The Federal Government is partnering with the Anthology, a number one AI Tech company in the world, on blackboard technology to aid learning efficiency.

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman while receiving in his office, the Anthology delegation in Abuja on Thursday, said the partnership would leverage on the limitations of physical capacity of learning and the inability to access credible learning materials.

Anthology is an EdTech provider that supports learners and institutions with the largest education technology ecosystem on a global scale.

Mamman pledged to provide necessary support that would facilitate the progress of the blackboard in the country.

“I am a firm believer of technology, I believe in the efficacy of what we can use technology to achieve.

“We are at the beginning of major reform in the education sector from the basic levels to tertiary levels. We know that physical capacity is a limiting factor but through IT, you can reach practically everybody and we are determined to do it,” he said.

Earlier, the Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono explained that the blackboard would establish Centres of Excellence in Nigeria that would be a benchmark for online learning methodologies

Echono said it would also help the country to be at the forefront of learning management system saying that “what happened during COVID would not catch us unawares again”.

He added that the blackboard would enroll about 2.2million student users in Nigeria across the 253 institutions.

He said the plan to enrol other private institutions to increase the target to 3million students.

“It is a platform that handles everything even from management of the institutions to the process of seeking admission-when you get enrolled to how you finish.

“Also the blackboard is able to provide content for all the institutions and the real-time engagement that the institutional ecosystem operates.

“It also gives us the opportunity to be able to benchmark what is happening in other institutions around the globe that are all using the same platforms.

“Blackboard will establish centre of excellence in Nigeria that will be a benchmark on online learning methodologies and this will really help to be in the forefront of learning management system that what happened during COVID will not catch us unawares again,” he said.

Meanwhile, the President of Anthology, Joe Belenardo, said the blackboard had been tested to provide solutions to students and directors of ICT around the world through skills.

Belenardo explained that the blackboard, a learning management system currently has about 6,000 clients and 150 million students globally and is designed to create additional solutions/innovations, access to network and give business development opportunities for learners.

“With ICT skills, we will make a difference in making the world a better place,” he said.

Also, the Country Director and Channel Partner for Anthology Nigeria, Mr Ladipo Adedeji explained that the system allowed students to function adequately both online and onsite.

“It’s not just about online learning, the learning management system allows you to function in schools whether it’s online or offline.

“As you will find out, nobody carries lecture notes anymore, nobody submits physical assignments anymore, so this allows lecturers to teach more efficiently, allows students learn efficiently in a sensitive way.

“Part of also the laudable project that TETFund has done is the issue of subscription that allows each student access to a global library.

“Part of the limitations of a lot of people is that they have no access to credible material but with the platform, the limitation will be addressed.

“The feature of this is that you can learn Yoruba in a university in Brazil. This is taking Nigeria into that 21st/22nd century and that is what TETFund has been able to achieve with this laudable project,” he said.

(NAN)

The National Security Adviser, Malam Nuhu Ribadu, on Thursday solicited the cooperation of all Nigerians in eliminating all forms of insecurity.

Ribadu said that the current administration in the country inherited a tough period in terms of insecurity, appealing to the citizens to be patient.

He spoke on the security situation in the country at the ongoing 19th Annual All Nigeria Editors Conference in Uyo.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference,  which began on Wednesday, had the theme: “Stimulating Economic Growth, Technological Advancement: Role of the Media”.

“It is a tough time, that is the reality. We are not condemning anyone but that is the truth.

“Those who are in charge must say the truth and say it as it is,” he said.

Ribadu, however,  said the situation would be better.

“It is not going to be for too long. It is a matter of time, it will be better,” he said.

He gave the assurance that the Chief Bola Tinubu administration was committed to tackling the challenges.

“We have given Nigeria to President Bola Tinubu to manage for us.

“In the last five months, I have been by his side and seen how things are.

“We inherited a tough period. We appeal for patience and understanding.

Ribadu also solicited the support of editors.

” I appeal to you for support. We are going through tough times. It requires all of us to come together.”

Ribadu said that militancy in the Niger Delta had reduced drastically, adding

that  insecurity in the South East Geopolitical Zone had been curtailed since the current administration came on board.

“Let me start with the Niger Delta. At the time we took over, crude oil production stood at 1.1mbd. Today crude oil production is over 1.7mbd.

“We have witnessed three weeks without any incident of security challenge in the Niger Delta. This is the first time since 1993,  but we don’t talk.

“In the South East, when we took over last year, we had 46 police stations attacked. Today, we don’t have a single one.

“The leadership we have in our country now understands things a bit better,” he said.

He said that the Federal Government would continue to do its possible best to improve the welfare of the citizens and remain transparent.

(NAN)

Palpable tension has enveloped the premises of the Court of Appeal in Abuja as the Court is set to deliver a make or mar judgment in the legal battle on the Zamfara State Governorship election.

DAILY POST reports that the battle is between the immediate past governor of the State, Bello Matawale of the All Progressives Congress, APC, and his successor, Dauda Lawal of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Matawale, who was roundly defeated with over 65,000 votes at the March 18 gubernatorial poll, is currently the Minister of State for Defense.

Specifically, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), credited Lawal of the PDP with 377,726 votes, while Matawalle of APC was said to have scored 311,976 votes.

A 3-man panel of Justices of the Court led by Oyebisi Folayemi and supported by Cordelia Ifeoma Jombo-Ofo and Sybil Nwaka Gbagi is being expected to deliver the verdict.

The Zamfara State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal had on September 18 affirmed the election of Lawal.

As of the time of this report, heavy security has been woven around the court to ward off possible breakdown of law and order after the judgment.

A group of sympathizers who had stormed the court as early as 8 am is being restricted to far distance by heavily armed mobile policemen.

Already, the court room has been jam-packed by friends, sympathizers and political associates of the two groups.

Meanwhile, the Justices are being awaited for the delivery of the judgment.

[DailyPost]

DACEMPCS presents her third business summit.

Theme: Leveraging Cooperative Strength to Identify and Harness Business Opportunities

Date: Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Time: 12noon–2.30pm

One James Rich has been arrested for allegedly having carnal knowledge of a teenager inside a Church toilet in Anambra State.

According to the Anambra State Ministry of Women and Social Welfare, the indigene of Cross River State was arrested in Awka where he resides and allegedly committed the punishable offence.

In a statement made available to newsmen on Thursday, Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, the Media aide to the Anambra State Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, said the suspect was arrested with the help of the Anambra State Police Command.

The suspect, who works as a yardman at St. Michaels and All Angels Anglican Church, Ifite-Awka, repeatedly had carnal knowledge of the 14-year-old girl inside the church’s toilet and impregnated her in the process.

“Interviewing the suspect, he accepted to have defiled the 14-year-old and impregnated her in the process.

“He explained that he usually does so every Sunday morning at the church premises and that he has had carnal knowledge of her for about three times after which he gives her the sum of N200 to buy biscuit.

“The suspect, though married with two children and expecting a third child, lives in the church premises where he carries out his daily activity. He pleaded for pardon, stating that this was his first time committing the crime and that it was a temptation that made him do so,” Ikeanyionwu noted in the statement obtained.

When interrogated, the victim, who has reportedly developed mental challenges, said the 31-year-old suspect usually defiles her early every Sunday morning before the 6:30 a.m. service starts.

Reacting to the incident, the Commissioner disclosed that the case would be charged to court immediately to get justice for the girl.

She, therefore, warned adults to stop defiling young girls especially minors to avoid spending the rest of their lives in prison as the state does not tolerate such.

The House of Representatives, on Thursday, postponed the Sectoral debate billed to commence today owing to the failure of the Service Chiefs to appear in person for the event.

Naija News understands that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-General Taoreed Lagbaja; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, and Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun failed to honour the invitation.

They were invited to appear today as part of the Sectorial Debates introduced by the House Pursuant to Order 17, Rules 1(3) of the Standing Orders of the House.

The Service Chiefs were to meet the parliament on their constitutional responsibilities to ensure the security of lives and property as well as the territorial integrity of the nation.

The service chiefs and the IGP, however, sent in representatives who were sent back by the House on the ground that the heads were to appear in person.

The representatives were introduced into the Chamber after a motion by the House Leader, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere (APC, Edo) which was seconded by Aliyu Sani Madaki (NNPP, Kano).

But after the self-introduction by the representatives of the service chiefs and the IGP, the Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, objected, saying that although the representatives were competent in their capacities, they would be allowed to speak on behalf of their principals.

He said, “Mr Speaker, I want to move, that Chief Executives, be it private sector or public sector, they must come in person. I want to pray that we don’t break this sacred tradition of our House lest we be taken for granted.

“I therefore move that this sectoral engagement be suspended until the leaders of the agencies that we invited who are our friends, who are working for Nigeria, people we are proud of, come. They should come to address us, take our questions and explain certain things to us.”

After the Deputy Speaker’s motion which was seconded by Nnolim Nnaji, the Speaker, Abbas Tajuddeen, put the motion to a voice vote and was adopted by the House.

He said, “Our dear brothers, you have heard from the House in an emphatic manner, that this House does not encourage, does not accept representation, particularly at this high-level engagement.

“We thank you for coming. Please convey our message to your service chiefs, that we understand the tight schedules they have and we are willing to make an adjustment to reschedule this engagement to Tuesday next week for them to appear in person.”

A new report by the World Bank has revealed that between 12 to 13 million Nigerians will need food assistance in April 2024.

Naija News reports that the report comes just as Nigerians continue to battle the hard felt impact of the move by President Bola Tinubu to eliminate fuel subsidy, just as the country’s currency continues to dwindle against the dollar.

“It is estimated that 1.5 million to 2.0 million people in Burkina Faso, 1.5 million to 2.0 million in Cameroon, 0.5 million to 0.7 million in Mali, 0.2 million to 0.5 million in Mauritania, and 12.0 million to 13.0 million in Nigeria will need food assistance in April 2024—similar to April 2023 levels,” report by World Bank read.

Naija News recalls that in his inaugural speech at Eagle Square on Monday, May 29, Tinubu said that there was no funding for fuel subsidies in the 2023 budget and that such payments were no longer justified. To boost the economy, he said that his administration will instead direct funding toward infrastructure and other initiatives.

This data coincides with the National Bureau of Statistics’ most recent report on inflation, which indicated that food prices had drastically decreased in October compared to the previous month.

Despite NBS figures, Nigerians have struggled to buy food items as food and other commodity prices continue to rise.

The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has released its timetable ahead of the Edo State 2024 gubernatorial election.

Naija News reports that the schedule of activities was signed by the party’s National Organising Secretary, Umar Bature, and was released on Thursday after a joint meeting of the Board of Trustees and National Executive Committee at its headquarters in Abuja.

According to the schedule, aspirants interested in contesting the governorship election will get the nomination form for N21 million, and youths aged between 25 and 30 will get a 50 percent discount on the nomination form fees.

Registration of old and new members will be held between November 16 and December 7, while the party congress, where its governorship candidate will emerge, will hold on February 22, 2024.

December 14 is the last date for submission of the ward register to the Directorate of Organisation and Mobilisation, and stakeholders’ consultative meeting with the National Working Group will be held between December 19 and 20.

All offices’ sales of expression of interest and ad-hoc forms are slated for January 10-16, while January 17 is the last day to submit completed expression of interest and ad-hoc forms.

The screening of aspirants for the governorship seat by the National Working Committee will hold on January 18, 2024

Sales of the nomination forms to aspirants who completed and submitted their expression of interest form are slated for January 19- 25, while January 27 is the last date to submit the already completed nomination form.

February 22 is for the governorship primary, while February 24 is for the appeal on the governorship primary.

“Every morning a lion wakes up, it knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve to death…It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle, you better be running”

First attributed to Dan Montano in The Economist, but popularised by Thomas Friedman in The World is Flat.

If, 20 years ago, you asked me whether big technology (or big tech) companies were a threat to journalism, my answer would have been an emphatic yes. After all, these companies do our job without our job description. They also disrupt the media space while taking little responsibility for content.

Perhaps I should explain that there is a slight difference in form, but not always in substance, between big tech and big search engines.

While big tech could sometimes be a dominant player in information technology hardware, like Samsung, or in e-commerce, like Amazon, search engines are software monsters although both core hardware and software providers in this field have the capacity as we have seen, for forward or backward linkages. I will focus more on search engines, at least a few in the big league that have significantly disrupted our work, for good or ill.

I’m sure you know them – Google, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Yahoo, YouTube, Baidu and so on. Please don’t add MySpace to this list; it died before they could write our obituary.

The buzz-word these days, is “sustainability.” What does it mean? One of the most practical definitions I have seen is, “sustainability consists of fulfilling the needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generations.”

As to whether big tech poses an existential threat to the survival of the Nigerian media and the way out, if indeed such a threat exists, we shall see soon enough.

How media earns

Traditional media’s two basic sources of revenue are advertising and circulation or subscription sales. On the face of it, the fear of a journalistic doomsday appears justified in light of catastrophic declines in revenues from these two major sources of media income.

The relationship between big tech and traditional news media is already complex enough. But I can assure you that the impact of big tech on the media as we know it is just beginning.  The Reuters Institute has already predicted this year to be the breakthrough year for artificial intelligence and its application for journalism.

The institute rightly said the arrival of ChatGPT has transformed the debate over whether AI is here to stay or not. In its journal, Journalism, Media, and Technology Trends and Predictions 2023, the Institute said about ChatGPT, “Its speed and capabilities are awe-inspiring and frightening at the same time. While the underlying models have been around for some time, ChatGPT has turned these into an accessible prototype that gives a real sense of where AI may be heading. It can tell jokes (but has been trained not to tell racist or sexist ones), come up with plots for a film or book, write computer code.”

In case you missed it, AI even mocked our industry in the report by summarising the challenges facing local news media in 50 words!  Here’s the Q&A:

“NI: Can you summarise the challenges facing local media in 50 words.

ChatGPT: The challenges facing local media include the decline of print media and advertising revenues, competition from online news sources, and the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on local businesses, which are the major sources of advertising revenue. These challenges have made it difficult for local news outlets to sustain their operations and continue to provide important coverage and information to their communities.”

More news outlets, including News24 of South Africa, are training their systems with the voices of their popular anchors with astonishing accuracy.

Big Tech: Archenemy, Frenemy, or Friend?

Big tech may be playing more actively in our industry than us, taking an increasing share of our money and maybe our jobs without being responsible – both in proprietorship and accountability – for the information it disseminates. It has exploited its unmatched reach, ability to use algorithms to tailor content to suit consumers, and real-time engagement advantage to retain consumers. But as they say, there are two sides to a coin.

Positive Impact:

1. Increased Exposure:

• Big tech platforms provide news media companies with a vast audience. Articles and videos can be shared and spread rapidly on these platforms, leading to increased visibility and traffic for news outlets.

2. New Revenue Streams:

• Some tech platforms have revenue-sharing agreements with news media companies. For example, YouTube shares ad revenue with news organisations that post videos on its platform, once you reach a certain threshold.

3. Better Analytics:

• Tech platforms provide news media companies with sophisticated analytic tools that allow them to better understand their audiences and tailor content to user preferences.

4. Engagement Opportunities:

• Social media platforms allow news outlets to interact with their audience in a way that wasn’t possible before. They can receive immediate feedback, address concerns, and build communities around their content.

Negative Impact:

1. Ad Revenue Competition:

• Big tech companies have diverted advertising revenues away from traditional media outlets. They offer targeted advertising based on vast amounts of data, which is often more appealing to advertisers. I was scandalised during the recent general elections in Nigeria that folks who had built their careers in the mainstream and whom we were banking on left us high and dry, with the excuse that their principals wanted minimum use of legacy media platforms! But I understood, even if I did so with a heavy heart! Why? A BBC online report said, “Politicians are investing heavily in the use of websites, blogs, podcasts and social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter as a way of reaching voters.”

“During the 2019 election campaign,” the BBC report continued, “the Conservatives spent one million pounds on Facebook alone, at a point, running 2,500 adverts.”

Let’s look at some more numbers: Google earned about $3bn from sales to China-based advertisers in 2018; Google UK earned £3.34bn in 18 months ending December 2021 as total revenue in the UK market; in 2022 Google’s share of UK digital advert market was 38 percent of all adverts valued at £5.72bn.

If the UK media is complaining, I’ll advise they should not do so as loudly as us. Why?  I’m sure most of you already know that on revenue from traffic, for example, while you can get as much as $2 in CPM from traffic from the UK or the US, the best you can hope to get from local traffic, that is, traffic from Nigeria regardless of the size, is probably 80cents per 1000! Sure, this example is related to revenue from traffic; but the ratio, even for advertising is not significantly different.

2. Spread of Misinformation:

• The ease of sharing on social media platforms can contribute to the spread of misinformation. This not only misleads the public but also undermines trust in news media.

3. Algorithmic Control:

• The algorithms used by tech platforms control what content is seen and what is buried. This can lead to a loss of control for news media over how and to whom their content is distributed. In an article by Kanchan Srivastava, published on February 27, 2023, entitled, “Surviving the algorithm: News publishers walk the tightrope as Google ‘updates’ hit hard,” the author quoted a respondent as saying, “Google has released major algo updates in 2022, which impacted search traffic across publishers.” Publishers didn’t find two major updates last year by the big tech funny at all.

4. Dependency:

• News media companies may become dependent on these platforms for traffic and revenue, which can be risky given the changing algorithms and policies.

5. Potential for Censorship:

• Big tech companies have the power to censor or prioritise certain types of news content based on their own policies or external pressures, which can impact the democratic discourse.

6. Data Privacy Concerns:

• There are concerns about how big tech companies handle user data, and these concerns extend to the partnerships between tech platforms and news media companies.

7. Dilution of Brand Identity:

• Being lumped together with a multitude of other content producers on a single platform can dilute a news outlet’s brand identity.

8. Room for redress

• Complaints about discriminatory business or editorial practices from Nigeria and a number other developing countries are hardly treated with seriousness

All About Algorithm, the Devil?

Not all the challenges summarised by AI were brought upon the traditional media by big tech. Nor are we here solely because of Google’s malicious fiddling with its algo. We in the traditional media space share in the blame for what took our industry from distress to life support.

I will tweak HBS Professor Clayton Christensen a bit by saying for a long time, we were innovating our products in response to technological shifts, with very little attention to our business models, or if you’ll pardon my drift, what E. Jerome McCarthy described in his book, Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach, as the 7Ps of marketing – Product, Promotion, Price, Place, People, Process and Physical Evidence.

Nothing depicts this more tellingly than media organisations’ need to reconsider obsolete editorial culture and imbibe new ones, especially in the areas of collaboration, audience-centered production, and creating an audience community.

To be able to compete favourably, media houses may have to take another look at the redundancy levels in-house. Reuters Institute predicted that more newspapers would stop daily print production due to rising print costs and the weakening of distribution networks. It also predicted a further spate of venerable titles switching to an online-only model. They are happening before our own eyes.

Let me be local. In LEADERSHIP the average production costs of our major consumables – newsprint, plates, ink, energy – have risen, with the most significant rise being in energy cost, which increased by 40 percent in one year, while our advert rates have remained largely constant.

Survival in the media industry used to depend on rivalry in the media; now it depends on collaboration. Recent collaborative works on the Pandora Papers, BureauLocal, and the #CoronaVirusFacts have shown that media organisations can work with colleagues across boundaries to share resources for the common good.

In 2020, Aliaa El-Shabassy, a teaching assistant at Cairo University, listed six reader needs outlined by the BBC for media organisations that want to stay ahead and compete with tech platforms. Why should other media companies listen to the BBC’s advice? Well, its global reach in 2020 was 468.2m people a week!

El-Shabassy wrote, “During Corona’s peak when audiences needed a trustworthy source to rely on, BBC News scored the highest reach among other international media organisations. Moreover, according to the annual Global Audience Measure, a total of 151 million users per week are accessing BBC’s news and entertainment content digitally.”

Six reader needs that any Media Practitioner must be aware of, according to the BBC are:

Update me – which means in the era of information overload, your audience should know in a new light what they already know about. 

Give me perspective – it is a newsroom’s own goal to believe that perspective can only be shaped by the newsroom. Your audience can provide perspective.   

Educate me – everyone wants to learn about an exciting new thing. Once you provide diverse content with curiosity value, your audience will be eager to find more from you.

Keep me on trend – audiences want to be kept trending. Perhaps that was why the BBC reached a record number of people during COVID-19.

Amuse me – one of the reasons tech platforms prioritise user-generated content (remember Facebook’s pivot to video) over professionally produced content is that they have better entertainment value to attract adverts. The simple truth is that if you make your audience smile, they will most likely come back. It doesn’t always have to be serious! The more entertaining yet informative your content is, the more your institution is likely to grow.

Inspire me – inspiring stories attract younger audiences more than others and younger audiences source content through tech platforms more. Do the math!

Big Stick for Big Tech

Yet, big tech can’t get off lightly. In 2021, and despite heavy criticism, the Australian government pioneered a new media bargaining code that compels tech platforms to negotiate payment to local news media outlets for using their content.

Initially criticised as a form of subsidy from big tech to big media, significantly because of the role played by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, the law has been hugely successful. Both big and small media outlets have benefitted from the law while the country’s journalism practice has also been revitalised, leading to the creation of new journalism jobs.

In an article published in 2022 by Brookings, Dr. Courtney Radsch, Fellow, Institute for Technology, Law and Policy, UCLA, wrote that Australia’s big tech regulatory efforts were developed around three thrusts: taxation, competition/antitrust, and intellectual property.

The bargaining code therefore allows publishers to collectively bargain without violating antitrust laws; requires tech platforms to negotiate with publishers for the use of news snippets; also requires them to pay licensing fees to publishers; and taxes digital advertising and uses the revenue to subsidise news outlets.   

The EU, US and India have since adopted their own media bargaining code and the idea of compelling big tech to pay for news they don’t produce but use and sell is gaining momentum, has been gaining global support since Australia took the bull by the horns.

I’m aware that the Newspaper Proprietor’s Association of Nigeria (NPAN) set up a committee in July to examine the possibility of collective bargaining with big tech.

Staying in business

Understanding that consumers hold all – or most – of the aces, is the first step towards sustainability. For perspective, a paper entitled, “The Newspaper: Emerging Trends, Opportunities, and Strategies for Survival and Sustainability,” by Frank Aigbogun presented at a retreat for NPAN on July 18, 2023, said between 2010 and 2015, audience time spent spend on online media consumption soared to 150%. In that time, audience time spent on television decreased to -8%; radio, -15%; magazine, -23%; and newspaper, -31%.

The reality of digital media is that evolution has brought about new competition and fresh opportunities. Solutions journalism, citizens journalism, and a deeper interface between journalism and technology are the order of the day. There was a time when we consumed music via turntables, stereos with records, and then cassettes and then compact discs. Album sales are no longer used to measure the success of a body of work.

Now it is streaming, the playground of big tech companies such as Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, TIDAL, Pandora, etc. If technology did not pose an existential threat to the music industry, I do not think big tech would end journalism.

Reuters Institute said, “Better data connections have opened up possibilities beyond just text and pictures and smartphone adoption has accelerated the use of visual journalism, vertical video, and podcasts.”

Good content should not be free. What technology is doing, therefore, is to offer traditional media the opportunity to reach more people and make a profit.

Through the use of content and tech-led innovation, a growing list of brands are expanding into broadcast and streaming TV to grow and engage their audiences, and bring in new revenue streams. This involves the use of new formats, new technology, and new products to broaden and retain the audience base.

 In addition, feedback tools, such as engagement matrices, are being used to “galvanise the industry on loyalty” (according to the Financial Times, which now uses the RFV – Recency, Frequency, and Volume of reading its digital content).

Traditional media organisations in Nigeria also need to rethink their business models, from content to distribution and personnel costs. One of the ways some media organisations are going about change in business model is by targeting niche markets, while others invest in research, education and learning.

Other ideas you may find useful in turning an existential threat to an opportunity for sustainable growth, are:

• Diversify: Think about Julius Berger now into massive production and export of cashew nuts! Think about games, films, books, special events & publications, etc
• Preserve your candle: Don’t give content free and still not collect and deploy customer data. Know your audiences and cultivate them
• Re-purpose content
• Review your systems and processes regularly and take tough decisions
• Be ethical
• Invest in talent

Keep running!

Let me return to the first sentence of this presentation. Yes, big tech poses a threat because of the opaque relationship it has with traditional media. However, is this threat going to pull the plug on journalism? I’ll say no. I’ll be the first to admit that the prevailing mood in the media industry is one of uncertainty.

To be certain, nothing will bring back the days when advertisement and circulation were enough to successfully run a media organisation. Also, because the media is a kind of cultural sector that does not necessarily respond to the principles of demand and supply, media organisations that fail to swim with the tide will continue to struggle or pack up altogether. If we invest in what feels relevant and useful to consumers, then we have nothing to worry about because technology will help us know exactly how to adapt and reach our target audience.

What we should worry about instead is how to retain the ethics of our practice in the face of robotic and artificial media which might just overpower the audiences we share.

Remember: whether you’re a lion or a gazelle, you better be running!

The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia has clarified reports about the visa cancellation and deportation of some Nigerians upon entry into the Kingdom.

The Saudi Arabian government had on Monday, November 13, cancelled the visa of 177 passengers airlifted by Nigeria’s major carrier, Air Peace, on arrival at the country from Kano, insisting that they be returned to Nigeria.

Consequently, 177 passengers were made to return on the same flight back to Nigeria while 87 passengers were cleared by Saudi immigration and allowed entry into Jeddah.

The Federal Government through the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Tuesday, urged all affected passengers of Air Peace who had their visas cancelled and subsequently deported from Saudi Arabia to remain calm as it has launched an investigation into the matter.

However, in a statement, Saudi authorities stated that the visas of the 177 Air Peace passengers from Nigeria upon Arrival in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia were cancelled for violating the country’s entry rules.

“The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Abuja would like to make a clarification about the media reports and social media releases concerning the deportation of Nigerian citizens at the point of entry into the Kingdom.

“The passengers, who were denied entry, and subsequently deported to their initial destinations, did not fulfill the entry conditions and requirements in accordance with the applicable rules and regulations of the Kingdom, as they submitted incorrect information to obtain a category of visa that does not apply to them, which was discovered upon their arrival.’’

The Royal Embassy stressed the importance of following the procedures and laws enacted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for all visitors.

It stated, “The Royal Embassy would like to stress the importance of following the procedures and laws enacted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for all visitors.

“Furthermore, all passengers should review all the documents to determine their conformity with the conditions before departing from their countries to the Kingdom.

“This procedure was not limited to Nigerian citizens only, but rather to citizens of other countries.’’

[NationalDaily]