West Africa Programme Officer of Ford Foundation, Dr. Paul Nwulu, yesterday called on media owners in the country to ensure that journalists were paid their salaries as at when due.
Nwulu, who was a guest lecturer at the World Press Freedom Day Anniversary, in Lagos, noted that journalism was one of the toughest professions in Nigeria today.
“In most media houses, journalists are owed six to eight months salaries. The press has the responsibility to hold government accountable to the people and that is why the press has to be free. The press does not really have that freedom today,” he said.
According to him, media owners should not desert their journalists when being persecuted or attacked over a report that was published or broadcast.
Speaking on “Contemporary Issues of Press Freedom in the Digital Age”, Nwulu contended that digitalization was one of the factors affecting media following the wide audience it got from the public.
According to him: “Digitalization has brought a blessing and a curse. It is a curse because it is taking money away, and whether we like it or not, money is problem to the freedom of the press. Today, everybody is a journalist. When there is a news break, people will quickly go to social media like Linda Ikeji, who is not a journalist, and we need to stop that.”
