The International Centre for Investigative Reporting will, Wednesday, June 22, hold a conference on Media Sustainability at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja as part of its 10th anniversary celebration.
This was announced via a statement dated June 15 sent to OyoReporters by Gloria Agema, Senior Programme Officer, ICIR.
The statement titled, ’10th year anniversary: ICIR holds conference on media sustainability,’ read that “The issue of financial viability and sustainability is one that media organisations around the world grapple with daily.
“This challenge is exacerbated by the erosion of advertising revenues through the rise of technology platforms such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, and several others, leaving the media business in a fragile condition.
“In the last two years, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the misfortunes of global media enterprise in ways never imagined before. But, while the Western Media to a large extent seems to have found winning formulae to do business profitably, the media in the Global South, particularly countries in Africa, is still struggling to stay afloat.
“It is in view of these multiple challenges that the ICIR is inviting media practitioners and other stakeholders to a conference on media sustainability in Nigeria.”
On the planned conference, the statement quoted the Executive Director and Founder of the ICIR, Dayo Aiyetan, as saying that “the time is now to have a conversation on the future of the media in Africa, particularly its viability and profitability.
“Many news organisation are not profitable because of dwindling sales and ad revenue. Many media companies cannot pay salaries and are laying off staff. The media in Nigeria is hemorrhaging.”
He was also quoted by the statement as saying that industry leaders must discuss how to find profitable ways of running media businesses.
A keynote address on ‘Sustainability Imperatives for African Media’ would be delivered by Tshepo Mahloele, Chairperson of Arena Holdings, one of Africa’s largest English newspaper publishers in South Africa. Mahloele is also an entrepreneur who holds major investments in many projects in South Africa and other countries.
A panel discussion that follows would have as discussants Chief Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman, Thisday Newspapers; Ms Chris Anyanwu, CEO, Hot Fm; Mallam Kabir Yusuf, CEO, Daily Trust Newspapers; Ms Kadaria Ahmed, CEO, RadioNow and Prof. Abigail Ogwezzy-Ndisika of the University of Lagos, UNILAG.
Martins Oloja, Managing Director of Guardian Newspaper Limited, would moderate the conversation while Euginia Abu, a respected TV personality, would compère the event.
