Last week, there was an outbreak of peace in the palaver between the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) and DAAR Communications Plc, owners of African Independent Television (AIT) and RayPower FM. NBC had shut down the two stations a few days earlier on charges of alleged violation of the broadcasting code. The company took the NBC to court and the court asked the combatants to maintain the status quo before the war. However, three leaders of the media industry, Mr Ismaila Isa, former NPAN president, Mr. Sam Amuka, Publisher of the Vanguard and Patron of the NPAN, and Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, NPAN president and Publisher of ThisDay newspapers quickly stepped into the matter and resolved it amicably. By the decisions reached at the meeting the NBC is to lift the suspension on the broadcasting organization while DAAR Communications is to withdraw its case from the court. It will also appoint an Ombudsman that is to look over its shoulders in matters of professionalism and ethics. These decisions are to be filed in court as evidence of out of court settlement.
There is an African proverb that says it is better to drive away the preying hawk before spraying the straying cock with words of caution. So it seems appropriate now to say something about the condition and conduct of the media generally. The mainstream media in Nigeria today are struggling with enormous challenges that threaten to drive them to extinction. These challenges which manifest themselves in low patronage (adverts, readership/viewership etc) have led to low professional and ethical practices. Secondly, most journalists who work for mainstream media owned by Federal and State Government and private companies seem to misunderstand their professional roles in these media vis a vis their duty to their proprietors.
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