Dele Giwa, Rest On With This Journalistic Progress Report For The Period: October 19, 1986 – October 19, 2021(OPINION)
By Isaac Asabor
Dear “Chief Dele Giwa”, as you were reportedly addressed in the parcel bomb that sent you to your early grave, it’s me, Isaac Asabor. We may not have met in the land of the living during your seemingly brief and successful earthly journey but the literary panache you brought to bear on the field of Journalism partly influenced my choice of Journalism as a career. I must confess that the qualities you possessed that attracted me most to your brand of journalism were your talent and patriotic disposition which you prolifically reflected in your writings as well as the joie de vivre and credibility you brought to bear on journalism in Nigeria. This was as your reportages were replete with genuine investigative contents and direction. More so, you were very brave and never compromised. Such was your dedication to your craft and you did not kowtow to the establishment much to the chagrin of the military government. The Newswatch magazine which you founded in your lifetime was read far and wide in Nigeria and it had an impressive circulation to boot.
In fact, through your firebrand investigative writings, I became one of your died-in-the-wool fans so much that monies given to me for feeding then were saved towards the purchase of the next edition of the Newswatch magazine which was usually on the newsstand on weekly basis.
Permit me to say that the inspiration to write this letter to you was necessitated by the need to inform you that the brand of journalism which you practiced, and that was editorially fierce, pungent, yet robust, researched and well-argued is no more as news has surprisingly being commercialized.
There is no denying the fact that the kind of journalism you practiced when you were with us on earth was the one that wields such enormous powers and calls for the highest standards of ethics and commitment to truth. Unfortunately, since you departed, there is a deepening allusion that news story has become commercial product, and that important developments in the country are pushed aside by unimportant, even trivial news items, concerning events of national importance and retrogressive activities of unpatriotic personalities. Thus, today’s Journalist are more interested in news stories that serve PR purposes as it would be paid for, and in that light seemingly considered to be more profitable than news stories that are of public interest.
As to the wellbeing of Journalists, it has been very pitiable and beggarly. The situation we (Journalists) currently find ourselves is so appalling that given the chance for another job opportunity elsewhere, many, if not all, will leave the profession enmasse. Reasons are in the public domain. If situations in the profession were the same at the time you got your Master’s Degree in 1974 at Fordham, and then went ahead to join the prestigious New York Times after a meeting with its Metropolitan desk editor during which you pointed out a grammatical error in one of their articles that you would not have returned to Nigeria to join the Nigerian Daily Times in 1978. This is as in these days, certain media houses’ owe journalists up to five months, and to a woeful extent, some owe up to one year salary. Not only that, most non-journalists see a phone call initiated by a Journalist as a ploy to beg. Aptly put, it has become a beggarly profession, and by each passing day becoming a cause for concern.
As a publisher, which you were, you would not have being comfortable with what is happening today on Nigeria’s media landscape. The Nigerian media landscape has over the years, particularly since you transited to the great beyond, struggled to find its voice. Many mainstream media companies have built the right reach and developed loyal readership. But their revenue model is dependent on advertising. Advertising revenue has paid bills and kept their newsroom going, but it also makes them vulnerable as majority of the readers now read major news online to the detriment of newspaper publishers. Not only that, there has being Reports that showed that the operating costs of the Nigerian media business have increased. This is as the purchasing power of the reading public is low, discouraging many brands from putting their ads on newspaper. Alternatives like TV, radio, online media and outdoor media had greater reach. One of the Reports showed that newspaper adverts receive less than 20% of total advertising revenue in Nigeria. I am cocksure that the situation was not the same when you were the publisher of Newswatch magazine.
Given the situation as been told in this context, you may have sighed, turned in your grave, and asked, “How then are the newspapers and magazines surviving?” As for magazines, I doubt if the business is thriving and profitable as it was in your earthly journey when Newswatch and other magazines sold like hot cake. However, it is expedient to answer your question by saying that to keep ad money coming, some outlets have had to develop political affiliations and connections with companies and other interest groups. This, no doubt, guarantees a steady stream of revenue but at the cost of editorial independence. Advertisers could cancel a campaign and scuttle future partnerships if a media outlet publishes a report that is critical of them. I know if you were to be alive by now that you will never take that shit from anyone as you did not exhibit predilection to compromise. This is because the somewhat media prostitution, a kind of “money-for-hand-back-for-ground” journalism practice sometimes leads to misinformation and divisive reporting. There is also the possibility that news outlets could skew reports to favor some groups. To aptly put it, with newspaper sales dropping, traditional media outlets have leveraged digital media platforms. They are using the power of social media and their offline reputations to win over more readers.
From the government camp, there have been resilient efforts to muzzle the press. I know you would be shocked with this piece of information as Nigeria embraced democratic governance 3 years after your transition to glory. For instance, in November 5, 2019, a bill to regulate the social media was introduced to the Nigerian Senate and sponsored by Mohammed Sani Musa, lawmaker representing the Niger East senatorial district. To worsen the mischievousness that characterized his bill, he was called out for copying the document word-for-word from a similar law in Singapore.
In the same vein, the Federal Government of Nigeria demonstrated intolerance to criticisms as it planned in the month of June, 2021 to amend the Nigeria Press Council Act, which, among other draconian contents, proposes punitive measures against media houses and practitioners for any violation of the press code, without reference to the judiciary.
My dear Dele Giwa, I crave your understanding to explain that I am not by this letter denying you your deserved peace. However, it is expedient to say that you deserve to be updated on happenings that have been raising serious concern in the field of Journalism, particularly as a profession in Nigeria. While you have being fed with this vital progress report that spans the period October 19, 1986 to October 19, 2021, continue to rest in peace even as I can assure you that Nigerians will never forget the eventful and meaningful life you lived for 39 years, and the 11 years you spent in the field of journalism. Once again, rest on my fellow Edolite!
