by crossriverwatch admin
The Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ, Cross River State Council, has applauded the CrossRiverWatch.com team for attaining the four million visits mark and for holistic reportage of the state which has established the site as an authentic medium reporting the state.
In a statement today, the Chairman of the NUJ, Cross River State Council, Pastor Ndoma Akpet said: “It is hard to believe that two years have gone by since you undertook the bold challenge of reporting Cross River State on the net. Many would have chosen more appealing subjects to engage in a blog especially given the circumstance of our environment – largely laid back, with a usually docile population.
“I dare say you brought some spark to Cross River State and whether we like it or not, your blog has done more for Cross River State than the millions of Naira sometimes spent on publicity campaigns to sell Cross River State. Thank God our State Government has realized the importance of what you are doing using the new media and has decided to partner you.
“I recently searched my name on Google and all the results that turned up were from reports you had quoted me. Even though most of the reports had something negative about me, at least, there was something about me, Ndoma Akpet .
Indeed when you started, I dubbed your website, CrossRiverWatch.com, an unserious medium likening it to social media sites. But your tenacity and commitment to the holistic reportage of Cross River State has not only established you as an authentic medium reporting the state, but also won me over as a follower.
“All I can say in your second anniversary is that you keep on the good work.”
In his reaction, the Publisher of CrossRiverWatch.com, Mr. Agba Jalingo told our reporter that: “I am honestly overwhelmed by what I consider an honest reaction of the NUJ Chairman. I say honest because when we contacted him, he requested that he wants to be quoted correctly and as a result we should give him time to write something down and what you are reading are his pure thoughts that he wrote down verbatim.
“And if that is what he is thinking about us now, few weeks after what was a bitter media war, I am very deeply overwhelmed and I congratulate the Union and the Chairman in particular for his statesmanship But most importantly, the Chairman correctly noted that our people are docile; that is exactly what motivated us. We remember when we celebrated attaining a hundred thousand visits, now we are talking of millions.
“Seriously, an uninformed population is a liability to democracy and for the democratic process to become more responsive, there must be a free media and that is what we are poised to build in our state and we are glad that the Union is beginning to see us in our true light. The work is just starting, the possibilities are limitless with available and emerging technology”.
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