Book review of "Secrets of On-line and Multimedia Journalism" co-authored by two media veterans-Mudathir Ganiyu and Qasim Akinreti

No doubt we live in a changing world. It’s the 21st century and scholars say we are approaching a paperless age when everything will be digitalised. The relevance and sustenance of professionals is largely determined by their ability to adopt and adapt the current technology. The journalism world especially has grown beyond the confines of the traditional media of print and broadcast; it is now the era of the new media. The book, Secrets of On-line and Multimedia Journalism, co-authored by two media veterans-Mudathir Ganiyu and Qasim Akinreti- is an expose that explores the intricacies of this brand of the media. The 16 chapter book dissects the various dimensions of on-line journalism in a simple and easy-to-understand language.

The reader is intimated with the meaning of on-line journalism which basically means journalism on the web. It is the media share of digital revolution. It combines this with the core journalism skills of reporting, editing and news production, features and programmes. Multimedia on the other hand is explained as a concept which accommodates the processing of text, audio, visuals and graphics into one medium for different people at the same time. The implication of this is that the on-line journalist needs multimedia to tell his stories on-line.

On-line journalism becomes desirable when one considers the extent of reach, the relative costs of putting up the stories for readers and the speed of feedback from readers. But in such a country as ours, epileptic power supply and the prohibitive cost of internet access make on-line journalism a burden.
As expected, the authors highlighted the place of mobile phone as a tool for on-line journalism. Prior to the advent of mobile phones, reporters and foreign correspondents send their reports through telex. But today, the situation is different as they either mail or dictate it through their phones. The book further enumerated other important tools like the laptop, digital camera, card reader, video/audio editing kit, among others with pictures for vivid illustration which is highly commendable as there may be people who don’t know what these equipment look like.

The book also dedicates a chapter apiece to the subjects of creating a website, blogging and social media which are very key to the successful treatment of such a subject of on-line journalism. Virtually all Nigerian newspapers have on-line presence through one or all of these means. Journalists who cannot afford websites have blog sites and facebook or twitter account to communicate with sources. Those itching to know how to open a blog or social networking page will find the book handy. The beauty of these chapters is that they assume the reader does not know anything about them.

However, as good as the internet is, it can be abused. This is why there are regulatory agencies, laws and ethics which guide and regulate internet activities. The authors devoted two chapters to this critical issue to underpin the fact that on-line publication are also open to litigations.

Title: Secrets of On-line and Multimedia Journalism
Authors: Mudathir Ganiyu and Qasim Akinreti
Year of publication:  2011
Number of pages: 199 pages
Publisher:  Emgee Publishing Ltd

- February 20, 2011 by Samson Folarin

.................

Source: thenationonlineng.net/web3/arts/28489.html (Accessed: 28.02.2011)

See the first 10 pages of the book:

www.qasimakinreti.net/online=09876abcde12345_fghij45687ia_port987978folibsnh478hsbhxs673ble.pdf