Daily Trust - the online edition

Media Trust publications need greater diversification of its columnists based on religion, ideology and gender before it can truly lay claim to being a national newspaper, says the Vicar-General of the Catholic Archdiocese, Kaduna: "The Trust papers have done extremely well in news and editorial content and it has shown a great level of news balance and become a moderate newspaper with robust platform for public discourse.

"I’m actually shocked. I did not know that Media Trust publication is 10 years old yet. Media Trust has filled a void with the collapse of other newspapers and the situation with the New Nigerian Newspapers Limited. I think on balance, Media Trust has done extremely well.

"It moved from being perceived as a partisan Northern Islamic newspaper, I’m just giving the public perception, to a moderate medium with a very robust platform for public discourse.

"Within a 10-year period, the paper has done well especially in news and editorial content and I think in fairness it has shown a level of balance especially in the last two to three years. I hope it can build on that to really and truly become a national newspaper.

"But Media Trust needs to improve the level of its columnists. They have to be as diverse as possible in order to enhance the quality of debate, there already is a public perception that it is a Northern newspaper and with the North comes religion, which does not have to be so. You have to participate in national discourse.

"Media Trust parades some of the best columnists in Nigeria but I think it needs greater diversification taking consideration of region, ethnicity, religion and perhaps ideology whatever because these are some of the things that enrich a newspaper.

"Yes, the Muslim community is a significant community and the North is a significant component of the Nigeria but there isn’t one voice in Islam, there isn’t one voice in the North and I think the challenge of journalism is not to take issues as they are. Any newspaper that becomes partisan whether regional, ethnic, religion even ideology substantially loses its sense of purpose and direction," he said.

	1. 26-07-2008 13:40
	observation the article is worthwhile,and yet many are willing to be a columnits including my humble self. keep the good work. Guest

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