The fourth anniversary of this newspaper gives us another opportunity to look back and examine our journey, frankly.
Since our debut on April 26, 2010 work a special tribute edition to the remarkable rapper Dagrin who passed on tragically four days earlier, we have worked tirelessly to build a newspaper we’re proud of, a newspaper dedicated to covering Nigeria’s promising entertainment industry without fear or favour. Many reporters have come and gone, we’ve own and lost fans and readers, many events have happened: but one thing remains constant: our commitment to the truth, to the development of an entertainment industry that’ll fulfill its potentials.
The reason for NET is simple: we wanted to create a platform that will be the voice of the entertainment industry at a time when mainstream newspapers only dedicated a few pages to the sector. We wanted to provide fans with news on the go on their favourite stars. We wanted to celebrate all the great things happening here and condemn the nonsense that’s bound to happen. We wanted to engage in reporting that’ll bring the industry respect while helping fans and entertainers get closer. A social platform that uses celebrity gist, entertainment news, investigative reporting, analyses and reviews to create content no one can ignore.
Have we succeeded yet? No.
We’ve recorded a lot of high points, including becoming one of the most visited entertainment websites in Nigeria within our first six months, becoming the only nationally circulating entertainment newspaper in Nigeria, our exclusive partnership with UK’s Bang Showbiz and Star Music, as well as establishing the umbrella conference for the industry Nigerian Entertainment Conference. Most important, we’ve built a level of trust and credibility and access to celebs like no other journal.
But we still have a long way to go. Our target is to deliver the news to you before anyone else, wherever you are – on radio, TV, mobile, web or print. We’re working with partners here and abroad to create the right platforms for our content while making sure our reporters continue to adhere to the best practices of journalism.
For a man, Four years is too short a period to take any stock. But for an organisation, especially one that that’s trusted by millions to deliver accurate, timely and trusted news; that distributes content that can make or mar careers, four years is a lifetime. We’re happy we are surviving.
Tomorrow is not certain for any news organisation in this age where Twitter breaks the biggest news first, where every organisation is becoming a news and content company and citizen journalists and bloggers have become the primary source of news and entertainment for millions. But we understand what needs to be done to keep our job. Well we hope we do!
PS : Find out next year if we survived another long, hectic 12 months!
