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It hit the newsstands early last year and has since remained consistent since its debut. News Star, a weekend publication which took a bold step into Nigeria’s competitive media terrain by seeking to alter the face of weekend reportage, has today become a success story because of its ability to discover news in the most minute information.

According to the editor, Mr Adeniyi Adesina, a reputable journalist with experience spanning many years, the determination of the paper as well as dedication of the professional staff to the vision of the newspaper, made it a success story. "They help keep the aspiration and vision of the newspaper alive in the face of stiff challenges and competition", he said.

As the newspaper’s staff and their friends celebrate the first anniversary of News Star, Adesina is optimistic that the paper is poised to meet the demands of Nigeria’s newspaper readers.

Preparing for future challenges
I started my life in journalism in 1990 with Prime People and later joined Searchlight Newspaper owned by Professor Idowu Shobowale. Concord Press was my next port of call and after making my mark there, I moved to Sunday Punch in 2000. I was later appointed assistant editor of Saturday Punch and promoted to sports editor for Saturday Punch in 2001. After a while, I was made assistant news editor for Saturday Punch and news editor in 2002. In 2005, I was moved to Punch daily as assistant editor.

I finally left Punch in 2006 to work briefly with The Nation Newspaper. It was there that I got the call to be pioneer editor for News Star newspaper, a position which by the grace of God I still occupy. My ability to work across various titles prepared me for future challenges, one of which I am presently facing.

Challenge of managing journalists
The challenge of being an editor is huge. All along, I have worked under people and did not know what it takes to really be at the helms of decision making of a major newspaper. So, when I became the editor of News Star, first I had to contend with challenges in terms of circulation, advertisement and personnel. That of the editorial was also there, which was very dicey. Editorial content is the heart of every newspaper and must be right to attract advert, and get circulation going. So, I found myself not just in charge of editorial, but also the structure of the newspaper. An ideal editor supervises every department.

As you are thinking about what story to use, you are also thinking about adverts that would go into the paper and how to meet circulation deadline. There is no use producing a good paper that would not get to the market on time. All these things put together are challenges that confront an editor.
Incidentally, I found out that it is easier to manage journalists who have been practising for a while than those just coming into the profession. The old hands know the intrigues of the profession and what it entails to think and deliver stories on time. They also know how important it is to deliver clean, logical copies. The new ones don’t really understand the usefulness of the profession and are difficult to manage.

They don’t understand the unusualness of the job and grumble at the slightest opportunity. Journalism is different from the run of the mill profession. It is not regimented. A journalist is expected to work round the clock and be ready to take on any assignment, irrespective of time or inconvenience. When you listen to music or any programme on the broadcast media, your sixth sense is alert to pick up story ideas. Young journalists fail to understand that the best time to work is when people are making merry and having the best of time.

News Star at one, the journey so far
The paper was one year on April 7, 2008. The publication was conceived by the publisher who believed that there was a vacuum in the industry that needs to be filled. The paper came up to bridge the gap between hard and soft news. It came up purely to entertain in a subtle way on weekends. We noticed that many papers in Nigeria focus on hard news during weekends and ignore the need to help reduce the stress factor in the society. So, we came up with an idea where people can pick up a paper on Saturday and read politics, business, sports and other pressing national issues and still be able relax with it. We sat down and expanded the idea with Dele Adeosun, former editor of Sunday Punch, who was the pioneer general manager and editor-in-chief of the paper. We then recruited people who could live up to the dream of the paper.

At inception, News Star was a hit. Our first issue which debuted on April 7, 2007, received overwhelming patronage. It was a blockbuster. It ran a lengthy interview on Pastor Tunde Bakare, with the headline, ‘Pastor Bakare erupts again: How Obasanjo would end up’. He actually prophesied that former President Olusegun Obasanjo would not end up well because of his ways, and recent events have proved the man right. The 2007 general election and other national issues were not spared by the vocal clergy. We recorded 60 percent sales. That gave us the confidence that the paper was going to win public acceptance. Since then, we have become advertiser’s delight, as key industries have been patronizing the paper.

News and stars
I must confess it took us time to come out with the name News Star. We wanted a name that would be unique. We discovered that many papers in the country source their names from other major newspapers in the United Kingdom or foreign countries. The paper coined its name based on the idea to focus on stars and news. The star in the name has never failed to herald the paper as first among other weekend publications.

Our stories are pro-people and on events that people would ordinarily ignore. That way, we touch the lives of people. We also have very strong business pages that attend to the needs of the people financially. People generally see sports as an avenue for entertainment, so it is well packaged to satisfy that passion. The entire package is meant to reduce stress level in the society, by easing the nerves with serious but hilarious publications.

News Star is read in every nook and cranny of the country. Editorially, we are pacesetters. We have been breaking stories that other papers have to feast on. We investigate stories and bring out details that others initially ignore. That is our unique selling point. We broke the story about Obasanjo’s alleged incest and that of President Yar’Adua’s cabinet shake-up after the presidential elections tribunal ruling in his favour. News Star as a weekend paper is geared towards getting the right information at the right time for other media to take a cue. That position is what we are determined to maintain.

Success trailed by challenges
The major problem with newspaper generally is circulation. We are working towards expanding what we are doing, first to include Sundays, and finally going daily. These are what we hope to achieve before the end of the year. Our printing machine would arrive the country soon so that we can give our esteemed readers a daily dose of our painstakingly packaged stories. We want to give people amusing investigative stories everyday.

Like I said, circulation is a major problem confronting the media industry. For you to meet the expectation of your target audience and have a hitch free timely delivery, you have to be in control of your printing machines. Some media houses that depend on outside jobs are most times disappointed. These are some challenges that made the paper the success story that it is today.

Journalists’ welfare
Condition of service for journalists should be better, though I thank God that it is better than it was some years back. The average journalist should be bigger than his counterparts. Journalists should live well, ride good cars, live in their own homes and send their children to the best schools. But I believe the whole thing is a fall-out of the nation’s economy. Media managers should think about the business aspect of the paper.

The era of media managers dwelling on only stories should be over. They should rather research on ways to broaden the financial base of the paper. This would help to pay good salaries and provide other benefits that come with the job.