Despite Govt Ownership, NAN Still Wins Media Industry Trust – Prof. Pate

Despite Govt Ownership, NAN Still Wins Media Industry Trust – Prof. Pate

A Professor of Communication and Vice-Chancellor, Federal University, Kashere, Gombe state, Professor Umaru A. Pate, has said that News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has been able to win media industry trust, despite its ownership structure.

PRNigeria reports that NAN was established by the federal government of Nigeria in 1976 to project and promote the good image of the country globally.

The don spoke on Tuesday in Kaduna, while delivering a lecture at the national retreat of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the theme: “News Agency of Nigeria: Yesterday, today and tomorrow”.

According to him, NAN has gradually been able to outplace international news agencies in the country from local media, unlike what obtained before it came onboard.

Prof. Pate also said despite being owned by government, the news agency has been able to win media industry and public trust and is regarded as reputable and trustworthy source of news in Nigeria.

He however challenged the company to diversify its revenue sources as one of the strategies of adopting the current global trend.

The don argued that the changing environment of media operation in Nigeria is difficult and uncertain from what he described as ongoing digital transformation.

Prof. Pate however lamented that proliferation of fake news poses one of the biggest threat to the existence of media operation in Nigeria and globally.

According to him, the truth is under attack from factories of fake news and that business models for the conventional media are struggling, while there is general decline in coverage and reporting of local news contributing to disappearances of jobs.

He also explained that global tech media giants have now hijacked and dominated media operations, even though they do not have the know-how of responsible journalism.

“Some of the fallouts from the ongoing transition is dominance of giant tech companies in the flow of news without corresponding responsibility; abundance of speech with scarcity of attention: bad actors with varied agendas flood the social media with dangerous, hateful, divisive speech,” he explained.

Earlier in his remarks, the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Malam Ali Muhammed Ali reiterated commitment to reposition the agency to attain global best practices in its operations.

He said that NAN was sitting on a goldmine, and needed the will power, creativity and ingenuity to harness its human capital and material resources to reach full bloom.

“I have arrived at the inevitable conclusion that to thread the path to a prosperous future, we must first embark on a deep introspection on our past, reflect on our current realities and set the template to grab and run with the immense opportunities out there.

“This particularly became poignant for me after attending the World Media Summit in Guangzhou, China, in December 2023 where I spoke on ‘Bolstering Confidence: Media’s Role in Promoting Human Development and Security,’ which set the tone for the syndicate discussion.

“The telling lesson I took away from engaging world media leaders at that summit was what I couched in the battle cry: Innovate or die.

“It was clear now more than ever that NAN must embrace innovation or wither,” he said.

Also speaking, Mr Ephraims Sheyin, the Editor-in-Chief of NAN, commended Ali, adding that a lot had happened since his assumption of office.

He said the agency had restored workers’ confidence under Ali’s stwadership, stressing that, “they are proud that someone with a big dream is in charge.

“Ali has affected the workers with an ambience whose aroma is so engulfing”.

Sheyin said the newsroom at the Abuja was wearing a new look with more amenities, adding that the agency had distributed laptops and iPADs reporters to encourage them.

He expressed commitment towards the improvment of editorial content to enable it to meet the demand of subscribers.

By PRNigeria