The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina, has called on online publishers to desist from publishing stories that blackmail individuals or groups, and capable of inciting a section of the country against each other.
Adesina made this call on Thursday in Lagos during the formal launch of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers.
He also charged them to become agents of change in Nigeria by being fair, credible and balanced in their reportage, saying that was the only way people could take them seriously.
Adesina added that operating an online media should not give any individual or group the power to use vague words, as the government would not protect anyone who gets into trouble because of such irresponsible journalism.
“You (online publishers) have to start now to become agents of change to our dear country by churning out objective reportage online that will foster our growth and unity. Although millions of people access information online, they still do not trust such until the traditional media publishes it.
“We should cease from publishing things that would warrant your audience to wait for the traditional media to validate it before they believe or not,” Adesina said.
He added, “For those who see the online media as a licence to use vague words and insist on continuing to do as they wish, we will not be liable when such persons get into trouble.
“Unless online publishers clean up, the bad ones will continue to dominate and they will continue to give people the impression not to believe anything online until they are validated.”
Adesina added that online publishers were free to criticise the government but he warned that “such criticism must be validated.”
Also, a former Chairman of Punch Nigeria Limited, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, shared Adesina’s views, saying, “Online publication has yet to gain full acceptance in the country due to the activities of blackmailers.”
He commended the guild for the bold step in repositioning online reporting, noting that “self regulation is necessary for credible reporting.”
Ogunshola stated that those going into online publication should do that for passion and interest and not with the mindset to get rich.
“There is so much money to be made in online business, but not in online publishing. But you can be successful while pursuing your good dream through online publication,” he said.
Ogunshola added that he encouraged and pioneered online publication in The PUNCH newspaper, and the other titles, “because that is the future of news reporting.”
The Chief Executive Officer of Zinox Computers, Mr. Leo Stan Eke, said that for online publications to become “global powers,” the owners should consider coming together to form mergers.
“Look at your strengths, come together and have three major platforms that can succeed, rather than having many that are not successful,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, pledged that he and his colleagues would consider creating laws that would aid the growth of online publication.
Dogara, who was represented by the House Deputy Chairman, Ad-hoc Committee on Media, Abdulrazak Namdas, however, appealed that Nigerians should not expect too many laws from the House.
“It is not the number of laws that matter, but the efficiency of the law(s). It is better to have few laws that are efficient,” Dogara said.
PUNCH.
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