Prominent Nigerians have expressed concerns about the proliferation of the alternative media which has been accused of practicing ‘yellow journalism’.
Bloggers tend to challenge mainstream media organisations since the arrival of the internet, due to the attention they enjoy from the public. However mainstream media organisations are known for objectivity within the news industry.
In a bid to ensure professionalism within the news industry, Lagos lawyer and human right activist, Femi Falana, SAN, has urged the NUJ and other relevant bodies to go back to their drawing board to enable them check the recklessness of the social media publishers.
While noting that the media profession is very important to the socio-political development of every society.
“For me, anybody that is going to publish anything using online channel, should have a registered website and we must be able to trace them. Technology has gone beyond anybody just writing down anything as website.
Similarly the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, castigated the recklessness of bloggers in his speech during the Annual National Conference and General Meeting of the NIPR held in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Thursday, 27 April 2017.
According to the minister of information, ”today anyone with a phone and data is a journalist”
Meanwhile the issue of professionals and amateurs still remain in the news industry, prompting questions like who are bloggers, what are their level of education, which area do they specialize in.
Source: News Agencies
