Traditional media houses and journalists have been urged to adapt their contents to existing platforms and explore other funding options to stay afloat. Prof. Rotimi Olatunji of the School of Communication, Lagos State University (LASU), Lagos, who is on sabbatical at the Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo Town, Oyo State, gave the advice in a chat with The Guardian.
The professor said journalists and media houses should not depend solely on revenue from advertisement, but should explore different genres of journalism and its ancillaries to make money.
Prof. Olatunji said: “There have been succeeding historical developments as far as media technology is concerned. Once we had oral society where only the storytellers held sway. Later, we had the printing press, radio, film and broadcasting.
“Now, we have the Internet in the age of digitalisation. When radio came, people thought the newspaper would be dead and forgotten. When TV came, people thought it was the end of the radio.”
“Then the film, they thought it was the end of broadcast. Then, the Internet has come; there is fear in the air that print journalism is dead and forgotten. The increasing mortality rate in the newspaper industry tends to confirm this kind of fear.
“But there is hope at the end of the tunnel. Journalism is still alive. The need for journalists is still ever present. Only that the strategy and practice of journalism has changed.”
The don stressed the need to adapt content with the media platforms that exist, especially with citizen journalism, where every man have become journalists with uploading of news with their android phones. “That is not called journalism. That is why we have the problem of fake news and hate speech, because they don’t follow the tenets of journalism. The fact that they write and post does not mean they are journalists.
“”The funding options have changed. Rather than looking for traditional advertising funding options, which have been dwindling, we now need to consider other economic options of funding journalism.”
Continuing, the don said: “They need to diversify to other areas. They can do event marketing, they can have an academy where they will train people who want to hone skills in journalism and other related fields. Those doing well have diversified. It is time for the industry to diversify.
“And again, by migrating online, advertisers will also migrate with them online. And they will have their cut of advertising revenue…”
