Many weeks ago when I walked into Daily Independent Newspaper newsroom, I was totally blown away. Unable to resist the temptation, I took selfies to capture the atmosphere. I gleefully shared the pictures on my social media pages on instagram and Facebook. Once inside, you get the feel that you are lost in the belly of the newsroom of a big foreign media own media house.
The technology deployed is top-notch: on every seat are latest flatscreen desktop computer gadgets including the expensive Apple iMac and there is no single trace of wire cables hanging loosely. The furniture is very comfortable and with the air conditioning in full wing, you may easily fall into the temptation to drift off. There is a mini exhibition corner that showcases prototypes of the paper. If you are reading my narrative, I know you are probably wondering where my excursion to one of the top seven newspapers would end.
Unfortunately, all you have read above is the only bright spot there is about the publication owned by ex-Delta Governor, James Ibori. On Tuesday, October 13th, it would be a week that the long-suffering staff members have down tooled over non-payment of salary for more than 12 months. The people had had enough.
That picture perfect ambience that I painted above all alomg has been peopled by unhappy staff members who have not been paid for eons. The priority of the administrators was clearly on the property not the staff who should matter most.
This is a sad narrative of the Nigerian media enterprise; beautiful outside rotten inside. Its a catalogue of woes; unpaid salaries, poor renumeration, tough working conditions, zero life and equipment insurance etc From broadcast media to print, the song is the same.
It throws up a couple of ironies. In Nigeria, state and federal civil servants are still grappling with months of unpaid salaries, some up to 12 months and more just like staff members of Daily Independent. Was the economic quagmire in the civil service reported in Daily Independent? You bet it was, unfortunately the job of reporting must be done. How ironic!
As a reporter, I am deeply disturbed that media practitioners scrutinize everything else but ourselves. We suffer in silence and publish hardbiting editorials about corruption in the government while the same demon fester right under our nose. We provide a shoulder for other members of the society to cry and languish in self denial.
I think its high time, we stopped our deceit and start telling the society the truth about ourselves; the truth that nothing is working. Did somebody recently say PR is dead, well journalism is being lowered into the grave already. Its not likely that any media house will publish my song of lamentation but thank God for social media.
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