For the Record; SPEECH DELIVERED BY CHIEF OLUSEGUN OSOBA,CHAIRMAN AT 2ND ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE GUILD OF CORPORATE ONLINE PUBLISHERS HELD AT SHERATON HOTELS,LAGOS ON OCTOBER 19,2018

The development is both exhilarating and bewildering. It is positive as it opens the world to greater exploration. It could also be negative as the ease and race to share information is open to great abuse if met with lack of sufficient careand diligence.

It is this abuse manifested in the shape of fake news, unverified information and the inclination for mischief and blackmail by some bloggers that threatens the integrity of the online medium. It is a global concern that you need to continuously look into. How can we reduce the proclivity for this errant behaviour?  How much training and retraining can you put together for your members and other online practitioners to ensure we do not allow the menace to grow? 

I am aware your association is made up of responsible journalists but all it takes for your reputation to be sullied is a handful of the deviant people, who have other objectives for their presence in the public sphere.  Whilst I will be looking forward to the outcome of your deliberations, I note that when the subjects of discourse touch the economy, credible elections and security of our country, there is no doubt that there is a lot to chew upon. Precipitate publications on the economy without appropriate contextual analysis are not the forte of responsible journalism. Naked partisanship that downplays the views and positions of some candidates so as to promote our biases is not the way to build credibility for our news organisations or the electoral process.

The media have a major role to play as impartial arbiters who should present the issues, the candidates and their positions on these issues in a way that helps the public to make sense out of the contending views. It is good to get the news first but it is certainly better to get it right. Your association should drum this point into the hearing of your members for if there is a medium that has the greatest potential to stoke conflict through precipitate and unverified information, it is the online media. In a country with still a large population of the uneducated, we must be careful not to unwittingly stoke violent conflicts, stunt economic development and imperil the future of our people.  

I urge you to remain apostles of good journalism where facts remain sacred and informed commentary is free. I wish you a successful deliberation.

HE, Chief Olusegun Osoba, CON, fnge 

October 18, 2018