Nigeria’s traditional print media has failed to transition into the digital era, creating a vacuum now filled by alternative voices, Nkanu Egbe, Publisher of Lagos Metropolitan, says in an exclusive interview with Technology Times TV.
Egbe, a veteran practitioner with over four decades of experience spanning broadcasting, print journalism, advertising, and digital publishing, tells Technology Times TV on Thursday in Lagos that legacy print outfits “went silent” at a critical moment of technological shift.
“The storytelling that should have been carried out by print media was left to the street,” Egbe says. “The print medium went silent.”
“I came into the media space in November 1982,” he recalls. “From reel-to-reel tapes in broadcasting to cut-and-paste layouts in print, I witnessed the earliest shifts. But by the time desktop publishing emerged in the late ’80s, many Nigerian media houses refused to evolve. They missed the moment.”
His reflections, drawn from a media journey that began in 1982, offer a sobering perspective on how Nigeria’s legacy media, especially print, missed the moment to adapt and lead the digital revolution.
“I came into the media space in November 1982,” he recalls. “From reel-to-reel tapes in broadcasting to cut-and-paste layouts in print, I witnessed the earliest shifts. But by the time desktop publishing emerged in the late ’80s, many Nigerian media houses refused to evolve. They missed the moment.”
Nkanu Egbe: Media houses misapplied digital tools
Egbe describes how powerful digital publishing tools like PageMaker and QuarkXPress reshaped global newsrooms, while many Nigerian publishers clung to outdated workflows — or worse, misapplied the very tools they adopted.
“You wouldn’t believe this: a lot of newspapers were actually planning their entire makeup on CorelDRAW,” he says. “CorelDRAW is for graphics, not page design. Meanwhile, tools like PageMaker — which I used from version 1.1 — were ignored.”
Legacy media’s steep price
The cost of falling behind, Egbe says, is now evident in the declining influence of print media.
“Print had the advantage,” he notes. “It could’ve led the digital charge. But the managers of newsrooms were stuck in legacy mindsets. Now, print is the most disrupted of all media — and almost endangered.”
He likens the decline to an extinction-level event, yet insists that the printed word still holds promise — if it evolves.
“The printed word has always been the basis for new civilisation. It still holds potential — but it must up its game.”
COVID-19 and a rebirth
For Egbe, the COVID-19 pandemic served as a personal wake-up call.
“In April 2020, I launched Lagos Metropolitan to quieten the noise around COVID,” he explains. “There was misinformation everywhere. I felt the need to reassert the role of responsible journalism — even if it meant building something new from scratch.”
That reinvention, he says, is now crucial for any serious media player.
“You’re not just a print operator or a broadcaster anymore. It’s now a 360-degree operation. You do print, online, podcasting, short video, and more — all as tools of storytelling.”
Why legacy media is falling behind
Egbe identifies three key reasons traditional media is losing relevance:
- Legacy mindsets: “Many media leaders still operate with 1980s thinking. They’re risk-averse in an age that demands innovation.”
- Broken monetisation models: “Many still think newspaper circulation brings revenue. But the audience model has changed. Where people are is where the money is — and that’s online.”
- Skill gaps: “A generation of media workers chose retirement over reskilling. Compositors didn’t learn desktop publishing. Some online editors today don’t understand analytics or audience targeting.”
Without investment in data skills and audience-driven strategy, he warns, traditional media will continue losing ground to more agile digital-first players.
Audience evolution and the future of storytelling
According to Egbe, the most transformative shift is coming not from technology, but from audiences themselves.
“When newspapers dominated, the audience went to newsstands. Now, with smartphones, they get stories in their palms — and they can tell their own,” he says. “They share videos, photos, memes, and even break news. They’re not just passive consumers anymore — they’re storytellers.”
The challenge for media, Egba explains, is to meet audiences where they are — or get ahead of them.
“We must go where the audience is — or better still, get ahead of them,” Egbe says. “The BBC has a show called Click. It predicts where technology is heading. That’s what the media should be doing — leading the conversation, not chasing it.”
Egbe applauds Technology Times for taking on that leadership role.“ Technology Times is already in the right space — telling the stories of innovation,” he says.
Home
