*Photo: The late Mr Dan Agbese, journalism icon and co-founder of Newswatch magazine*
The newsroom remains the most democratic workplace I have ever known. We argued over story ideas during editorial meetings without fear of hierarchy; the goal was always to bring out the best in every story. It was also fun, especially for the jolly good fellows among us. We looked forward to production days when many of us had to sleep over to meet our deadlines.
But it wasn’t just the story writing that made it exciting. An average journalist never misses a chance to unwind, so on every production evening, we would stroll down to Oregun from the office in Billings Way for our usual sit-out.
After our “one-one for the road,” we returned to the newsroom believing, at least in our minds, that our eyes were clearer for story writing. During those late hours, we ensured that we wrote and submitted our stories to the editors. Often, they came back marked for rewrites, restructuring, or the addition of some spice, or, as the editor would say, “just add more flesh to the story.”
All that was normal to us. Ishaya Ibrahim, Anayo Ezugwu, Andrew Airahuobhor, and Emmanuel Uffot can recall how many times we had to wake one another from sleep with, “Guy, come and rework your story,” after returning from the editors. Meanwhile, this same team were the fun lovers at Oregun bus stop at night.
I still remember my first story published in Newswatch magazine.
My editor threw the script back at me after I submitted it, calling it rubbish. Thanks to Mr Mikail Adegoke Mumuni, my senior colleague, who guided me patiently until that first story was properly rewritten. From there, I began to learn.
We enjoyed the life of the newsroom, but the real scorecard came on Mondays after the magazine hit the stands, delivered by no other than Mr Dan Agbese, our Editor-in-Chief. We called it the “love letter” from the Editor-in-Chief. That piece was our learning manual, our first reporters’ guide for the next story.
Oga Dan would read through the entire magazine, pick out errors, suggest better ways to frame interview questions, and mark places where statistics were needed, especially in business and economy stories, among other editorial observations. How he managed to do all that between Sunday, when the magazine was released, and Monday morning still beats my imagination. But those efforts significantly improved our writing skills, especially for young journalists like me at the time.
Adieu, Papa. Thank you for making us better in our careers.