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WHAT THE GROWTH OF INTERNET PENETRATION MEANS FOR

MEDIA BUSINESS IN NIGERIA


By Jennifer Ehidiamen
JE2438@COLUMBIA.EDU

imon Ateba moved to Lagos Nigeria from Yaound, a French-speaking


region of Cameroon. His mission was to learn the English language and
start a new life in Africas most populous country.

I was born in French-speaking Cameroon and moved to Lagos to learn English


in 2003, Ateba recounted. As soon as he could converse and write at an
intermediate level, Simon enrolled at the Nigerian Institute of Journalism. In
2007, Independent Communications Network Limited, which publishes P.M
News, a daily evening newspaper and The News, one of the most widely read
magazines in Nigeria, hired him as a reporter. He worked there for almost a
decade. But in 2015, right after the Presidential elections in Nigeria, Ateba
resigned to run his own online media company.
His site, Simon Ateba News [simonateba.com], now covers politics, crime,
business and other general interest news.
I remember when I started a few years ago [2010], it was just a blog. I used to
work for a newspaper and a news magazine. I had to wait for my newspaper to
publish my articles and then republish them on my blog, he said in a phone
interview.
He explained that his news articles require the same diligence that a traditional
newspaper demands. It is a tough process, he said.
Ateba runs the editorial aspect alone. But he gets assistance with marketing.
When it comes to editorial content, Im the only one doing it. It can be
overwhelming, he said. You need to follow what is happening in the 36 states,
the presidents villa, crime area, national drug enforcement agency, and all the
embassies.
For stories he cannot cover, he depends on freelance contributors who send him
press releases and tips.

ncreased internet penetration in Nigeria is creating an environment for online


journalism to thrive. Unlike in the past when people had to visit the newsstand
to purchase a newspaper, Nigerians now access news on their internetenabled mobile phones and computers. According to the Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC), there are about 97 million internet users in
Nigeria, 1 out of a population of 174 million.

Lagosians read the news at a newsstand/Photo Credit: Dolapo Julius [Instagram: @D4dolapo]

Linda Ikeji, a top blogger in Nigeria, started blogging in 2006 as a hobby. In a


2012 interview with Nkem Ifejika on BBC Focus on Africa, she said that she did
not take blogging seriously until March 2007. And that was when I started
getting readers. she said. Back in 2006, the few blogs that existed were mostly
about people sharing their personal stories. Ikeji saw an opportunity in doing
something different. So she started sharing gossip news about celebrities.
Nigerians love gossip, she said.
On the side, she ran a modeling agency and also organized events. This gave
her access to celebrities and the crme de la crme of society. What she started
out doing as a passion soon grew into a business in 2010 when people started
asking for price quotes to place advertisement on her blog.
In 2012, Ikeji announced that her blog was estimated to be worth $1.2 million2.
Darlinton Omeh, a writer on wealthresult.com, says it is now worth more. By
calculating the revenue generated from adverts and ad sense, estimated at
$98,000 monthly for advert and $2,205 for the daily click through rate and cost
per click, Omeh estimates Ikejis blog to be worth N31,737,750 ($159,494)
monthly.3 Several attempts to reach Ikeji for a confirmation of this estimate were
unsuccessful.
Nigerians visit her blog to read news and gossip about celebrities and politicians
even though the platform mostly aggregates content from elsewhere on the
Internet. She was once accused of lifting articles from other websites without
permission, which resulted in Google shutting down her website. But it was soon

restored after verifying that the allegations of plagiarism were bogus and
deliberate sabotage.

osin Ajibade, like Linda Ikeji, grew a personal blog into a professional
website in the late 2000s. She later moved from publishing entertainment
news to a more customized domain called olorisupergal.com.

It is our business now. We have our office. We have staff working with us. It is
beyond what it started as, Ajibade says. Olorisupergal.com covers general news
and interviews with special categories on entertainment, travel, events and
fashion, though she could not provide statistics on unique visits to her site,
Earlier this year, she broke a story about a student who was being molested by
one of her teachers in Queens College, one of the top secondary schools for
girls in Nigeria. The news was shared with her 29,000 fans on Facebook and
56,000 followers on Twitter. Other media republished it and the news went viral,
drawing the attention of government representatives who set up a panel to
investigate the matter.
Ajibades business goes beyond blogging. We also create content. We do live
tweet at events, she said in a phone interview. They recently provided a livetweet service for a Coca-Cola event and covered a West Africa travel experience
organized by Google Nigeria in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
Corporate organizations treat some online bloggers as serious business.
Ajibades company generates about N5million ($25,000) per month from
advertisement, promotions and other sponsored services. She says she gets
most of her clients through referral, though she quickly added that the online
business is becoming saturated with many players due to the low barriers to
entry. To stay ahead of the competition and retain her clients, her company is
adding additional services, which are exclusive. She also organizes New Media
Conference in Lagos, an annual event that brings key players and stakeholders
in online and media business together to explore the trends and opportunities in
the sector.
Ateba does not see Ikeji as an inspiration or competitor.
Linda is a blogger. She is not really a journalist, Ateba said. He explained the
difference between the two. She is informing people but I am informing people
and also going beyond informing people to investigating, Ateba explained. He
said the first time he contacted her was over five years ago when she republished one of his articles on her blog without citing him as the source. She
eventually added the credit, he says.
To Ateba, bloggers do not carry as much weight as journalists or take as many
risks. Last year I was arrested in Cameroon because I went to investigate the
living condition of Nigerian refugees who were there.

During the time he went to do the story, he said he learnt that about 60,000 of the
2.5million Nigerians displaced by Boko Haram were in Minawao refugee camp in
Cameroon. While waiting for his press accreditation, Ateba decided to take a
walk around the camp. But the Cameroonian military police arrested him and
accused him of being a spy for Boko Haram. He was released from jail after four
days following organized street and online protests in Nigeria led by young
journalists who saw the Facebook status update that he posted after he was
arrested. He later completed the story despite the experience.
Before that, Ateba said he traveled to Burkina Faso, another West African
country, to do a story on trafficked Nigerian girls. Yesterday I was at a press
conference. I go to different places, he said. To him these are the kind of risks
bloggers like Ikeji do not take.
Yes you can stay on your computer and copy and paste. Yes she is doing her
stuff informing people. I am not sure she is really doing the type of things I want
to do, and that is interpreting the data. When you receive a press release from
the president do you just publish it or do you try to interpret it? Ateba said.
When he writes the news he ensures that he includes a balanced view of
everyone affected. My biggest editorial policy is trying to be fair to everyone, he
said.
In February, Ateba wrote an exclusive crime story on a Nigerian lawyer who
stabbed her husband to death after a domestic feud, providing updates as the
story unfolded.
The story has been read by about 38,000 [times] but shared by only 727 people
on Facebook, he says. Adding, There are stories that have been shared in
thousands but read by few people.
Though online journalism is not easier, Ateba does not miss the traditional
newsroom. It is a 24/7 job. I start posting story as early as 4am and I dont stop
until about 1.00am. In traditional media I used to be relaxed. I write one story per
day. But with online media it doesnt stop with you just publishing one story; you
have to distribute those stories. You are not just writing story you are also trying
to sell those stories to people. You have to acquire new skills. It is a whole
different world.
Atebas main concern now is how to raise traffic and increase revenue. His
current sources of revenue are the money he receives from Google ad sense
and occasional advert placement from companies.
Sometimes I have 1,500 to 5,000 daily visits. Since I started last year in May, I
have made about $1,000 [from Google ad sense], he said, Adding, I dont go
after political adverts. I try to go after those who have products. It can be
N150,000 ($754) per month.

He realizes he needs to do more. I am not sure I have done a good job tapping
into the huge potential [of the Nigerian market], Ateba said.
His expansion plan is focused on increasing his presence on social media. He
currently has about 18,000 fans on Facebook and 1,800 followers on Twitter.
When you speak with me next year, I am going to have 2 or 3 million following
me on Facebook and Twitter, he said.

igeria lawmakers have proposed a bill to stop social media users from
abusing freedom of expression. But the bills intentions are not good,
Gbenga Sesan, a social entrepreneur and tech activist says.

The bill, which is officially called An act to prohibit frivolous petitions; and other
matters connected therewith, will criminalize speaking out against individuals or
groups online, including expressing dissent against the government, with vague
and disproportionate restrictions that do not strictly adhere to legitimate purposes.4
Anyone who has got the means can claim that anything that anyone is doing is a
threat to public peace, said Sesan, who is also the executive director of
Paradigm Initiative Nigeria, a technology focused non-profit organization based in
Lagos.
The level of an offence caused by a social media user can be misinterpreted by
anyone. The bill makes it impossible for you to petition a public official or
generally write a petition or report anything that is wrongly done by government,
Sesan said in a phone interview.
Social media has democratized news. It means that I can generate my own
news and share. It means my opinion, if people consider me influential, can
become news, he said.
This shift in power has diminished traditional medias ability to censor
information. With social media, my account is my account. I can be working for a
newspaper during the day and at night I can be tweeting what my superiors will
not allow me to tweet, Sesan said.
Ateba is also aware of the bill. He says it will help reduce abuse of social media
use. Nigeria needs to have a form of regulations because there are a lot of
abuses online. People should not be able to defame others in the name of
freedom of expression, he said

N order to take advantage of the boisterous opportunities online, some


newspaper publishers have increased their investment in online publishing.

In 2012, The Nation newspaper, one of the most widely read newspapers in
Nigeria, created an online department. Lekan Otufodunrin, the Sunday editor,
was transferred from the traditional newsroom to manage the online network.

He started working with the Technology department by promptly updating the


website himself along with another editorial staff independent of the newsroom.
He initiated the writing online special report and his staff grew to five. Two of the
additional staff were in charge of social media to push the website content.

According to a data by similarweb, an online analytics site, Ikejis website ranks


higher than most traditional media companies in Nigeria, including the Nation.
While Lindas blog ranks 3rd in the country, the Nation ranks 102nd.5
The Nation online generates most of its revenues from direct ad sales and third
party ad placements from Google. We dont make less than N3million ($15,000)
per month. Sometimes it can be more, Otufodunrin said in an email response.
This is low when compared to what top bloggers like Ikeji and Ajibade make per
month.
Otufodunrin said that bloggers pose as threats to mainstream news publishers.
Our major competitors have always been Vanguard and Punch and some top
bloggers and websites owned by non-traditional media organizations, he said.
Vanguard and Punch newspapers are traditional media companies based in
Lagos that also have strong online presence.
Engagement

Website

Visit

Time on site

Page views

www.vanguardngr.com

21.60m

4:55

2.54

www.lindaikejisblog.com

3.4m

8:36

4.74

www.punchng.com

2.10m

4:09

2.43

www.thenationonlineng.net

801.4k

3:31

2.121

www.thenewsnigeria.com.ng

88.80k

00:44

1.25

www.olorisupergal.com

40.3k

1:21

1.61

www.simonateba.com

18.20k

00:01

1.04

www.tv.guardian.ng

6.50k

1:16

1.97
Source: similarweb.com

Such blogs are giving us stiff competition for what used to be our exclusive
preserve. Now we have to work hard to break news ahead of them to retain our
readership. We now have to become more innovative in our content sharing
strategies. We are doing our best not to be left behind in the battle for the digital
space, Otufodunrin said.
While The Nation newspaper has successfully maintained a print and online
version over the years, some media organizations have not done as well. Earlier
this year, the Nigerian Guild of Editors expressed concern that the media industry
was suffering and called on the government for a bailout. Victoria Ibanga, NGE
secretary, was contacted but she could not grant an interview due to busy
schedule.
There is an ethical issue, said Ateba, They are supposed to be the watchdog
of the government. There is no way they can hold the government accountable if
they are sponsoring [the media]
What the media should do is to understand the ecosystem has changed, the
business model has changed. They need to migrate online and try to win the
people. We need to devise other means instead of pleading with the
government, he said.
In 2015, Independent Communications Network Limited where Ateba used to
work stopped print editions of The News magazine and P.M news due to failing
advertising revenues. They media organization that has existed for 23 years
transitioned fully into an online media.
The transition to internet publishing has been informed by the rising costs of
production and declining advertising income, which make the continuous
production in print form, very unprofitable, Bayo Onanuga, the magazines
editor-in-chief, wrote in his column published in The News.
Some other media organizations have started exploring new ways to innovate in
their newsrooms. The Guardian, one of Nigerias elitist newspapers, last month
launched Guardian TV in partnership with Ventra Media Group, a digital
marketing and rights agency, to provide news coverage in video format from
around the world.

The website, www.TV.Guardian.ng, which has the same interface as the news
site currently covers news, fashion, entertainment, sports, science and
technology. It also has a category called Guardian TV Exclusive, which contains
short interviews focused on Nigeria.
Guardian TV will offer content providers a platform to reach out to larger
audiences and demographics, both locally and internationally, Toke Alex Ibru,
The Guardians executive director, said in a press statement distributed by
African Press Organization.
##

EDITORS NOTE

This story was originally written for MANAGING THE


21ST-CENTURY NEWSROOM.

1 Nigeria internet users increases to 97 million
http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/192485-nigeria-internet-
users-increase-to-97-million-ncc.html
2 My blog is worth $1.2million. Who wants to buy? Hehehehe!
http://www.lindaikejisblog.com/2012/01/my-blog-is-worth-12m-who-wants-to-
buy.html
3 Linda Ikeji Net worth
http://www.wealthresult.com/2015/01/linda-ikeji-net-worth-is-now-n23-
billion.html
4 Nigeria social media bill is back http://techcabal.com/2016/03/07/nigerias-
social-media-bill-is-back-and-its-time-to-drop-this-dangerous-legislation-once-and-
for-all/
5 LindaIkejisblog va The Nation newspaper
https://www.similarweb.com/website/lindaikejisblog.com?competitors=thenation
onlineng.net

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