Obaigbena calls for youth inclusion in Nigerian media, warns of AI threat to journalism

Nduka Obaigbena, the chairman of THISDAY and Arise Media Group, has called for more youth inclusion in journalism in Nigeria.

The media executive said this at Lateef Jakande Annual Memorial Lecture held in Lagos on Tuesday.

Speaking at the event, Obaigbena said the Nigerian media is in survival mode, noting that the survival must come from the audience. The audience in Nigeria, according to him, are young people, which are in the majority.

“Are you engaged with them, are you working with them, are they part of your news?” Obaigbena asked the editors and publishers present at the event.

“We are in a country where the young are much more than the old. We need to get them employed, we need to banish poverty and we need to make sure that things come all right,” he added.

He highlighted journalism in Nigeria is 165 years, it debut was on 23rd November 1859 and the oldest living journalist, Sam Amuka, who is the founder and publisher of Vanguard, is 90 years old.

The chairman of Arise Media Group noted that the world is being driven by technology, saying how prepared is Nigerian media for it.

Obaigbena noted that newspapers are just a means of distribution, adding that phones and computers are also means of distribution. He added that means of distribution is changing, but good journalism will never change.

He said good journalism is under threat and challenge from Artificial Intelligence (AI). He added that identity is at stake, noting that one’s face, voice can be created with the use of AI.

He said, “We are confronted and challenged by Artificial Intelligence.

“They can take your face, they can take your voice, they can take your identity and create anything. So the threat we face is in AI.

“But AI is a machine, we have to train AI, we have to treat AI, we have to challenge AI, then AI will respond.”

Obaigbena said Nigerian media must adapt to the ever changing world and be ready to use AI for its advantage.

The editor-in-chief of THISDAY advocated for a law for the cognition of intellectual property as an asset for the survival of newspapers and magazines. He called for the recognition of intellectual property as a bankable asset class.

He tasked the government to pass a law for those who use the media works on their platforms, including Google, Facebook, to pay for them. This, he said is the first step for media survival in Nigeria.

“First is to have the laws changed, where intellectual property is recognised as an asset. We have to enable the IP, they work of your brain as an asset class. That asset class as to be bankable, you can raise money against it and create value.

“Those who use our works online, call them Google, call them Facebook, call Instagram, them must pay for it. If we get payment for the work will do as journalists everyday, we will be in a far better place,” he said.