The Rivers State Government has charged state media organs to de-emphasise the use of government stories and pictures on the outside pages of the newspapers and as major news on radio and television stations and strive to compete with the independent and privately-owned media in the state and the country at large.

Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi who threw the challenge last Friday at a Dinner/Award night at the Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt, organised by the Rivers State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) as part of its 2009 Press Week, said government was not interested in the use of stories emanating from its activities as a priority.

The governor, who was represented at the event by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, said a situation where state media organizations splashed four to five stories emanating from activities of the governor on front and back pages with related pictures or used government stories as major news on radio and television had made them boring sources of information for majority of the reading, listening and viewing public.

Mrs Semenitari stressed that the over reliance of the state media organs on government stories had seemingly narrowed the vision of most reporters in the government media, thereby making it difficult for them to undertake investigative and developmental journalism.

She regretted that most of the stories in the state media lacked depth, intellectual dexterity and purposefulness, emphasising that the dependence on stereotypes was neither enhancing their capacity to inform nor educate the people.

Semenitari noted that in a highly competitive environment, it was meaningless and unprofitable for government media organs to concentrate on use of unworthy government stories, adding that while stories with high public interest potentials should be given prominence, those that were likely to put off the greater majority of readers, listeners and viewers should be played down in order to be commercially viable.

The commissioner pointed out that the government was committed to restructuring, repositioning and adequately funding the state-owned media in order for them to break even and compete with the private media establishments in stories for stories, advertisements for advertisements, saying that government as a business-man would commensurate returns on its investments, and therefore would not tolerate unproductive, indolent and lazy staff in the affected media organizations.

Earlier, chairman of Rivers State Council of NUJ, Mr Opaka Dokubo, had said journalists reflect, take stock and unwind, while also rewarding deserving members and past leaders as well as the state governor for his courage, exemplary leadership and transparency in governance.

Also speaking, Sen. Benneth Birabi tasked journalists to see themselves as mirrors of society, be constructive in their criticisms and strive to avoid yellow journalism, and commended the leadership of the NUJ in the state for putting together such an all-embracing programme for its members.

Susan Serekara-Nwikhana