers Association of Nigeria (OPAN), a professional body that will see to the practice of ethical standards of journalism among members. On Thursday, OPAN had its formal launching ceremony with endorsements from Google, the world’s number one search engine firm; Nduka Obaigbena, Publisher of Nigeria’s foremost newspaper ThisDay and Chairman, Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), state governments and corporate Nigeria.
The event which held at Protea Hotel, Westwood Ikoyi, Lagos, drew stake holders from across the country’s media, business and political sectors. At the launch, OPAN members pledged a self-regulated, process-driven, credible, reliable and a well-structured Nigerian online publishing space. The President of the OPAN, Olufemi Awoyemi, in his opening remark , said that with the increase in internet penetration in Nigeria, there has been an upsurge in online publishing. Awoyemi promised stakeholders that the body will see to it that the online publishing in the country is practiced with best global standards.
In her keynote address at the event, Juliet Ehimuan-Chiazor , the Country Manager for Google Nigeria, said that the digital space afforded online publishers more opportunities than challenges. She said that through the online space, civic participation in Nigeria has increased remarkably, stressing that any publisher that does not have an online presence, is at the verge of losing relevance. She also urged online publishers in the country to monetize their work through Google’s AdSense tool.
In his special message at the occasion, Obaigbena, lauded OPAN on it launch, but urged online publishers to distinguish themselves as journalists, following the path of transparency, fairness and truth. In his keynote address entitled “Positioning Nigeria’s Online Publishing for Global Reckoning,” the foremost publisher advised online publishers to go back to old traditional ways of doing journalism which includes investigative journalism and facts checking before publishing.
“You go back to the old fashion way of doing journalism, check your facts and write the truth. So, if you publish the truth, if you publish facts, if you set the right agenda, then you build the right brand online and if you build the right brand, you will get currency, you will get audiences,
and it is those audiences that you monetize. So, you do a great business, essentially, I urge you to all return to that age old virtuous of journalism,” he said.
Obaigbena reminded OPAN members not to forget the purpose of the online space, which is all about journalism and the media. On his part, Mr. Charles Aigbe, Divisional Head, Marketing and Corporate Relations, UBA Group, in his paper entitled “Reporting with Credibility-Building Value & Trust with Stakeholders” advised members on the need for a fair and balanced reporting system that can impact the society positively.
Others present at the launch were the former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi; Ahmad Sajoh, Commissioner of Information, Adamawa State; Delta State Information Commissioner, Patrick Ukah; Honourable Ossai Nicholas Ossai, Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Ethics; and Barr. Ahmed Inuwa, who represented the Minister of Interior,
General Abdulraman Dambazau. Others include Ovation and The Boss publisher, Dele Momodu; Tunde Dosekun, Director, DDB advertising; Anthony Chiejina, Group Head, Corporate Communications, Dangote Group, who represented Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group and Folake Ani-Mumuney, Head, Marketing, Communications
and General Manager at First Bank Group among others.
OPAN is modelled after international standards and affiliations; with specific deliverables to meet the needs of the Nigerian market. It desires to deliver a web-based ‘self-regulatory’ service that is founded on global best practice.