Guild of Editors seeks reduction of duty on newsprint
By ‘Gbenga
Faturoti,
Special
Correspondent, Osogbo
The first All
Nigeria Editors Conference (ANEC) ended at the weekend with a call on the
Federal Government to classify newsprint as educational materials for the
purpose of import duty reduction so as cut down the cost of newspaper
production in the country.
In a
communiqué issued and signed at the end of the conference by the
President and General Secretary of the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE), Alhaji
Baba Halilu Dantiye and Angela Agoawike respectively, the conference also urged
government, through its regulatory agencies, to consider significant reductions
in the charges and fees imposed on broadcast licenses and equipment.
The conference
noted with satisfaction, the passage of the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill
by the House of Representatives, urging the Senate to hasten the process of
passing and signing the bill into law as a measure to fully professionalised
journalism.
It regretted the
high incidence of poverty among media practitioners and called on journalists
to embrace financial planning and investment.
The conference,
however, called on all stakeholders to, as soon as possible, establish a
foundation for retired editors.
The NGE pledged
that it would continue to encourage the high standard of journalism practice in
the country as well as ensuring that “truth remains, unarguable, the most
fundamental principle of journalism to which all editors and media
practitioners must commit themselves.”
“The ethical
universals of factual reporting, fairness, balance, accuracy and objectivity
are covered by the notion of truth, which the drive for personal and corporate
profit cannot and should not diminish,” it added.
On corruption in
the media profession, the conference observed that the vice could extremely
devastate the media, calling on all practitioners and stakeholders to adopt a
zero tolerance attitude to corruption in the media and indeed, in the society
at large.
The media
executives further appealed to proprietors to live up to their contractual
obligations to media practitioners through regular salaries and incentives as
well as the provision of appropriate work environment.
The conference also
observed the ‘scandalous’ neglect of training by media owners and
called on all stakeholders to put in place, mandatory training programmes for
all media practitioners.
