Often times, we are told to ‘innovate or die’, now there is another angle to it. A remarkable quote by Mr. Frank Aigbogun, the Co-Founder and Publisher of BusinessDay Newspaper, “No Innovation Succeeds without Ethics” summed up the lessons for me during the first week of MTN Media Innovation Programme (MTN MIP -1 2022) at the School of Media and Communications, Pan Atlantic University, Lagos.
MTN MIP – 1 2022 classes begin!
Culture, Society & the Media
Facilitator: Prof. Emevwo Biakolo
Before Mr. Aigbogun’s sessions, Professor Emevwo Biakolo laid the foundation. He said, although society shapes the media and that it (society) deserves the media it has, nonetheless, journalists need to discharge their duties without prejudices; abiding by the ethics of the profession without which “the media will succumb to the dictates of authoritarianism”.
He said that the media practitioners must see themselves from the cultural perspective of human capacity to categorize and communicate experiences and share worldwide views, symbolically.
He highlighted the school of thought which believes that the ICT revolution and encroachment in the media space juxtaposes to a point in time in the Greek society when literacy influenced nee thinking which transverse the whole of Europe.
“The concept of mediatization has clearly demonstrated the process whereby all culture, social, political and economic life & operations, are dependent on media forms and media technology. I challenge you today to use the media to better the worth of humanity”, he charged the participants.
Ethical Concepts for Media Practitioners
Facilitator: Professor Juan Elegido
Nodding in agreement to Prof. Biakolo’s postulations, Prof. Elegido, said that ‘truth’ is a key concept of role responsibility of the media.
This, he said, connotes that the media must be perceived as the “reliable provider of information” to sustain its credibility in the eyes of members of the society.
“The media’s self-respect and social standing depend on this”, the professor said. “The journalist’s task is to come up with the best version of events you can put together by dint of serious work”.
He urged media practitioners to be watchful of the ‘Pilate Question’, avoid telling lies, engage in serious research and avoid omitting relevant facts during analysis, conflict of interest and other vices.
Facilitating the sessions on ‘The Concept of Innovation and its Imperatives for Media Practitioners’, Mr. Frank Aigbogun, said that today, the Media is in serious battle for the consumer’s attention, as such it is a congested space and innovation is necessary.
“The media needs to innovate from Ad revenue to consumer revenue”, he said.
He belongs to the school of thought which believes that digital Technology, rather than kill the market, introduced “new media “ and offered new media tools for reaching more people.
“Beyond being a media company, start seeing yourself as a technology company. Remember, by the time you hear about an innovation, it is already late.
“In all, what sustains the business is the ethics as innovation without ethics will die,” the BusinessDay Publisher said.
Introduction to Entrepreneurship; Principles and Practices
Facilitator: Dr. Peter Bamkole.
Entrepreneurship is a lifelong journey, but the entrepreneur that stands the test of time is one ready to learn-on-the-journey as innovation and technology disruptions can make or mar your business.
Dr. Bambole went ahead to educate the class on six basic steps to recognize opportunity/ beginning the entrepreneurial journey which must align with the SMART (S – specific; M – Measurable; A – Achievable; R – Resources and T – Time bound/ time frame) concept
Management Principles and Practice
Facilitator: Dr. Emeka Osuji
He started by setting the context of business and business enterprise. The underlying factors are that businesses exist as the context within which men, ideas, money, materials and machines are combined to provide goods and services at a profit.
Businesses are categorized based on Profit e.g, Limited Liability Companies (LLC) and Not-for-Profit e.g. NGOs. Breaking it down further, Dr. Osuji talked about Sole Proprietorship, Partnership and Joint Stock Companies
He emphasized the need to clearly define where one’s/co-founders business belong(s) and regularize it where and when appropriate.
For Management of a business, Dr. Osuji said that a manager must depict leadership skill in order not to lose control and command of the team.
Having said these, there are factors that could enable an organisation to strive or struggle, such as:
. Business environment: Micro or Macro;
. The socio-economic dynamics of the location; amongst others factors.
However, the stability of a company when affected by these factors is inherent in its culture which is the shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing things that influence the way organisation members’ act.
In summary, a thriving business is one that is structured with clear goals and mission & culture to direct rightly including rewarding excellence.
Media Laws; Principles & Practice
Facilitator: Barrister Tomi Vincent
He said that the differential factors between laws and morals are that law stands a body of rules meant to regulate conducts, that must be obeyed; and sanctions are attached. But when rules are not obeyed, in most cases, they are reduced to morals.
Barr. Vincent said: “Law is an order. Without it the society will be in chaos. It stands to regulate procedures and ensures orderliness in the affairs in the society. It controls rights, obligations and duties; guides human behavior within the society”.
He said that while laws reconcile conflicting interests, the gamut of media law, presupposes, fundamentally, the control by legal means of the interplay of power and struggles between the press, the government and the citizenry.
“Press freedom seeks ‘freedom to publish’; the government wants discretion, understanding & regulation of the press…while the citizens want to be protected from arbitrariness”, he suggests.
He further listed some aspects of the legal side of the media: tort, intellectual property, defamation, seditions, privacy, taxations, insurance, among others.
Barr. Vincent advised the participants to ensure they innovate within the ambits of the law to avoid sanctions.
Interrogating Business Policies and Regulations
Facilitator: Tim Newbold
Tim Newbold reemphasized the media parlance that says ‘Don’t rush to publish when the facts are not clear’.
He cited examples of recent media reports about new taxes imposed on telecommunication services such as SMS and voice calls. According to him, research shows that the tax wasn’t newly introduced as portrayed in the media.
To this end, Tim, who has spent 16 years in Nigeria with keen interest in the media research space, said that most media laws and regulations or policies serve as a deterrent by the government against false news and related unverified reports.
He said that fact-check tools and some online platforms can help the journalists to perform better.
The class also reviewed some sections of the new Sixth National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) Codes in Nigeria.
Taxation; Business Policies and Regulation
Facilitator: Dr. Fredrick Ikpesu
The classes started with reflections on ‘Business Canvas Models’, which the facilitator said are critical for a business to thrive.
He further stressed a need for media practitioners to under the taxes associated with their business models.
Dr. Ikpesu said described tax as a compulsory levy imposed by the government on goods and services and which it depends on to provide essential amenities to the people.
He enumerated media tax obligations and called for compliance.
MTN MIP – Summary of week one:
Under a serene teaching and learning atmosphere provided by the School of Media and Communications, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos, the MTN MIP 2022 offers a great platform for knowledge and incubation for media innovation in Nigeria.
The lessons point at Innovation as the key to unlock opportunities; however, maintaining ethical principles helps to build sustainable career/future/ business.
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