A former governor of Ogun State and a veteran journalist, Chief Olusegun Osoba, has charged the Nigerian media leaders on the need to join hands together to fight fake news by informing the world news space with facts.
Osoba also urged all Nigerian newspapers to explore online publication and be more proactive.
He condemned the infiltration of some non-journalists and bloggers that have dominated the media space with fake and unverified news.
The former Ogun State governor spoke on Monday in Abeokuta at the opening ceremony of the 2nd Nigerian Media Leaders’ Summit organised by The Journalism Clinic.
The frontline politician said the media should create credible sources of information online, stressing the need to come up with a forum to legislate and regulate the practice of journalism.
“All newspapers should go online and be more proactive. This is the only way to preserve our integrity. We should do more of this, exchange views and see what we can do to self-regulate the profession,” he said.
Osoba also lamented the rate at which journalists are being humiliated by government agents, saying the media should collectively write and fight against the menace.
In his own remark, the Chairman, Newspapers Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria and Chairman, Media Trust Limited, Kabir Yusuf, advised the media to inform and report events as they happen without getting involved in the story.
He also stressed the need for newspapers to go back to the basics by highlighting the life side of every serious issue in the course of reporting events.
Yusuf said most Nigerian newspapers have neglected the entertainment role of the media profession because of the demands of the advertisers.
The founder of The Journalism Clinic, Taiwo Obe, said the event is coming nearly five years since when the first edition was held.
“With huge support and partnerships from, among others, the Lagos State Government, Nigeria LNG Limited, Central Bank of Nigeria, Punch Nigeria Limited, The Cable Newspapers and UAC Foods, we are able to hold the summit with the theme ‘In pursuit of products, profits and more,” Obe said.
About 60 senior journalists are attending the summit which ends on Wednesday.
