National Network Has Made Remarkable Progress – Eddie Williams
I think it’s a newspaper that had survived all hazards – some professional hazards then some the harsh economic environment for so many, many, many years and then one thing I also have to say is, I think those of us who were involved in publishing and then who maybe have had their own titles rested due to one reason or the other we have quite a lot of lessons to draw from the experiences of National Network.
For me as a person, having known the Publisher for donkey years, I’m not surprised what I’m seeing in fifteen years down the line. I was at the last ceremony that was staged at the then Cultural Centre and then from then to now, there are marked improvement. One in terms of personnel. I’m concerned more about professional personnel. He had tried to hold on to core professionals. So what I’m seeing going on with the newspaper, I very much expected it. However, the management should try to hold on to the team on ground but the management still has to do some little things here and there to see how they can do some form of investment in refresher courses to expose more the professionals who are handling the editorial content of the paper and widen their professional scope.
The Paper Is Professional – HRM Eze (Hon.) Cassidy Ikegbidi
This industry is a very risky industry. If you don’t play your card very well, you enter into many problems but Jerry Needam is doing the work very neat. So we thank God for keeping him alive, for him being in that industry up to fifteen years. It’s not easy as there are many temptations. He does the job in a normal way, not by sentiment. He’s not like others who may collect money from people and write nonsense about their opponents. Other publishers should be like him and find out just the truth before they publish.
It Has Achieved Wonderfully Well – Sir Nelson Wali
National Network has achieved wonderfully well. The fact that they even recognized God and the activities of the Church in all their engagements means excellence in their achievements these fifteen years. They should just keep on and even get to the level of the national dailies. They shouldn’t just be a regional paper or a local tabloid. That’s my advice to them and then maintain the quality of the editors.
None To Be Compared To It – Hon. Wisdom Ogan
We thank God for giving our leader, Pastor Jerry Needam, the strength to pilot the affairs of National Network. National Network is an avenue where we express our views. The paper is only for the truth. We express our views in the National Network because there’s no paper like it and I want to call on Rivers people and people in the South-South to patronize National Network. I praise the paper because it’s for the truth and it has come to stay.
The Paper Is Very Outstanding – Hon. Cyril Dum Wite
Fifteen is quite a number for National Network newspaper. It’s come a long way. Given the turbulent environment in which businesses thrive in Nigeria, I think National Network newspaper had been very outstanding. I know a couple of other tabloids that came about the same time and they are no longer around so it means that the National Network have a niche which they have been able to use in operating in very difficult environment and to keep people’s patronage up to this point in time I think is worthy of emulation. National Network newspaper has been a common name in Rivers State but outside Rivers State I’m very sure they need to do some more enlightenment for people to know the National Network. So, I think it is time for National Network to branch out to the South-South, the Niger Delta. Niger Delta is made up of about nine states and so if the emphasis of National Network newspaper now is looking at capturing and informing the Niger Delta people, that will be a large market.
Outside of the South-South, I think this is the time for National Network newspaper to be seen as the mouthpiece of the people of the Niger Delta.
They Should Continue To Feed People With Information – HRH Eze Onumini Owabie Tobin
The paper has made illiterates to become literate because if you are illiterate and you find time to begin to read you will become literate. For the paper, it’s a birthday party.
I advise them to continue to do what they are doing. They should not relax but continue to feed people with information.
Don’t Relent – Tony John
I think the paper has lived up to expectation. To sustain a newspaper for fifteen years is not an easy task and it shows commitment, it shows dedication, it shows perseverance. I give kudos to the publisher. He wants the best and the best is manifesting and that is why you can see the paper sustained for fifteen years.
My advice for the Publisher, the staff and all that contribute in one way or the other to the success of the paper is that they should not relent. They should also not take sides. There should be fairness. That’s what journalism is all about. There should be objectivity.
The Paper Has Stood Out – Hope Don Pedro
We celebrate with National Network, a newspaper that has stood out tall for fifteen years in the state. National Network has done well. It has grown beyond a local tabloid.
Content Of National Network Impressive – Daniel Abia
I’m very, very impressed with the sustenance of the paper. It all started as a local paper and then graduated to a regional (paper) and today the name National Network as far as Niger Delta region is concerned is more or less a household name. Besides that, I think the content of the paper is what I cherish most because they uphold the true ethics of journalism.
They practise true professionalism and I think the content is impressive which is the first thing when you talk about print journalism. In all, I want to thank the management of National Network newspaper particularly the Publisher, Jerry Needam. The fact that he has been able to sustain this paper for these past fifteen years is genius. My advice to the management and in particular the Publisher of National Network is to keep on upholding the principle of true professionalism the way it is and he should strive to make the paper national both in practice and in principle. For now, they are actually trying but they are not yet there as a national paper.
I’m Happy About The Paper’s Achievement – Stanley Job Stanley
I feel happy that National Network has achieved this kind of feat. Continuous publication of the paper or being in newsstands for fifteen years is something worth celebrating. However, the paper should be consistent and stand by the truth. Staff should do their work and stand by the ethics of the journalism profession. They should tell the truth and balance their reports at all times and nobody can bring down the paper as a media organization.
It Has Been Consistent – Paulette Austine Kalu
I think it’s one Port-Harcourt paper that has been consistent. Since I came to Port-Harcourt, I’ve always seen National Network on newsstands. They are consistent in delivering news. I think they have stood the test of time and they are doing well.
He Has Raised The Bar – Gloria Boma Harry
As Publishers, we are proud of Pastor Jerry Needam. He has raised the bar when it comes to publishing and of course publishing is a business. Apart from some of us who are trained journalists, most publishers are businessmen so for an outfit to do so well means he has raised the bar for publishers and journalists. He has done so well in the business of disseminating information in the business of sustaining a business outfit.
I’m Highly Impressed – Hon. Pepson Goneh Adokor
I’m highly impressed about the Publisher, Jerry Needam, how he started and today how he has done well and celebrating the paper’s fifteenth anniversary. I thank God for him. We are celebrating him because he has done well but he should continue to do his best and we need him to expand his business.
It’s Doing Well Despite Challenges – Daba Benebo
I just want to thank God for the Publisher, Jerry Needam, who has gone thus far and is marking the paper’s fifteenth anniversary. It’s a thing of joy that the local tabloid is growing and is doing well even in the face of challenges and difficulties. We pray that God should give him the strength and grace to do more and also to synergize with his colleagues so that they work together to revamp the local tabloids in the state and take them to greater height.
The Paper Is Non-Partisan – Illanye Jumbo
In this era of subjectivity, in this era of politics when once you pick up a paper you know which party that paper belongs either aligning to Party A or Party B I’ve seen National Network over the years that I’ve known the publisher and been acquainted with the paper to be very objective in its reportage. So it’s a paper that stands out. No wonder in spite of all the turbulence the organization has been through it has stood the test of time. Well, whatever it was they did in the past to achieve this feat, I want to encourage them to keep it up. The crowd at the anniversary celebration shows the paper has wide readership and means they have done well. So they should just keep it up.
National Network Is Unprejudiced – Hon. Dinebari Loolo
I can assure you the paper has done well-fifteen years and they are still moving. If you look at the paper, it serves as the link between the people at the top and the grassroots. The average Rivers man wants to read National Network because it is unbiased. It’s not partisan. Their reports are always balanced. We need papers like National Network to educate and inform the people over the happenings around. A lot of things happen and people suffer because they are not informed. What the National Network is doing is such that we appreciate what they’ve been doing and they have achieved so much in fifteen years. I want to congratulate them and I want to say they should continue in disseminating information to the grassroots and to the populace. They should be more committed. They should be on top of their game and they should always continue to be very, very balanced in their news reporting. I know that the sky is the limit for the organization.
