garciamedia

Jul. 15th Nigeria’s Next on Sunday: changing journalism one Sunday at a time

TAKEAWAY: It has been more than six months since Next on Sunday made a colorful splash into the even more colorful streets of Lagos, Nigeria (and nationally).  We review this success story. ALSO: Pure Design is all about “whispers” today.

Sundays are bright and colorful in Nigeria

It has been a one-of-a-kind project for us at Garcia Media from the start: the creation of a new newspaper in Nigeria, under the leadership of Dele Olojede (with whom I previously worked at Newsday, in Long Island, New York), and who is publisher/editor/mentor/professor and colonel to a team of mostly young jounralists—-some making their first incursion into professional journalism.  When Dele called me almost two years ago to discuss a newspaper that was basically in his brain at the time, I never hesitated for a moment. I knew that the return of the Pulitzer Prize winner (International Reporting, 2005) to his native Nigeria, to start a newspaper, would not just be the launch of another newspaper.

I was right!  Sometime next month, NEXT will appear as a daily, but Next on Sunday preceeded it when it launched that first edition January 4, 2009.  Yes, the design was quite different from what one sees in other Nigerian newspapers; color, bold typography and a new way of telling stories for the digital generation were all part of the package.

Most importantly, however, has been the lessons in journalism that Next on Sunday is showing with each edition. To hear Dele Olojede tell it:

“What we’ve found in the last seven months is that stating the facts plainly and simply is very difficult for people to get used to. But that’s why we’re doing what we are doing— to lay the facts bare before the public, so they are better armed to make good decisions as citizens. It is an exceedingly difficult environment in which to operate, but I think the public sense we are embarking on a rther special journey here, and that keeps us going.

I will be visiting Dele and his team in Lagos at the end of the month, as we prepare to launch the daily edition of Next.

For Dele’s remarks to the Aspen Institute last month, go here:
Video is near bottom of the page
Please see this link to an extemporaneous speech I gave at the Aspen Institute last month. Video is near bottom of the page
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/leadership-programs/ACTII
“ title=“http://www.aspeninstitute.org/leadership-programs/ACTII”>http://www.aspeninstitute.org/leadership-programs/ACTII

Next on Sunday design director is Victor Ehikhamenor, a well known Nigerian artist whose work is exhibited worldwide.  Here is how he describes the Next on Sunday phenomenon:

That NEXT is totally revolutionary both in content and design.
Most readers still see NEXT on Sunday and elan as “foreign” (in a good sense) as far as design is concerned.
Readers are urging us on to continue the new/refreshing dimension NEXT has brought to Nigeriam journalism.
NEXT has brought back investigative journalism that has been dead over the years in Nigeria.
All in all, those that have encountered NEXT love it.

 

 

 

Pure Design: Whispers

I have always called them “whispers”—-those little, short asides that are sometimes a key to luring a scanner to read the story; they are the “aside” that may add information, reaffirm a fact we might have forgotten, or simply offer a little tidbit of information that does not quite belong in the text of the story, but which reinforces it. Whispers speak softly but carry a powerful stick. They are as important today as ever. In a world of loud, instant, fast traveling news, a whisper can be almost therapeutic.  In perfect situations, reporters spot the whispers in theirs tories, although many smart copy editors “hear” the whisper-potential and pull them out too!

Twitter with me

Follow me at http://www.twitter.com/tweetsbydesign

Follow the Marios

Two Marios. Two Views.
Follow Mario Jr. and his blog about media analysis, web design and assorted topics related to the current state of our industry.
http://garciainteractive.com/
Visit Mario Sr. daily here, or through TweetsByDesign (http://www.twitter.com/tweetsbydesign)

In Spanish daily: The Rodrigo Fino blog

:
To read TheRodrigoFino blog, in Spanish, go:
http://garciamedia.com/latinamerica/blog/

TheMarioBlog posting #304

Posted by Dr. Mario R. Garcia on July 15, 2009