REINVENTING THE PRINT MEDIA

The print media has been at the receiving end of every innovation or technology around the world. From the very day printing press was invented by Johann Gutenberg in the 15th Century, which facilitated the printing of newsletters and information pamphlets to the current publications of tabloid and broadsheet newspapers, magazines, journals, books and other printed materials, this particular news medium had been on the defensive side; fighting to stay afloat! Today, many persons freely use the word 'Yellow Journalism' without really bothering to know what circumstances led to the coinage of such terms. Apart from the battle to outwit each other between Joseph Pulitzer's 'The New York World' and William Randolph Hearst's 'The New York Journal', the term was first coined by Erwin Wardman, and was subsequently used at the time newspaper circulation and readership was on the downward trend, just like what our own print media is going through at the moment. So, there was the need for a new way of doing business so as to create renewed interest in newspaper readership. This was what created room for the adoption and popularization of the term 'Yellow Journalism' which its practice involved, sensationalism, distorted stories, news imbalance, misleading images and impressions for the sole purpose of boosting newspaper sales and readership.

Similarly, the invention of the electronic media in the 1920's also dealt another shocking, but absorbing blow on the print media. This new technology that made Marshall McLuhan to coin the word 'The Global Village' in the 1960's also met appropriate and coordinated response from the practitioners of the print media at the time! To remain relevance to the needs of the people, the practitioners of the era incorporated features and articles in to newspaper production, making the print media attractive to the reading public once again. For the non professionals who may not understand what feature is all about, let me state here that, there is a wall of difference between features and articles. While an article is simply the expression of one's opinion, features and other classs of news writing is what separate trained journalist from ordinary writer or accidental journalists by craft! This is because, a feature is a colorful story, written in an interesting and creative manner with information drawn from people involved, people affected, experts and eye witnesses. In other words, it the news behind the news, which electronic media or untrained journalists can not offer. Just as any body can write an article or become a columnist, every body can not be called a journalist unless you have been trained by a school of journalism or you must have studied Mass Communication in any tertiary institution.

Having been able to quell all the fiery darts of the past, the print media requires new thinking to contain the 'Disruptive Technology' dubbed, the internet. Like the two edged sword, the internet is both for good and for bad. Apart from the much publicized killing of Cynthia Osokogu through a social media called 'Facebook', many unreported cum underreported atrocities and frauds have been committed using the internet. At the risk of being branded as a technophobic journalist or activist, I want to state categorically that, before the inclusion of 'Free Speech Online', as a basic human right on July 6 this year, by the United Nations; I have been a strong advocate for online freedom of expression. Even when the Malaysian Government proposed a new legislation to regulate free speech online in August this year, I kicked against it on BBC World Have Your Say. Like the case made by the proponents of a press theory known as 'Social Responsibility Theory' against the 'Libertarian Theory', citizen journalism should be allowed to continue, but practitioners must be responsible!

However, the act of making newspaper contents free on the internet by the conventional media is one of the major reasons behind the dwindling fortunes of the print media, and this is also responsible for the large volumes of unsold newspapers and magazines been recorded daily. According to an article written by Dele Momodu on the back page of Thisday Newspaper in 2011, which was entitled: “Why Journalists Are Poor”, he said, with the combination of all the newspapers and magazines in the country, total sales is not up to one million copies. Is this not enough reason to start looking inwards? Or do we still want to remain high and dry, watching other professionals smile to the bank with full respects accorded them, while we fast and run around as errand boys for the politicians and celebrities in the name of being rewarded with appointments as Special Adviser on media? The answer is certainly no!

All over the word, newspapers, magazines and other e-books are bought and sold online. While some use “Kindle” to browse and download newspapers to read, others use their phones, ipads and personal computers or laptops. As for kindle, it is an electronic device which enables users to browse and download newspapers, magazines, journals and e-books through a wireless network. Apart from depending solely on revenues from advertisers which has sent 'News Week Magazine' to untimely grave, newspapers should also be making money from subscriptions. Example, 'The USA Today' charge $11.99 per month from kindle users. 'The New York Times' charge $13.99 per month from kindle users as well, while, 'The Wall Street Journal' charge $9.99 from kindle users alike. However, many Nigerians may or may nor welcome this development, but, it is important that the Editors Guild and the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria as well the Nigerian Union of Journalists, adopt a new approach that will make online readers to pay for the services because, according Mr. Rupert Murdock, newspaper owners are paying the journalists who gather, edit and publish the stories. This new approach will not only bring money to the industry, but it will also help the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria. If the above suggestions do not work, then readers should be made to register with the various newspapers so as to ascertain their geographical location for enhanced advertising.

Comrade Edwin Ekene Uhara is the National President of Young Nigerians for Change.

No.29, Ben Mbamalu Crescent, Achara Layout, Enugu State.

07065862479, 08076134054 edwinuhara@rocketmail.com