A former senior US news executive is visiting Nigeria to lead workshops aimed at helping the country’s media leaders tackle financial and digital challenges.
Stacia Philips, who held top roles at ABC News and CNN, will host training sessions in Abuja and Lagos from 3–10 May, organised by Channels Academy with support from the US Mission in Nigeria.
The programme targets CEOs, editors, and senior managers from Nigerian news organisations, focusing on:
Sustainable business models amid declining ad revenue.
Adapting to AI and digital disruption.
Maintaining editorial independence under financial pressure.
Ms Philips spent 30 years in US broadcast journalism, including as:
Executive Vice President at ABC News, overseeing strategy and operations.
Director of News Planning at CNN, coordinating global coverage.
She now runs a media consultancy, Philips Strategic Insights.
Nigeria’s media landscape faces shrinking budgets, political pressures, and competition from social media. Similar challenges have led to newsroom closures and layoffs in other markets.
Ms Philips told the BBC: “The core issues—trust, revenue, technology—are universal. But local solutions must be homegrown. My role is to share lessons, not prescribe fixes.”
Julie McKay, a US consulate spokesperson, said sustaining independent journalism was “vital for democracy”, citing Nigeria’s recent elections and misinformation struggles.
Practical Focus
The workshops will include:
✔ Case studies from US media transformations.
✔ Hands-on sessions on audience engagement tools.
✔ Discussions about ethical dilemmas in the digital age.
Kingsley Uranta of Channels Academy said Nigerian media needed “urgent strategies to survive beyond state or corporate patronage”.
The US has previously trained Nigerian journalists on election reporting, fact-checking, and investigative techniques.
This programme shifts focus to business sustainability.
