Media owners advocate for integrity at colloquium held for Genevieve Magazine publisher

The event held on 25th April 2017 at the Muson Centre Lagos for the Genevieve Magazine publisher had top media owners urging the new age media practitioners to make truth and detailed reporting the core of the revered occupation.

Giving the opening remarks, Sonia Irabor made glowing remarks about her mum (Betty Irabor) noting her strength and consistency has kept her publishing business at the fore.

Betty Irabor who said starting off Genevieve Magazine came with its ups and downs especially in the beginning where a lot of readers thought the publication belonged to actress Genevieve Nnaji who incidentally was the first cover girl.

Irabor revealed if she "knew then what she knows now, she would not have being a publisher" of the now popular lifestyle magazine.

Keynote speaker, Dr. Doyin Abiola revealed how hard it is to maintain integrity in Nigeria which comes harder for a woman in power noting how unprofitable the publishing business is. She noted that "no publication is making healthy profit in Nigeria".

A panel of seasoned journalists including Publicity to former president Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Reuben Abati, Kadaria Ahmed, Chude Jideonwo and Funke Egbemode who sparked up debates about new media and the traditional media.

The heated session revealed the shortcomings of the profession with emphasis on the ills of social media as a tool and the influx of people looking to make fast money as against educating or properly informing the public.

Ahmed advocated for better renumeration and working conditions for journalists telling them to stand up as the voice of integrity in the midst of corruption and political bullying. Jideonwo lauded the effect social media has on journalist, stating most of the ills of today were practised in the past but it comes more noticeable in the present day because of the traction and immediacy social media posses which should be used to the profession's advantage.

In the end, journalists are urged to remain truthful with integrity forming a major bond in the industry.

Publisher of The Guardian, Lady Maiden Alex-Ibru, President Nigerian Guild of Editors, Funke Egbemode, Managing Director of defunct Concord Newspapers, Dr. Doyin Abiola, Dr. Reuben Abati; Publisher of Today’s Woman magazine, Adesuwa Onyenokwe, Biola Alabi, Liz Osho, Onah Nwachukwu, Chude Jideonwo and more were present at the event.