NIGERIA MEDIA MONITOR

APRIL 15, 2002

· YOBE MEDIA: RE-STRUCTURING FOR BETTER OUTPUT
· ENDLESS CAMPAIGN FOR WELFARE, GOOD GOVERNANCE
· THE MEDIA AND NEW ECONOMIC INDICES
· THE MEDIA AND NATIONAL ORIENTATION

YOBE MEDIA: RE-STRUCTURING FOR BETTER OUTPUT
THE GUARDIAN, MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2002.

Dissatisfied with the poor performance of its two
media outfits, Yobe State Governor, Bukar Abba Ibrahim
has called for a comprehensive recommendation on
restructuring of Yobe Television (YTV) and Yobe
Broadcasting Coropration (YBC).

The decision to re-structure the two state's owned
media outfits was reached at the state executive
council meeting held last Wednesday.

Briefing journalists on the measures the council has
taken on the media outfits, Information Commissioner,
Alhaji Wakil Ahmed Sarki noted that the programmes and
relevance of the state information dissemination
organs have not met the expectations of both
government and the people whose taxes are used in
funding the outfits.

According to him, the two media outfits have not been
effectively discharging their responsibilities when
compared to the media outfits in Borno, Gombe and
Bauchi states.

The restructing measures adopted by the council, he
disclosed, include the complete reorganization of the
top management and staff of various departments of the
media houses. Also, government is going to embark on
retraining and re-orientation of the management and
technical staff of the media houses."

ENDLESS CAMPAIGN FOR WELFARE, GOOD GOVERNANCE
THE GUAIRDIAN, MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2002.

CAMPAIGN against the activities of beat associations
within the journalism profession has been on for long.
Hence, the recent decision of print media owners to
ban these groups is seen, by many, as a relief.

But for the order to be effective, media workers
admonish that the Newspaper Proprietors' Association
of Nigeria (NPAN) should also see to the welfare of
their employees.

They contend that even within the NPAN fold, there are
lots of publications, which have failed woefully in
terms of better remuneration for their workers. It was
also noted that the root of the allege misconduct by
the members of these groups was as a result of
survival strategy when their employers could not cater
for their basic needs.

However, the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) insisted
that the time had come to address all the problems
that are responsible for the credibility crisis that
has rocked the profession lately.

Therefore, from Thursday, April 11, editors from both
print and electronic media organizations will converge
at the Eko Tourist Beach Resort, Akodo, Ibeju-Lekki,
Lagos to assess the performance of the media in the
current democratic dispensation.

Tagged: National Editors' Forum on Media and Good
Governance, the gathering according to NGE president
Mrs. Remi Ojo will provide an opportunity for editors
to evaluate their role in the maintenance of good
governance.

Not only that, the gatekeepers will also examine the
practice of journalism and adherence to the ethics of
the profession in Nigeria. This is in addition to
evolution of a media charter for good governance.

THE MEDIA AND NEW ECONOMIC INDICES
The Comet, Wednesday April 10, 2002.

At this Media Summit, while we look at the N12 billion
the Media will spend on advertising and promoting
Corporate Nigeria, we should look critically at the
message. It is no longer okay to ape foreign advert
strategies without solving our own local problems or
without a thought to improving society. In those
countries they have clean markets, care centres,
footballs in schools and libraries in every ward and
hamlet and social services. Here we have none of the
above and intelligent advertising advice can provide
them. The Media Summit has no sections on Corporate
Media Social Responsibility and Morals.

It is unethical to advertise products that put
Nigerians in harm's way. We use sportsmen and young
executive types to advertise smoking. Which good
sportsman smokes? What has a cigarette got to do with
success? We must be honest in Nigeria and not
advertise rubbish just for the contract. There must be
honour and morals in Nigeria. Media advertising
adverts suggesting that Valentine couples have sex or
teachers should steal children's drinks are bad. The
message must have social value judged by annual
competition. Every advert with a car should have the
occupants using a safety belt on back and front seats
as passive help to FRSC and insurance agencies. All
motorcyclists should wear crash helmets. An analysis
of newspaper adverts shows a waste space that could
have been used for an additional social advert at no
extra cost but social upliftment to the company. Use
XYZ services but get an education and drink clean
water'.

THE MEDIA AND NATIONAL ORIENTATION
DAILY TIMES Wednesday, April 10, 2002.

The rhetoric in the mass media that has accompanied
recent media tour award need not be so if proper
understanding of issues involved are put in their
correct prospective.

As rightly stated by some States' Chief Executives,
those who received awards on good performance and
those on good governance, the final judge or arbiter
for any state governor or any state government is the
electorate. As had earlier been stated in previous
publications in December last year on the genesis of
the National Media Tour, it is to showcase the two or
three years of democratic governance in Nigeria; to
try to differentiate between a popularly elected
government's achievements and progress made to those
of a dictatorial military regime. And honestly, one
believes very strongly that the National Media Tour
led by the Minister of Information and National
Orientation, professor Jerry Gana was a resounding
success. There was change in paradigm from an isolated
individual correspondent report to a more elaborate,
on the local, state and federal levels.

Before the media tour took off, the Nigeria media it
would be recalled have been a washed with campaigns of
the inability of the civil administration to deliver
what is often described as dividend of democracy. The
general media consensus was that the two or three
years of elected civilian rule in Nigeria cannot be
remarkable to celebrate. The editorial of some
national newspapers and radio/television news
commentaries depict a rather misplaced expectation for
the Nigerian masses. The thought that with the
politicians in power, the citizens were promised a
better life. These promises were what are known today
as the dividends of democracy. But the media refused
to give a proper explanation and analysis in their
reportage of events in Nigeria, they (the media) felt
that two or three years of democracy was enough period
to transform Nigeria into an
"eldora do" state, a nation where everything is free
and where social and infrastructural services are
optimal. The media drummed it up to the discerning
population that with these number of years by the
politicians, the people were still awaiting the
dividends of democracy to manifest. These commentaries
and editorials generated some feelings of disillusion
amongst the populace. The people were confused further
as to start thinking of the better evil in terms of
military or civil rule.

But the same time the media refused or deliberately
neglected to inform and educate the citizens on the
consequences of the fifteen years of military rule
which brought about the decay infrastructure, the
economy and general corruption.

The Minister, Professor Jerry Gana after an elaborate
and thorough considerations and deliberations
initiated a five-month national media tour across all
the states of the Federation including Abuja. Since
it is an honest initiative, the media tour has been
given different interpretations from the very mundane
to the very ugly by the various political grouping in
the country.

But as communication students, the media men ought to
inform the public of happenings around them and to
educate and enlighten them to be able to make
appropriate decisions on issues that affect their
livelihood.

The capacity of the mass media to contribute to the
process of democracy, good governance and national
development cannot be overemphasized and the national
media tour was out to enrich the objectives of the
media in that direction.

One of the major paradigm shifts in the media is the
move from uncoordinated system.

The media tour introduced the new system into its
development reporting thus allowing people directly
concerned to participate in the process of news
reporting as exemplified by the NTA and FRCN coverage
of the national media tour.

The Nigerian populace, most especially, the rural
people ought to be made aware of the influential roles
of the media, especially in participatory government
and people-oriented development. The media tour
provided the opportunity for feedback from the rural
folks on what they wanted their governments to do for
them and also give them a voice to assess the
performance of the civilian administration since May
1999.

As noted in previous publications that apart from its
basic functions of informing, educating and
entertaining, the media can be effectively employed in
the special areas of national orientation, conflict
resolution and political awareness.

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