The Classroom and the Newsroom: Bridging the gap between town and gown
Keynote Address by Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, Chairman, The Sun Publishing Limited, and former governor of Abia State, at the conference of Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), held in Abuja on Tuesday, September 3, 2014.
PROTOCOLS
It gives me great pleasure to be here today among eggheads in communication studies, as well as professionals in the field of communication and journalism.
I guess you have invited me to present this Keynote Address because I am a stakeholder in the media industry in Nigeria.
Yes, my interest in journalism and publishing dates back to the 1990s. Then, I had published a newspaper called Everywoman, which was targeted at enhancing the profile of the womenfolk in Nigeria, and beyond.
At that time, I was also what was called a Celebrity Reporter for the high- flying Weekend Concord Newspaper. I supplied them with high profile interviews from all parts of the wold, as I did my business, and met different types of newsmakers across the globe.
Then, in the early part of year 2002, we began to conceive The Sun Group of Newspapers, which eventually hit the newsstands in 2003. It became like wildfire, and eventually dominated the media landscape. The Sun still shines bright as we speak in the media firmament of Nigeria, and even into the West Coast, where we now have The Sun, Ghana, which started publishing on June 12, this year.
But we are not relenting. Earlier this year, we came out with another newspaper, New Telegraph, which is meant to add pep and flavor to the quality genre of newspapers in the country. New Telegraph, I am happy to report, is making steady inroads into the market. Watch out.
Neither are we done yet. Our vision is to have a media empire consisting of newspapers, television, radio, and online platforms. Sooner than later, you will hear of us in all these areas, under the umbrella of Slok Group, our mother company.
The theme of this conference is Communication, Diversity, and Multiculturalism in Nigeria: Challenges in the 21st Century.
Let me emphasize that the very idea of having a body called Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) is a very timely and laudable one.
For too long, a wide gulf had existed between theory and practice of journalism in Nigeria, with the scholars ensconced in the classrooms, and the professionals engaged in the field. There was no meeting point between the two. But today, you have this wonderful association, which is like a bridge between the town and the gown. It is a very laudable development. Here, I see an interplay of scholars and professionals, which will give us a more robust communication industry in the country. In ACSPN are those who have practiced journalism actively, and then returned to the classroom to engage in teaching and research. This is a commendable development.
In the past, what did we have in Nigeria, as well as in other parts of the world? There was a yawning chasm between the town and the gown, in many professions. The scholars and researchers did their thing in the academic institutions, while the professionals were out there in the field. There was almost no meeting point. The scholars churned out products who became top flight professionals, yet there was no synergy between the two. In fact, there was some form of unspoken rivalry, a sort of tension.
Steve Klabnik, a researcher, has spoken about what he calls "the tension between theory and practice." Hear him:"There is always a tension between theory and practice. These two separate realms are connected through a process of abstraction and application. Theory is abstracted practice, and practice is applied theory.
"Those who specialize in practice often claim that those who specialize in theory are detached from the 'real world,' the world of practice. Those who specialize in theory often claim that those who specialize in practice have no fundamental understanding of what they do, and this leads to contradictory, incongruous practices."
However, why do we need all these dichotomies and tension? God Himself is the author of diversities. He made Cain, He also made Abel. Cain was a tiller of the ground, a farmer, while Abel was a rearer of animals. Were they the same? No. Each had his place, but it did not make one superior to the other. What was needed was complementarity. I am glad that such synergy has been found in the field of communications, with the advent of ACSPN.
As an investor and stakeholder in the media industry, I have heard it said that students trained today in our Mass Communication departments are hardly suitable for the job market. Hence, they have to be trained all over again when they get into the field. This is a challenge for the gown. It must produce what the town can use,
There must be complementarity. According to John Dewey, "there's nothing so practical as a good theory," so the town and gown need to work in better synergy. There is nothing that says a communication scholar cannot have his sabbatical in a media house, while professionals on the field can also go into the classrooms once in a while, to add practical flavor to the curriculum. I charge the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) to work out the framework and modalities.
The theme of this inaugural conference of ACSPN is Communication, Diversity and Multiculturalism in Nigeria: Challenges in the 21st Century. It is a theme that is apposite at this time in the history of our country. Today, almost everything has become centrifugal force in Nigeria. Language divides us, religion tears us apart, culture renders us asunder. Yet, these could be sources of strength and cohesion. They could be centripetal influences that could help us forge a true nation-state, a land where no man is oppressed, where there are no fears of ethnic domination or suppression, and where peace and justice truly reign.
And that is my challenge to this conference. Please use the couple of days ahead to brainstorm on the problems facing our country, and how communication can be used to solve them. You are the scholars and professionals. Please prescribe antidotes to hate, malice, fear and suspicion dogging the footsteps of our country, using the instrumentality of communication. The rest of the world has gone ahead in science, in technology, in conquering new vistas and realms, but Nigeria, sadly, is still marooned in an inglorious past. Multiculturalism, which the rest of the world has turned to strength, is a curse to Nigeria. Diversity has become a bitter pill, which the country is constantly forced to swallow, when the rest of the world has used the same diversity as a launch pad into greater realms.
The challenges of the 21st Century are multifarious, particularly for a fractured polity like Nigeria. Would we ever become a true nation-state, instead of an amalgam of ethnic nationalities? Would we ever stand in brotherhood, though tribes and tongues may differ? Would we ever turn multiculturalism into a leverage, as has been done in many other parts of the world? These are questions begging for answers. And you are scholars and professionals. Please chart the course for us. Shine the light, and let the people find the way. Lead us out of the morass in which we are as a country, and plant our feet on the rock to stay.
I wish you a fruitful time in this conference. I wish you good deliberations that will make positive impact on the fortunes of our country. I look forward to your communique at the end of it all. I am sure it would point us in the direction of using communication to address the challenges facing our country.
I thank you for listening.
Keynote Address by Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, Chairman, The Sun Publishing Limited, and former governor of Abia State, at the conference of Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN), held in Abuja on Tuesday, September 3, 2014.
PROTOCOLS
It gives me great pleasure to be here today among eggheads in communication studies, as well as professionals in the field of communication and journalism.
I guess you have invited me to present this Keynote Address because I am a stakeholder in the media industry in Nigeria.
Yes, my interest in journalism and publishing dates back to the 1990s. Then, I had published a newspaper called Everywoman, which was targeted at enhancing the profile of the womenfolk in Nigeria, and beyond.
At that time, I was also what was called a Celebrity Reporter for the high- flying Weekend Concord Newspaper. I supplied them with high profile interviews from all parts of the wold, as I did my business, and met different types of newsmakers across the globe.
Then, in the early part of year 2002, we began to conceive The Sun Group of Newspapers, which eventually hit the newsstands in 2003. It became like wildfire, and eventually dominated the media landscape. The Sun still shines bright as we speak in the media firmament of Nigeria, and even into the West Coast, where we now have The Sun, Ghana, which started publishing on June 12, this year.
But we are not relenting. Earlier this year, we came out with another newspaper, New Telegraph, which is meant to add pep and flavor to the quality genre of newspapers in the country. New Telegraph, I am happy to report, is making steady inroads into the market. Watch out.
Neither are we done yet. Our vision is to have a media empire consisting of newspapers, television, radio, and online platforms. Sooner than later, you will hear of us in all these areas, under the umbrella of Slok Group, our mother company.
The theme of this conference is Communication, Diversity, and Multiculturalism in Nigeria: Challenges in the 21st Century.
Let me emphasize that the very idea of having a body called Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) is a very timely and laudable one.
For too long, a wide gulf had existed between theory and practice of journalism in Nigeria, with the scholars ensconced in the classrooms, and the professionals engaged in the field. There was no meeting point between the two. But today, you have this wonderful association, which is like a bridge between the town and the gown. It is a very laudable development. Here, I see an interplay of scholars and professionals, which will give us a more robust communication industry in the country. In ACSPN are those who have practiced journalism actively, and then returned to the classroom to engage in teaching and research. This is a commendable development.
In the past, what did we have in Nigeria, as well as in other parts of the world? There was a yawning chasm between the town and the gown, in many professions. The scholars and researchers did their thing in the academic institutions, while the professionals were out there in the field. There was almost no meeting point. The scholars churned out products who became top flight professionals, yet there was no synergy between the two. In fact, there was some form of unspoken rivalry, a sort of tension.
Steve Klabnik, a researcher, has spoken about what he calls "the tension between theory and practice." Hear him:"There is always a tension between theory and practice. These two separate realms are connected through a process of abstraction and application. Theory is abstracted practice, and practice is applied theory.
"Those who specialize in practice often claim that those who specialize in theory are detached from the 'real world,' the world of practice. Those who specialize in theory often claim that those who specialize in practice have no fundamental understanding of what they do, and this leads to contradictory, incongruous practices."
However, why do we need all these dichotomies and tension? God Himself is the author of diversities. He made Cain, He also made Abel. Cain was a tiller of the ground, a farmer, while Abel was a rearer of animals. Were they the same? No. Each had his place, but it did not make one superior to the other. What was needed was complementarity. I am glad that such synergy has been found in the field of communications, with the advent of ACSPN.
As an investor and stakeholder in the media industry, I have heard it said that students trained today in our Mass Communication departments are hardly suitable for the job market. Hence, they have to be trained all over again when they get into the field. This is a challenge for the gown. It must produce what the town can use,
There must be complementarity. According to John Dewey, "there's nothing so practical as a good theory," so the town and gown need to work in better synergy. There is nothing that says a communication scholar cannot have his sabbatical in a media house, while professionals on the field can also go into the classrooms once in a while, to add practical flavor to the curriculum. I charge the Association of Communication Scholars and Professionals of Nigeria (ACSPN) to work out the framework and modalities.
The theme of this inaugural conference of ACSPN is Communication, Diversity and Multiculturalism in Nigeria: Challenges in the 21st Century. It is a theme that is apposite at this time in the history of our country. Today, almost everything has become centrifugal force in Nigeria. Language divides us, religion tears us apart, culture renders us asunder. Yet, these could be sources of strength and cohesion. They could be centripetal influences that could help us forge a true nation-state, a land where no man is oppressed, where there are no fears of ethnic domination or suppression, and where peace and justice truly reign.
And that is my challenge to this conference. Please use the couple of days ahead to brainstorm on the problems facing our country, and how communication can be used to solve them. You are the scholars and professionals. Please prescribe antidotes to hate, malice, fear and suspicion dogging the footsteps of our country, using the instrumentality of communication. The rest of the world has gone ahead in science, in technology, in conquering new vistas and realms, but Nigeria, sadly, is still marooned in an inglorious past. Multiculturalism, which the rest of the world has turned to strength, is a curse to Nigeria. Diversity has become a bitter pill, which the country is constantly forced to swallow, when the rest of the world has used the same diversity as a launch pad into greater realms.
The challenges of the 21st Century are multifarious, particularly for a fractured polity like Nigeria. Would we ever become a true nation-state, instead of an amalgam of ethnic nationalities? Would we ever stand in brotherhood, though tribes and tongues may differ? Would we ever turn multiculturalism into a leverage, as has been done in many other parts of the world? These are questions begging for answers. And you are scholars and professionals. Please chart the course for us. Shine the light, and let the people find the way. Lead us out of the morass in which we are as a country, and plant our feet on the rock to stay.
I wish you a fruitful time in this conference. I wish you good deliberations that will make positive impact on the fortunes of our country. I look forward to your communique at the end of it all. I am sure it would point us in the direction of using communication to address the challenges facing our country.
I thank you for listening.
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