Kadaria Ahmed: The media must think of new models to survive

Kadaria Ahmed, a journalist and media entrepreneur, says there is need for media houses to think of new models apart from advertisements to sustain their operations.

This was her submission as a guest speaker at this month’s edition of ThursdayTalks, a virtual progamme organised by Enough is Enough Nigeria (EIE), a civil society organisation.

Ahmed said the true test of journalists is the extent to which they are able to hold those in positions of power accountable.

“You cannot do journalism unless at the centre of what you do is social change. The more depraved and dysfunctional a society is, the greater the need for proper journalism,” she said.

Commenting on the issue, Simon Kolawole, founder and CEO of TheCable, who was also a guest, said the sustainability of media houses in contemporary times would be dependent of the value they create.

He said while the harsh economic condition may have affected the purchasing power of people, media houses can still enjoy relative patronage if they stand for issues that really affect the society.

They also discussed on how Nigerian media houses can discharge their responsibilities as agents of social change amid the harsh economic realities.

Kolawole said there is need for journalists to brace up for their crucial task of raising attention to various deeply-rooted anomalies in the system with a view to effecting change.

“We live in a country where there is so much inequality and where corruption is a major problem. As a journalist, you cannot claim to be making impact if you do not draw attention to these issues and set an agenda on how they can be resolved,” he said.

This, he added, would prevent over-dependence of media establishments on advertisements from those in government to survive.

Ahmed, who previously worked with the BBC, said: “We are going through a period when it is really hard to practice proper and sustainable journalism.”

She said media houses can grapple with the challenges by building public trust through indepth reporting which place public interest over monetary gain.

“Trust is going to be the currency that the media is going to utilise to raise resources required to keep real journalism. Media houses can earn the trust of people when they see that they are passionate about social change,” she said.

The event, tagged: “Journalists and Social Change”, was moderated by ‘Fisayo Soyombo, an investigative journalist.