THE WHISTLER Publisher Lauds GOCOP’s Move To Rid Media Industry Of ‘Terrible Characters Parading As Journalists’

The Chairman/Publisher of THE WHISTLER Newspaper, Chief James Ume, has commended the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) for doing its best to rid the media industry of questionable characters parading themselves as journalists and soiling the journalism profession in Nigeria.

Chief Ume made the observation on Monday in Abuja when the editorial board and management of THE WHISTLER Newspapers, a prominent player in the Nigerian media landscape, hosted GOCOP at a welcome dinner to mark the guild’s 7th annual conference themed “Nigeria: Road Map for Socio-economic Recovery and Sustainability.”

GOCOP was created seven years ago to ensure that online publishers uphold the tenets of journalism in doing their jobs as well as sanitize online publishing in the nation.

Speaking to the press during the dinner, Ume, a media guru, opined that when journalists go against the ethics of journalism, the media industry gets messed up.

However, the publisher observed that GOCOP had done a great job of sanitizing the industry which is being rapidly bastardised.

Ume further noted that in the last 63 years, there has been a trajectory of growth resulting in the transition from traditional media to new media, adding that online media is playing a dominant role.

The publisher said “But we are very happy that the guild, actually, has tried to sanitize the industry, what we have done is to most importantly hold the government and people accountable.

“There are terrible characters who are parading themselves as journalists who are indeed not journalists, they have completely messed up the industry. So, the GOCOP has tried so hard to ensure that the business of journalism has taken its pride of place in Nigeria.

“Looking at the trajectory of our country, you will see that the media plays a very important role in developing the trajectory of the country. I think we are happy so far and we still have a lot of contributions to make.”

On the theme of GOCOP’s conference, Ume said it is a significant one as it would help relevant stakeholders to brainstorm and produce a recommendation to the government for the betterment of society.

“The conference is very significant for us. As I said, it has been to ensure that in development journalism, we hold the government accountable.

“By the time we are done, we should have come up with a position paper for the government which could be used for the advancement of our society,” Ume added.

Speaking also, GOCOP’s President, Maureen Chigbo, urged the federal government to engage the right persons to transform the economy of the nation.

“My call is that the government should do everything possible to jump-start the economy and involve technocrats who know about the economy so that they can boost the confidence of the investors to invest in the economy so that the nation can thrive and the people also will be lifted out of poverty,” Chigbo said.