NPAN urges journalists to improve the society through reporting
By Idris Bakare
The President of Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), Mallam Kabir Yusuf, has urged journalist to improve the society through their media reporting.
He made this call in Lagos during the media Roundtable on “Deepening Media Professionalism Through Co-Regulation” organised by NPAN in conjunction with the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE); Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ); Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
The Roundtable being organised by the creme-de-creme in the Nigerian media especially newspaper publishers is deliberating on two new documents presented by NPAN including the 2022 Draft Code of Ethics for Nigerian Journalists and Co-Regulation: a pathway to an effective media ombudsman.
Those in attendance include the Life Patron of NPAN, Chief Olusegun Osoba, Chairman of This Day/Arise News Channel, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, Publisher of Vanguard, Chief Sam Amuka, President of the NUJ, Mr. Chris Isiguzo, President of NGE, Mall. Isah Mustapha, among others.
Mall Yusuf who is the Chairman of Media Trust Group, publishers of Daily Trust titles and Owner of Trust TV, said the Roundtable is a major step towards deepening professionalism in the media.
“What we are doing is just a first step towards making our media more professional, stronger and more respected in the society,” he said.
He said the media wields the power to make or mar and the practitioners must improve on the professionalism to improve the societal well-being.
“If we professionalise and we have these mechanisms in place, the society will be a better place,” he said.
Also Speaking at a media roundtable on deepening media professionalism through co-regulation, a former governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba, said the media needed to do some introspection and reposition itself for accountability and for the public good.
Osoba said the need to review the code of conduct was motivated by the move from the House of Representatives to ambush the media through the infamous and obnoxious Press Council Amendment Bill 2019, which surfaced at the clandestinely convened public hearing of the legislature on June 17, 2021.
