Media Career Development Specialist, Lekan Otufodunrin profiles the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TheCable Newspaper, Simon Kolawole.
He was an excellent choice as the guest speaker at the Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ) Professional Forum last week in Lagos.
With loads and years of experience as reporter and editor while working in various magazines and newspapers, and now Founder and Chief Executive Officer of TheCable Newspaper, one of Nigeria’s leading online newspapers, Simon Kolawole perfectly fits the bill to speak on the topic of Journalism In the Age of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
He is also the executive director of Cable Newspaper Journalism Foundation (CNJF), a not-for-profit organisation using journalism to advance transparency and accountability in government.
Expectedly, he masterfully explained various ways AI can enhance present-day journalism practice, noting that it’s no longer a futuristic concept but a system already shaping journalism and daily life.
While advising media professionals to adapt to AI advancements instead of resisting them, he warned that those who fail to evolve risk being left behind.
His exit from THISDAY as the Daily editor of the newspaper in 2012 was an opportunity he took to evolve himself and launch TheCable in 2014 when not many experienced traditional journalists in the country were known to own online platforms as it is today.
Ten years after the audacious career move to chart a new path in media practice, Kolawole, a graduate of Mass Communication from the University of Lagos and a Masters degree in Governance and Development from the University of Sussex as a British Chevening Scholar, has accomplished the mission “to deliver knowledge-driven journalism in the pursuit of Nigeria’s progress” with many impactful reports and awards to show for the decade of distinction.
What makes TheCable special, according to Kolawole, is the professional touch which he says the staff of the publication adopt in generating original articles, photographs, conducting investigations and other content. “While there are more than a thousand online publications in Nigeria, many of them do not follow standard ethics and rules of journalism. Our journalism is respected,” the media entrepreneur said in an interview with Report for the World.
His pre-TheCable media experience includes working at Complete Football, TheNews/TEMPO, Today’s News Today, City People, Financial Standard, TheWeek magazine and THISDAY, where he was Saturday editor, Managing Editor and editor and associate director.
One of the distinguishing features of his career is being a well-regarded and influential newspaper columnist with his THISDAY column titled Simon Kolawole live since 2003 till date focusing on issues of national importance, among others. His choice of lucid prose and temperate tone, which has endeared him to many readers, according to him, is deliberate.
“I try to make things simple so that everyone will understand me without having a headache. I try to keep to short sentences and avoid words that will make the reader go looking for a dictionary. As a student of communication, I write to, pardon the pun, communicate. The moment the reader does not understand me, then I have not achieved my aim,” He explained in an interview with Daily Trust.
For those who are critical of some of his articles, like the tribute he wrote on the late Chief of Staff to President Buhari, Mallam Abba Kyari, he responded that he has never sought anybody’s validation of his integrity or reputation. “I always write from the integrity of my heart. Whatever anybody thinks thereafter is their own opinion. It is called freedom of speech,” he said.
For those who confuse journalism with activism, Kolawole maintained that he is a professional and development journalist and not an activist.
“I am not an adversarial journalist. I seek to build, not to destroy. I take no joy in pulling people down. I am very much interested in constructively engaging with political authorities to help birth good governance and good public policies. If you notice, when people are saying there is ‘casting down’, I am saying there is ‘lifting up’. When they say Nigeria should break up, I say there are other options to consider. When they say Nigeria is finished, I say let’s try good leadership before we give up. A lot of people are irritated by these views, and that is their right. It is the path I have chosen in life,” he explained in an interview with eelive.
A collection of perspective writings with a central idea on the role of leadership in national development was published in 2022 in his first book titled ‘Fellow Nigerians, It’s All Politics,’ sub-themed ‘Perspectives on the Nigerian Project.’
Among various awards and recognition, kolawole was named among Africa’s next generation of leaders by The Banker, a publication of the Financial Times of London, in 2009. He was Mo Ibrahim Fellow on the Governance for Development in Africa Initiative at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, in 2010. In March 2012, he was named Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum and has attended courses on leadership at Yale University (2013) and the Kennedy School, Harvard University (2014), both in the United States.
For those who are worried about the future of the profession due to technological advancement, Kolawole maintains that journalism is still viable for journalists who are open to constant learning.
“You just have to empower yourself. The media and Journalism is a large field, and the Nigerian audience is over 200 million. Either you’re bootstrapping your own media outlet or working with a big platform; you will remain relevant if you’re literate in AI,” he assured at the lecture at NIJ.
What kind of boss is Kolawole? Features and Investigative Editor of TheCable Taiwo Adebulu who has worked with him for the past seven years says he “isn’t just a boss; he’s a mentor and pathfinder.”
“He doesn’t stay behind the curtain like a regular boss. He’s actively involved in the everyday running of the newspaper, teaching, encouraging and scolding. By the way, Simon isn’t the type that will pamper you most of the time. No! It’s either you move with the train or step back.
“To him, journalistic excellence is not a thing you negotiate for. No compromise. Hence, it might take you quite some time to adjust to his style. As much as you want to do great journalism and be a professional, Simon is the guy. Quiet, funny, rigorous and generous. I doubt if Simon does any other thing religiously as journalism. Studying his career trajectory will prove me right. One thing I envy about him is his quality contacts. If it were possible for me to steal the connections that he’s built over the decades, I would do that without looking back. It’s impressive.”
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