- The Sun, QuadrantMSL launch Market-Point
THE Sun Publishing Limited, publisher of Nigeria’s highest selling newspapers, (Daily Sun, Saturday Sun, Sunday Sun and Sporting Sun), has teamed up with The Quadrant Company (MSL Group), a top PR consultancy firm, to form Market-Point, a policy discourse platform with its head office in Lagos. The agreement announced on Thursday, caps months of talks between both partners on the need to deepen the engagement of key industries with the Nigerian Government.
The joint venture was informed by the quest to bring together policy makers, regulators and market participants in constructive dialogue. The Managing Director/Editor- in-Chief of The Sun Publishing Limited, Mr. Eric Osagie, stated that in a free and democratic society, the press as a whole is the market place for political and policy thought. “The Sun titles work on the principle that the public is entitled to all facts in every situation and that on the basis of these facts, it can make its own decisions. The policies and aims of government are made known through the media and examined exhaustively by the general public through the same media.”
Observing that the media has since become a conduit through which the actions of the government are viewed and activities of government officials are brought to limelight, he explained that, “the media has become the template for constructive discourse, viewing the policies of government while suggesting ways through which state actors can govern better within the ambience of the law. The Sun newspaper is the eye, ear and voice of the nation, upholding the right of the public to know. Policy dialogue is a very critical element of every democracy and good governance.
“Market-Point is an interactive, open and engaging forum. It was conceived to bridge the gap between Policy Makers, the Markets and Constituencies which they serve. It is essentially a Policy Maker meets the CEO event, where issues bordering on policy, regulation and directive principles enunciation, discussion and agreement take place. The idea is to put the policy maker on a platform which enables him or her to discuss positions on critical industry issues while stating the way forward for the industry in an atmosphere underscored by candour and interactivity.”
The Managing Director of The Quadrant Company (MSL), Mr. Bolaji Okusaga, said that his company decided to partner with The Sun Publishing Limited because it is a trusted media house with a strong flair for plurality of perspectives in its reporting, a wide national spread and impressive circulation figures. According to him, successful public discourse cannot be achieved without the active participation of journalists and a dedicated media.
Okusaga described Market- Point as an independent research, non-profit and non-partisan Nigeria think tank for public-private dialogue with an aim to serve as a neutral and independent forum for open dialogue on public policies.
According to The Quadrant Company Managing Director, the vision of Market-Point is to be the recognized brand in Nigeria that is tasked with leading the discourse on the development of policies which ensure that the nation attains its developmental goals. Its mission is to engage government officials, industry leaders, the citizenry as a whole and experts on the issues in focus on the development of policies that can have a lasting impact on the direction of the nation.
Okusaga stated that unlike most conferences and talk-shops which are linear in terms of communication, Market- Point is an interactive platform which enables the key speaker to obtain instant feedback in order to fine-tune his position and throw light on grey areas of the subject at issue.
“Market-Point is a blend of quarterly roundtables and conferences on topical issues which will generate fruitful exchange of analysts, perspectives and policy ideas for the benefit of better policymaking, better regulation and better legislation. These dialogues will be driven by effective data solutions aimed at promoting productive, non- partisan discussions among the public and private sectors. ”
In conjunction with the Ministries, Parastatals and Agencies (MPAs) of the federal government and private sector players, Market-Point point will convene dialogues aimed at producing actionable outcomes in key policy areas, such as innovation, public engagement, public service and governance. It will also publish detailed reports on its dialogues.
The Quadrant Company (MSL Group) is a leading public relations consulting firm. It is Nigeria’s first full service PR consultancy offering specialist services that include corporate communications, media relations, experiential marketing, media monitoring, public affairs and digital/social media service.
The Sun Publishing Limited is a fully Nigerian registered limited liability company. It commenced operations on January 18, 2003, with the publication of a weekly, and on June 16, 2003, it went daily. The Sun is a newspaper of human voices targeted at the middle class. Daily, it brings to its readers the current and latest information with a sleek blend of entertainment, sports, politics and business news. All newspapers readership surveys carried out in the country in the last four years acknowledge the very strong presence of The Sun in South-South, South-East, North- West, North-East, North-Central and Lagos. The Sun has the largest share of consumers’ mind (87%), and its readers are aware and conscious.
The Sun prints its papers simultaneously from three plants in Lagos, Aba and Abuja to cater for its readers in every nook and cranny of the southern and northern regions of Nigeria.
The inaugural edition of Market-Point will hold in September 2016. It will focus on the deregulation of downstream oil sector.