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It was a front page
headline last week that the media should be the one to rebrand Nigeria.
This was contained in the sermon of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the general
overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God at the Vanguard Media
Fellowship. The man of God was emphatical when he said “it is not the
government that will rebrand Nigeria; it is the media.”

Though I agree with
Pastor Adeboye’s view, l will quickly add that the government,
especially our leaders, have a crucial role to play. I stated this in
an earlier write-up that rebranding should start from the top. However,
if I take a quick guess at what Pastor Adeboye was trying to say, he
wanted the media as purveyor of information to utilise its role
effectively to project a positive image for the country.

Adeboye was frank
to a fault, that the onerous burden of rebranding and redeeming the
dented image of the country is the function of the media. He spoke
extensively about how the media has been publishing negative reports,
which further have adverse effects on the country’s image. The media
should reconsider its role in embellishing negative reports beyond
imagination.

I also started as a
journalist and I know the importance of a bad news becoming “good news”
in the media. The media should endeavour to increase its projection of
‘good things’ happening in the country.

In some cases, when
l see foreign events dominating front pages of newspapers, l wonder
whether Nigeria could be accorded same prominence in the foreign media.
The point here is that there are key landmarks that the media is not
giving utmost priority. A number of newspapers deserve commendation for
focusing on the enterpreneunal spirit of Nigerians and on some
community oriented reports.

It is imperative to
state that the media cannot effectively be an agent of change if it
does not put its house in order. Though the efforts of NUJ and NGE in
sanitising the profession deserve commendation, there is still a lot to
be done to restore the dignity of the fourth estate of the realm.

There is an urgent
need to ensure strict adherence to ethical standards of the profession.
This is a case of ‘physician heal thyself’. The attitude of some
journalists is unbecoming and if this not checked, it will continue to
denigrate the profession.

The issue of
professionalism should also be looked into. I remember that as a
cub-reporter with Sketch Press Ltd., we were subjected to rigorous
training at the training school before being admitted into the
newsroom. I know Guardian too has a qualitative reportorial training
which l also benefitted from under the late Doyin Mahmud, a versatile
journalist of repute. It is observed that new entrants into the
profession are no longer exposed to the fundamentals of the profession.

This is one
critical area that should be addressed. Our institutions of learning
are also not helping the situation, as Mass Communication students
cannot even write effectively. I have had to start training and
nurturing young graduates entering Journalism and Marketing
Communication in order to make them thoroughbred professionals.

For the media to be
effective in rebranding Nigeria, credibility should be looked into.
Several media practitioners have resorted to blackmail in order to
maintain their means of livelihood. Since there is specialisation in
the media now, some journalists have commercialised their pages and
without one paying money, one’s reports cannot get published. This
might be related to the fact that several media houses owe salaries,
and the resultant effect makes some journalists to engage in acts
inimical to the profession.

I still belong to
this noble fourth estate of the realm, but my heart bleeds with the
current trend in this distinguished profession. For the media to earn
respect of the society, it should lead by example. l have had several
conversations with people and they say all kinds of unprintable things
about the profession.

This is a clarion
call to all and sundry for us all to engage in a house cleansing
exercise. We need to restore the glory of this profession. The public
should see us as a set of noble and distinguished professionals.
Nonetheless, this is not to say that we do not have people of integrity
in the profession. There are still men and women of conscience who have
refused to soil their hands.

It is only when the
media lives above board that it can take the torch to brighten the
firmament. A credible media is very important to the positive
projection of the country, but let the media practitioners turn the
searchlight on themselves first.

Ayopo, a communication strategist and public relations specialist, is the CEO of Shortlist Ltd.