Professor Umaru Pate, Vice Chancellor, Federal University, Kashere, in the Gombe State of Nigeria, has urged the government to invest in state media organisations for them to stay competitive.
He said changing trends on the media landscape meant that state-owned media must be resourced to match the pace of “alternative news outlets that are operating in real time.”
“Without investment, innovation will not occur; without innovation, people will not have confidence in the quality of delivery of these [state] media organisations,” he stated, in his address at the 28th Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Media Awards in Accra.
Prof Pate noted that Journalism, like other disciplines, was going through “transition” as a result of technology which created both “opportunities and threat” for the sector.
Referring to decline in newspaper readership, and competing interest for advertising revenue, he emphasised that existing funding models in Journalism were collapsing, therefore, media owners needed to find “innovative ways” to sustain their operations.
He cited “reach, revenue, reputation, relevance, and resilience,” as key elements needed for media organisations to survive, and also tasked practitioners to produce engaging content.
“While technology is the enabler for a media organisation to function, content is the window that connects the media to its audience…Content requires creativity, resources and intellect, but are sometimes expensive to acquire,” the professor stated to back his call for investment in the media.
The scholar also expressed concern over the rise in “misinformation, disinformation, mal-information, hate speech, and offensive speech,” which emerged due to the rise in new media owners and “all kinds of media reportage.
This phenomenon, he said, tended to undermine the credibility of traditional media organisations that “strive to continue to inform the public.”
Prof Pate also stressed safety of journalists in all aspects, including social, legal, economic, gender, and psychological.
The ceremony climaxed the 75th Anniversary celebration of the GJA on the theme: “75 years of excellence in Journalism: The Role of the media in Democratic Governance and Elections”.
Mr Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, Chariman, National Media Commission, called for self-regulation by the media and ethical reportage in the upcoming election, and also justified the call for adequate resources for the state-owned media.
He said state news establishments were mandated to provide fair coverage for all political parties, therefore, the government must provide the necessary logistics for the institutions to deliver on their mandate ahead of the 2024 General Election.
GNA