Bamigbetan tasks media organisations on survival, profitability

The former Commissioner for Information & Strategy in Lagos State, Kehinde Bamigbetan has advised that for good journalism to be profitable, news media must strive to produce and deliver content consumers must be willing to pay for.

Bamigbetan who disclosed this while delivering a lecture titled: Professional News Organisations And Their Impact On Society: A Community Media Perspective, at the 5th anniversary of Impact Newspaper/inauguration of Monthly Square Discourse, in Ikorodu, said although digital technology has disrupted the news media business, the principles and purpose of journalism remain largely the same.

According to him, the most damaging consequence of unprofessional journalism is fake news. “Fake news is a mass communication product served raw to the public without going through the crucible of gate keeping, fact checking and editing.

It occurs in an environment devoid of the code of conduct or the ethical standards that professional journalists guard jealously.”He said advertising must not remain the sole source of revenue for the media. “Media houses must build their brands such that they can leverage them to generate revenue from sources such as events, festivals, book publishing, merchandising, licensing, affiliate marketing and club membership.