Daily Times wins NUJ’s Press Freedom Platform award

...To be conferred May 6, Press Freedom Award Night at Sheraton Hotel, Abuja

…Major TV stations to broadcast event live

Bonaventure Melah

Nigeria’s heritage newspaper, the Daily Times has emerged as winner of this year’s Press Freedom Platform Award by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

According to a letter dated April 8, 2019, titled PRESS FREEDOM PLATFORM AWARD and signed by National Secretary of NUJ, Comrade Shuaibu Usman Leman, Daily Times selected as the winner of the award after “sifting through many nominations received from journalists and members of Nigerian public, the NUJ Awards Selection Committee has adjudged your organisation as the winner of this category,” the letter stated.

Continuing, it said that “The award will be conferred on your organisation at the 2019 NUJ Press Freedom Award Night and Dinner on May 6, 2019 at Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotel and Towers, Abuja.

“The programme will be part of NUJ’s celebration of World Press Freedom Day. A distinguished Guest Speaker will deliver a lecture on the Role of the Media in Elections and Democracy.

It will be a gathering of crème de la crème of Nigeria’s media icons, policy makers, technocrats, captains of industries, diplomatic corps, civil society and multilateral agencies.”

The Daily Times is the most successful and respected newspaper in Nigeria. It is the oldest of all existing newspapers and other news platforms around.

The paper was established in 1926 and was successfully operated by the Federal Government of Nigeria for many years before it went aground and became inoperative with obsolete and unserviceable equipments.

Folio Communications Limited (Now Folio Communications Plc) bought Daily Times in 2004 through a transparent, though rigorous bidding process conducted by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) under the supervision of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP).

Folio quickly put the foremost media company back into operation with hundreds of professional journalists and other professionals in its employment.

Daily Times ability to conform to the dynamics of the media industry as well as maintain a forefront presence in terms of unfolding and trending fashions in both the traditional and new media have

combined to secure its seat among the top ten while it strives to return to the number position within the next few years.

Under the management of Folio Communications, Daily Times has continued to maintain its strict adherence to ethical media practices while introducing new editorial policies that emphasis more on Development Journalism that is committed to national transformation and uplifting of humanity.

While retaining some of the old characteristics that combined to crown Daily Times as the Heritage Newspaper, the paper has maintained pace with the changing world by keying into the new media, applying all of its planks including but not limited to Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter and the rest of them.

Daily Times is the first of its kind in the country to introduce what is now known as smart paper unveiled in the second quarter of 2018.

The concept comes with compact ‘sector to sector’ pagination format and news that are brief and concise, yet accurate.

On daily basis, the entire content of Daily Times is uploaded on the World Wide Web through its various online platforms.

The twitter followership of Daily Times currently is an average of 900,000 in a day while 620,000 persons read the paper through WhatsApp, Facebook and instagram.

In order to get Daily Times to everyone no matter their social standing, a copy of the paper is sold at N100 only which makes it most affordable national paper in the country.

The cost was deliberately fixed in order to ensure that the paper gets to as many eyes as is possible as a unique contribution to national development.

The Daily Times is the only newspaper with a rich historic digital archive dating back to nearly 100 years.

The archive has information on Nigeria and other parts of the world with stories published by the paper since 1926 all intact.

It serves as a hub for those seeking information about Nigeria, her citizens, cultures, religions, government and national development, among others.

Saturday edition of the Daily Times is in a world of its own. Specifically dedicated to human angle stories, the paper runs promotional support content for established and up-coming actors and actresses, musicians, footballers, other sports people, market women, youths, writers and poets, among various others.

The cover design of the paper makes it a much sought-after tabloid.