The Internet Controls the News Media, But the Nigerian Press is Behind Time

When I look at the leading Nigerian newspapers and the Nigerian TV channels, I feel disappointed. Because, they are still lagging behind by 10 years.

Every leading newspaper or television station in most countries in the world has gone ahead online. Nigerian newspapers and TV channels are even lagging behind South African newspapers and TV Channels.

More people are surfing the net and watching programmes online than reading newspapers and watching TV and the advert revenues from websites are more than the revenues from offline newspapers and TV adverts.
Oprah.com makes more money than all the Nigerian newspapers and TV channels combined.

The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) has a website that is 10 years behind time. It does not even function like a TV website.

The Guardian, This Day, Daily Sun, The Punch and other popular Nigerian newspapers must be 21st Century compliant in this Information Age or continue to grope in the darkness of backwardness and underdevelopment.

The communication gap between Nigeria and South Africa is already shown in the monopoly of Mnet Cable TV service through MultiChoice in Nigeria and the NTA is still clueless on how to maximize the wide network to increase the mileage and patronage on TV and on the Internet.

The Nigerian government pays millions of dollars to the CNN and other Western media channels to play Nigerian adverts, because no Nigerian media can do so.
Mnet is using MultiChoice to promote and market South African products and services in Nigeria and making millions of dollars annually.

Nigeria cannot continue to claim to be the largest market in Africa when her market is not the biggest economy in Africa.

Nigerian blogs are even ahead of Nigerian newspapers and TV channels.
Nigerian bloggers are podcasting and broadcasting news, features and music online. But Radio Nigeria has no website!
Nigerian bloggers are showing 24/7 news and features videos online when no Nigerian newspaper or TV channel has been able to do so.
Nigerian blogs are already collecting revenues from online video adverts when the NTA cannot have a real TV website.

The following article is worth reading to understand the full impact of online news distribution and syndication.

Newsweek, now playing on Brightcove

Media brands have intrinsic value - they've always stood for something to their viewers/readers/listeners. Often, the medium has been flexible, the message more important. Take for example, National Geographic, which started as a society, spawned a magazine, and decades later came to television. The mission and message remained the same.

As the media world becomes so fragmented, we consumers will need more filters to help us sort through a vast amount of choice. Existing brands, in particular magazines and newspapers, have an incredible opportunity to help their readers by extending their voices to video.

We are already seeing a major push from traditional print publishers to move into Internet TV programming. Smart Money and Technology Review are excellent examples of this trend. Now, one of the greatest mass market magazines, Newsweek, is extending its voice to a new medium.

From Brightcove

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