A new entertainment bible
Bi-monthly
magazine, E24-7- is positioning itself to be an oracle on entertainment
information. Published by Biodun Kupoluyi, a seasoned entertainment
journalist, E24-7 has in a number of editions explored the hitherto
unexplored; celebrating the deserving and criticising the unremarkable.
The 70-page
publication spans the entertainment scene from the thespian to the
musical; and the intellectual to the inexplicably popular. It is safe
to say that after about two years of its circulation, E24-7 has
featured a good percentage of Nigeria’s seemingly inexhaustible showbiz
personalities.
With glossy pages,
attractive cover designs and headlines that tug at your penchant to
feed your curiosity on the elusive details on the lives of the
lionised, E24-7 features regular sections like: Frontrow – a panegyric
about celebrities who have in some way or the other developed their
immediate or remote environments; Spotted – quirky pictures of our
dearest celebrities showing them in less than pristine situations; News
– a double spread of short snippets of recent entertainment
developments, nationally and globally; and Movie/ Music Review, which
appraises the Nollywood and music industry offerings which have
inspired us or failed to do so.
E24-7 as expected
has metamorphosed severally in the quest to find its identity amongst
the proliferation of entertainment publications in Nigeria. However,
while reviewing issues Six and Nine, it was found that the former
edition possessed a better structure than the latter. While E24-7 does
not shy from mixing things up, there is something to be said for
sticking with a good template and making a signature of it.
The initiative that
inspired the publication, ‘30 People of the Year’, as the December 2009
edition must be lauded; as well as the selection criteria which ensured
that though a majority of the personalities who made up the list were
mainstream entertainment personalities, a few others – like pastor Paul
Adefarasin, leader of House on the Rock Church; and the trio of Adebola
Williams, Chude Jideonwo and Emilia Asim Ita, the initiators of The
Future Awards – who had contributed to social development in their own
remarkable ways, were recognised as well. Too little, too much.
But for all its
production quality, E24-7 has a number of shortcomings, which hopefully
are being addressed. Many of the celebrity reviews offer nothing new. A
reader, who has expended 500 naira to enjoy an edition of the magazine,
usually does this for the extra snippet of insight that the magazine
headlines suggest. I read a profile piece on Chocolate City in Issue
Nine, and I could not help but feel cheated. The profiles clued me in,
no more than I already was, about the lives and passions of the
foursome; especially MI, who admit it or not, is the most important
ambassador of the record label.
I moved on to issue
Six and was confronted with 23 pages on the Kuti clan. Reading piece
after glowing piece of copy on Femi Kuti and his family began to come
across like reading a paid advertisement. I’ll hasten to add, however,
that the piece did give a remarkable insight to, and kindle a fondness
for, the high achieving and seemingly misunderstood musician son of
Fela Kuti.
The most
fundamental problem that plagues the publication however is bad
editing. It rears its ugly head every so often when my eyes have to
skip back to the beginning of a sentence in a bid to decipher its
meaning. Errors in spelling, tenses and syntax; tautological
expressions, and overly effusive descriptions pepper the narratives.
Also columns need
to be ratified. While it is a prevalent media practice to treat
contributors’ pieces as ‘untouchables’, the editorial team should
reserve the right to set the intellectual standard of editorial
materials. And well below, what one would assume E24-7’s standard, was
Enitan Agbabiaka Ayeni’s piece, ‘The Lady in African Woman’, which
displayed a paucity of ideas and expression.
I read an
interesting article, in the ‘Flashback’ section of issue six. It was a
profile-cum-interview piece on The Lijadu Sisters, who had dominated
the Nigerian music scene in the 60s. Written about 30 years ago, the
short article gave wonderful insight on the bonds shared by the twins;
and the environment that contributed to their musical passion. It was
too dated to have been written by any E24-7 editorial staff. Alas, no
credit was given to the writer. Is this worthy of a plagiarism charge,
or am I just spoiling for a lawsuit?
That said, E24-7 fulfils the entertainment and enlightenment
objectives many publications of its ilk do not have the wherewithal to
achieve. It takes the serious and the humorous and delivers them in an
attractive package to its increasing reader-base. One can be quite
certain that as soon as the magazine rises above these (teething?)
problems – nothing that excellent editing won’t fix, E24-7 will emerge
the next height in entertainment reporting.
