Media Rewards Diligence

Julius Ogunro started as a journalist in one of the fire brand news magazines in Nigeria, Insider Weekly. His experience there and in the other media outfits he later worked helped prepare him for his present job as the Special Assistant on Media to the Honourable Minister for Information and Communications, Dora Akunyili. He spoke with Joseph Ekeng

I am Julius Ogunro, an Ijaw from Patani in Delta State. I am 33 years old and schooled at the Delta State University, Abraka and the University of Lagos. Until my present appointment as the special assistant on media to the Minister of Information and Communications, Dora Akunyili, I used to be the editor of National Standard, a Lagos-based weekly. I gladly recall that it is the first news magazine in Nigeria to be published all coloured.
I studied Mass Communication with print bias for my first and second degree. So, I did not make up my mind to be a journalist, after school, but before. I did an analysis of my strengths and weaknesses and chose a course that would amplify my strengths. I am not sure I would have done quite well in a technical course, but because of my foresight, I did very well at school. I think I am having a successful career too.
My first media experience was with Insider Weekly in Lagos. It was very tough. The pay was very low and couldn’t pay my bills. However, it was my love for the job that kept me going. That, and especially my relationship with God. I had to pray and seek his understanding about my career. It was what made me stick to the job, in spite of the challenges. I should also mention that I had a great mentor in the person of Declan Okpalaeke, Nigeria’s first winner of the CNN African Journalist of the year award and presently the editor-in-chief of Readers’ Digest. He taught me a lot about the job and his words of encouragement kept me going. He had harsh words for me too when I did not measure up. I believe a combination of these factors gave me a wonderful experience on my first job.
I wanted to achieve fame, and then to move on. I wanted to win awards, become a household name, and then move on to another career. I guess I achieved some of my dreams. I won several awards, including the Best Print Journalist in Nigeria 2008 at the Media Merit Awards in 2009. There were many. But I still recall the story I did when I pretended to be HIV positive just to reveal how people with HIV are treated. It was exciting, but my brother, I was scared.
It is also very challenging. I think that the environment could be better. For a lot of young people, a career in journalism is not their first choice. The pay is too low and for most of the media houses, there is no pension plan. Then for a lot of journalists, they have to work without pay. That is distressing and the reason why you see a lot people leaving the profession. If the conditions are better, we will have a more vibrant press.
As for my present job as the special assistant to Akunyili, I was invited to join her team. And I must say there are no much differences between my former job and this one. It is similar except you don’t have your own platform to publish some of the stuff you do. Then you have to do administrative work too. This time around, I read the papers not just to be informed but to understand what the media is saying about my Minister. It is exciting, and I thank the Hon Minister for the giving me the opportunity. 
What we do is media support services and I love it. I see it as an extension of the media and an opportunity to get experience in public service.