Traditional media urge to be innovative to survive

The Nigeria print media have been advised to be innovative in order to revive their dwindling fortunes in the face of challenges of unfavourable economy and advent of the new media.

Mr. Victor Ifijeh, the Managing Director of the Nations Newspaper, gave the advice on Friday in Asaba, in a paper he presented at the ongoing 14th All Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC).

In the paper titled, “Traditional Media: Challenges and Prospect” he said that the greatest challenges facing the print media in Nigeria were harsh economy and the emergence of the new media.

Ifijeh, represented by Mr. Festus Ariye, Sunday Editor, Nations newspaper, said the print media could revive their fortunes by looking inwards and go on innovations in terms of content and marketing.

“In Nigeria today, there have been great decline in the area of newspaper sales and marketing and this development can be attributed to the state of the economy.

“Also, there is the challenge posed by the emergence of the new media. Blogs and other social media platform have, to a large extent, dominated the news wave.

“These new media break the news fast to the readers on their cell phones before the newspaper can go to the print with it,” Ifijeh said.

Ifijeh noted that Nigeria was not alone in the challenges to newspaper survival but described the situation as a global phenomenon.

He made reference to India, where he said newspapers had remained strong and viable in the face of challenges of the new media.

According to him, patronage to newspapers in India had grown by 60 per cent over the past few years, a development he attributed to favorable economy and growth of the nation’s literacy level.

“Newspaper patronage in India has been sustained by the favorable economy and the growth of the literacy level,” he said.

Ifijeh posited that the print media in Nigeria still had great prospect if they embraced innovation to maintain its age-long traditional role in information dissemination.

He enjoined newspapers in Nigeria to sustain its traditional obligation to its readers, and carry out innovations in the area of content and manpower management to boost its marketability.