10 years After, we remain committed to Professional Journalism- Blueprint Publisher
The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Blueprint newspapers, Alhaji Mohammed Idris Thursday declared that 10 years after the establishment of the paper, it remains on the path of professional journalism.
Blueprint newspaper, one of the Nigeria’s leading national dailies, was debuted in Abuja on June 3, 2011.
Idris, who is also the Chairman of WE FM, Abuja leading radio station and Bifocal Communication Limited, a reputable Public Relations and communication firm, situated in Abuja, expressed the satisfaction that the paper had contributed to useful conversations towards a more democratic and egalitarian Nigerian society.
The Kakaki Nupe also disclosed that the Blueprint newspaper had authored ground-breaking stories and kept the trust of its numerous readers, to the satisfaction of its internal and external stakeholders in the last 10 years.
Speaking at the 10th Anniversary/Impact Series and Awards of the paper held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, where the former President Goodluck Jonathan and 11 state governors were conferred with various categories of awards, he revealed his plans to acquire more radio stations and a new television station.
He said: “A decade after, we are encouraged by the fact that we have practised professional journalism, tightly manned our gates, contributed to useful conversations towards a more democratic and egalitarian society, authored ground-breaking stories and kept the trust of our numerous readers, to the satisfaction of our internal and external stakeholders.
“And as part of our extensions, in 2018, we acquired controlling stakes in one of Abuja’s leading radio stations, the WE FM 103.6 FM. In the medium term, we plan on activating more radio stations and a new TV channel’’.
Idris, while recounting his experience as a publisher, said: “One other fallout of the newspaper publishing business outlook in 2011 was the competition. Nearly every insight suggested that the market was saturated, meaning there was no room for new players unless they deliberately wanted to waste their money.
“This position was backed by evidence of the mortality rate in the industry, as there were more rested titles than active ones. Nonetheless, I wasn’t a total rookie, given the fact that I had made a foray into the murky waters of publishing in 2004 with a business news magazine called The Market, which lasted for about five years.
“Today, our team is glad that in 2011 we took the dive to sink or swim. The good news is that we are afloat. We are a new generation newspaper compared to older titles that floated in the era before the advent of the phenomenon called Social Media, and who were certainly entitled to the monopoly of the news and advertising space’’
