The Keynote Speaker, Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice
Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in
delivering the theme of the event, “The Media in National Development:
Successes, Challenges & Prospects” highlighted the importance of the media
and its contributions to national development.
Danbatta said: “The media no doubt has been the bastion of
entrenching good governance and promoting development in the country. The media in Nigeria has principally played
the protagonist role to midwife the path of the liberalisation of the telecom
sector in Nigeria.
We cannot, for instance, forget the contribution of the
Nigerian media which includes the dedicated information and communication and
technology pages in our national dailies and numerous related programmes of the
electronic media which comprises the radio and television. The media have
indeed paid their dues in initiating government policies in support of the growth
of the sector.”
Danbatta who was represented by Nnenna Ukoha, Head, SIM Registration Project
at the NCC, noted that “the objective of development communication entails the
media to carry out development tasks within the ambit of the society as well as
advocating the essence of why the society should develop.”
The media, he said, “will continue to remain a veritable
channel for the wide range of development campaigns which the NCC has
effectively used. The media has also facilitated the achievement of government
developmental goals and kept the public abreast of the state of development in
the society.
The practitioners, therefore, must maintain ethics,
standard, integrity, and ensure that professionalism and development guide
editorial policy and conduct. The media has always played a double-edged role
which will either enhance or derail national development.”
Danbatta enjoined the Nigerian media “to continue to carry
out positive development tasks in line with national established policies and
national ethics which are discipline, integrity, dignity of labour, social
justice, religious tolerance, self-reliance and patriotism as stipulated in
Sections 23 and 24 of the 1999 Constitution as amended,” adding that “the media should be socially responsible in
carrying out developmental tasks in a manner that fosters national development
and such developmental goals should be based on a bottom-top approach,” aimed
at improving quality of all aspect of peoples’ lives ranging from economic,
political, socio-culture and even technological strength.
In carrying out national development initiatives, the NCC
boss charged that “the media shall at all times be free to uphold fundamental
objectives contained in the Constitution by holding the government responsible
and accountable to the people.”
Speaking on the topic “AI In Journalism: Where Is The Media
Headed & What Becomes of Journalists?, Tim Akano, Managing Director/Chief
Executive Officer, New Horizons Limited, emphasised the need for media
practitioners to take advantage of the opportunities offered by Artificial
Intelligence (AI) to remain relevant even as he called for the immediate
establishment of www.Journalism AI.ng immediately with a view to making the
benefits of AI more accessible and counter inequalities in the global news
media.
Artificial intelligence (AI), according to him, is the
simulation or hacking of human intelligence processes by machines, especially
computer systems, noting that as of 2020, over 40 percent of the top 70 news
organisations worldwide used AI in the media.
Akano said: “Artificial Intelligence is the biggest
disruptor of the Creation, Production, Distribution, Consumption, and Archiving
of news Products and Services.
The functions of AI, according to Akano, include monitoring,
discovering, predicting, interpreting and interactions while the benefits
amongst others include improvement of the quality of engagement and programming
based on customer interest, trends, and scenarios; Machine Learning can
recommend personalised content based on user data on preferences. Matchmaking
the right content with the right audience; Cognitive AI can help increase
customer engagement and satisfaction; AI applied to video content helps to
conduct visual analysis that tracks & captures emotions instantly and
facilitates content; AI facilitates accuracy, speed, and efficiency Real-time
analytics determine the ideal advertisements for the audience.
He said the new curriculum for Journalism that mirrors
today’s realities is required urgently in schools, urging that publishers should
embrace Platforms by “meet your audience where they are.”
He enjoined publishers to ‘publish at the convenience of the
readers, not the newsroom; convert casual free readers to loyal partners who
pay and recommend your content to others; experiment with different
monetization strategies; embrace diverse strategic partnerships; integrate and
encourage Mobile Journalism; be Data-Driven in your Decision-making; marry the
AI Beast before it pushes you to join the rank of useless humans whose
population is presently estimated at three (3) billion worldwide by the World
Economic Forum (WEF).”
Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the Occasion and
Commissioner for Insurance/Chief Executive Officer, National Insurance
Commission (NAICOM), Olorundare Sunday Thomas, represented by Head, Corporate
Communication and Market Development, NAICOM, Rasaaq Salami, said Business
Journal coming out as a tabloid is going to add value to the system.
“We know that information is key and when we have a credible
medium through which we disseminate this information, the people are better
informed. Beyond the traditional role of the media which is to entertain and
educate, I believe Business Journal has served this purpose in the past and I
believe it can improve on whatever they have been doing,” Rasaaq added.
While congratulating Prince Cookey for achieving this feat,
he said Business Journal has done well from being a magazine at inception,
adding an online version and now creating a tabloid segment. He promised the
Commission’s support for the success of the publication.
Earlier in his remarks, the Commissioner of Information and
Strategy, Lagos State, Gbenga Omotosho
who was represented by the Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Adeola Olagoke, commended the publisher of Business
Journal Newspaper, Prince Cookey, for the publication which she said will
bridge the gap of information dissemination in Lagos State and the country at
large and pledged government’s readiness to support the publication.
In his opening remarks, the publisher of Business Journal
Newspaper, Prince Cookey, said the vision of the newspaper is to be the largest
media outfit in Africa, delivering value to readers, advertisers and other key
stakeholders through both online and print services.
“We started off in 2018 as a magazine, added the online
platform and today, we are showcasing the tabloid as a newborn baby. We have
already started and no matter the challenges and obstacles, with God on our
side, we believe strongly that we shall achieve our dream,” Cookey said.
While thanking all the companies and individuals that
supported the company so far, he appealed to them for more support.