By Oyinlola Awonuga
Editors have been advised to rethink their roles from just assigning, reviewing, rewriting and processing of words to creating compelling, engaging and impactful contents, in line with the needs of their audiences.
The call was contained in a communique issued at the end the 16th All Nigeria Editors’ Conference (ANEC) held on Thursday, November 26th via zoom signed by the President Mustapha Isah and Secretary, Mary Atolagbe.
The theme of the conference chaired by Alhaji Kabiru Yusuf, a Fellow of the Guild and Chairman of Media Trust Limited, publishers of Daily Trust newspapers was: Media, People and Covid-19: How to Create Sustainability in the Digital Era.
Fellow of the Guild and founder/Director of Journalism Clinic, Taiwo Obe was the Keynote Speaker on the theme.
The NGE said the call to review the roles of the traditional editors has become necessary if they are to be relevant and remain in business in the age of digitalisation and global Covid-19 pandemic.
Other resolutions of the conference are as follows:
Editors should begin to think as marketing officers and develop well-researched products that will respond to yearnings of the people across all segments of the economy at all times.
That media business is about people at all levels, therefore practitioners should be less obsessed with government officials and focus on people-centre reporting in order to generate the needed resources for the sustainability of the media industry.
Media practitioners are advised to adopt creative use of new technologies to generate revenue, by employing programmers, data scientists, and information and communications technology specialists, as part of the demands of the new normal.
Regular capacity building interventions are necessary to ensure that the knowledge and content provided are relevant and applicable to the needs of the reading public.
The conference emphasised that while there are several options for making money through the digitalisation of media businesses, it is almost impossible to make a living without a large following. Therefore, efforts should be made to connect with the people, improve aspects of readers’ lives and obsess more with the audience through creative contents.
While identifying huge potential in archiving photographs and offering of transcripts as reliable means of generating new streams of income, it canvassed for fresh air in the media space through the use of creative headlines.
Recommendation was made for periodic engagement with media audiences and communities to find out about their habits and preferences in order to create engaging contents for the consumers.
It called for the institution of a reward system for audiences, in return for loyalty and enduring relationship.
Editors remembered and observed a minute silence for members of the Guild who passed away in the last year. They are Malam Wada Maida, a former NGE President; Mrs. Ronke Fajemirokun of BCOS, Ibadan; Mr. Diji Akinhanmi, GM, OGBC, Abeokuta; Waheed Bakare, Editor, New Telegraph on Saturday; Malam Musa Ahmed Tijjani, Editor, Triumph Newspapers, Kano and Abba Ado Gwarzo, a retired NTA staff.
Editors expressed appreciation to its Partners for the support in ensuring the success of the first of its kind (virtual) conference of the Guild.
