NET at 2: It's a NET Profit!

By Chude Jideonwo

NET newspapers arrived exactly, as far as this correspondent is concerned, at the point at which our artistes had officially become superstars – at the point at which our music, movies and television had become a defining aspect of our lives; when its leading characters had become, perhaps, our moral compass.

It shows in the stories that the NET has become most popular for. The newspaper launched in April 2010, but the NET tradition began a few months before on its online portal. It officially entered the mainstream when it exclusively broke the news that Abolore Akande (9ice) and his wife, Toni Payne, were officially separated. It broke the news of the passing of Dagrin with the first official photos, broke the news of Wizkid’s first born child, and has emerged as the go-to for the inside scoop on the tragic Mo’Hits debacle; continuing to break accurate entertainment news with the kind of finesse that would make any editor jealous.  But underline accurate.

Over the past two years, one reality has become evident – if you want to be absolutely sure about a news story in the entertainment industry, you go to NET. So it is that NET has easily attained the dream of brand managers across the world – its value proposition is clear, un-changing, understood by its markets, and ultimately profitable in a fast-growing entertainment industry.

One of NET’s most read stories averages 117,368 views (its headline ‘Why I fought Patience Ozokwor – Mercy Johnson‘ still makes me chuckle) in the good old days. Those kinds of things don’t happen in our vastly democratised online media space these days – but that record stands tall on the NET website for all to see: when it talks about re-inventing entertainment reporting, it might be hyperbole, but it is certainly no empty boast.

If NET continues with what has set it apart (and by God, it must): the tradition of dogged reporting, driven by relentless reporters and the adherence to the basic tenets of the journalism profession – leave out when in doubt, present the two sides – it might not win NET the number one spot on the page views tracker Alexa.com, but it will ensure that long after the many raves of the moments have had their moments in the sun, NET will always be here.

Jideonwo is first a media entrepreneur. But he is also a lawyer, award-winning journalist, and new media consultant. The editor of Y!/YNaija and presenter of Rubbin’ Minds on Channels TV, he is Managing Partner of Red Media Group…