The chairman of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Mallam Kabiru Yusuf, has said that for the media industry to serve its purpose, it must be allowed to run as a purely business enterprise.
Yusuf, who is also the chairman of the Board of Media Trust Limited (publisher of Daily Trust and other titles, said this at Dangote Business School, Bayero University, Kano, on Saturday while presenting a paper during the experience sharing colloquium on Investment and Growth Potentials in the Media Industry, was organized by the Kano-Jigawa Professionals Forum (KJPF).
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According to him, the media’s main purpose of serving the public is achievable only if it works as a business enterprise, not as an advocacy or regional one as done in the past.
Speaking on the theme ‘Media Entrepreneurship: Investment, Employment Opportunities, Management and Profitability, Yusuf noted that is the advertising that is currently supporting the newspaper industry.
“No doubt, the purpose of the media is to serve the public and that cannot be achieved until the media is allowed to run as a business. While in the process of running it as a business, then it will serve the public.
“The challenges in the media are enormous looking into the circulation of newspapers today. Despite the number of elites in the country, the circulation of newspapers is still low. This prompts the need for innovation and technology in the profession,” Yusuf said.
Also speaking, the royal father of the event and veteran journalist, the Makaman Ringim, Alhaji Muhammed Ibrahim, corroborated Yusuf’s position, stressing that the media industry’s perception towards the public should head towards serving the public’s interest and generating revenue.
He said the emergence of more radio stations should be purpose-driven and not just about copying a working system of one organisation.
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