Port Harcourt – Mr Nduka Obaigbena, Chairman Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN) on Thursday advised the Nigerian media to see the social media as a positive challenge.
Obaigbena made the call while delivering a goodwill message at the ongoing All Nigerian Editors Conference (ANEC) holding in Port Harcourt.
He stated that the emergence of the social media was being wrongly viewed as a problem to the mainstream media.
According to him, the emergence of the social media had instead created room for Nigerians to have their say within the public sphere.
“The social media should not be seen as a problem to mainstream media but a spur to build strong brands,’’ he said.
The President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Waheed Odusile, urged the mainstream media to see the social media as a call to reposition journalism practice.
He said there was need for media stakeholders to meet in order to discuss ways of aggregating the issues being raised in the face of the social media.
“We need all stakeholders to work as one; the entire issues challenging the profession confront us all too,’’ he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of this year’s edition of ANEC is “Nigerian Media: Balancing professionalism, Advocacy and Business’’.