Ogunshola, others hail Daily Trust at 20

Eniola Akinkuotu, Abuja

A former Chairman of Punch Nigeria Limited, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, has praised Daily Trust for sustaining a culture of professionalism in the media industry in the last 20 years.

He said this at an event held in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the newspaper in Abuja on Thursday.

Ogunshola, who was the chairman on the occasion, said the newspaper had never been under the control of any government.

Speaking at the event with the theme, ‘Journalism as Business: News, Views and Advertising’, the former President of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria said he had no doubt in his mind that the newspaper would continue to do well.

He said, “I know as a fact that the newspaper is not under the influence of any government and it has never been. That is not always easy for many organisations like that. It requires courage and integrity of those in charge of the organisation to be able to do so.

“They seized upon a good time, they saw the need for the paper and they timed the entrance very well, seized the opportunity and here we are today.”

Ogunshola noted that in the last 20 years, the media industry and the country at large had changed a great deal.

He said the theme of the event was important because the media was facing many challenges most especially profitability.

Ogunshola, however, stated that there was a need for the media not to compromise its integrity for monetary gain.

The former PUNCH chairman said the next 20 years might be tougher for the media industry.

He said, “The next 20 years are going to be even tougher than the last because obviously the scene is changing very rapidly.”

In his remarks, the Director of Media Trust Ltd., Alhaji Rabiu Garba, said the newspaper had gone through a lot in the last two decades.

According to Garba, the company, which started from a one-room office in Kaduna State in 1998, now owns a six-storey building headquarters in Abuja

Garba noted that the company had evolved from a single newspaper title to nine publications.

A former lawmaker, Senator Chris Anyanwu, who is the proprietor of Hot FM, also hailed the newspaper for its professionalism.

Anyanwu, who was a member of a panel of discussants, however, lamented the role technology was playing in the media industry.

“Technology is wreaking havoc on the industry because it aims at pleasing the consumers. Even online today, some consumers can subscribe to software that blocks adverts and when that happens, advertisers would leave the online platform and there would not be any money to be made,” she said.

The Hot FM proprietor added that there was a need for local government authorities to stop harassing people for television and radio taxes which, she noted, were often not properly utilised.

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source http://punchng.com/ogunshola-others-hail-daily-trust-at-20/