NPL will strive to remain the best

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (Misa) Malawi Chapter has named Nation Publications Limited (NPL), publishers of The Nation, Weekend Nation, Nation on Sunday, Fuko and Nation Online, as the Print Media House of the Year for several years. During celebrations to mark this year’s World Press Freedom Day on May 3 at a Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony in Lilongwe, NPL was once again awarded as the best print media house, defending the accolade for two years running. NPL News Analyst Gedion Munthali (GM) spoke to NPL chief executive officer Mbumba Achuthan (MA) to comment on this achievement and state its meaning to the organisation and all its stakeholders. Excerpts

GM: NPL has yet again been named Print Media House of the Year by the Malawi Chapter of Misa. Do you agree with this verdict?

MA: Yes I agree. I agree because I believe we have managed to do what we set out to do and we have done it to the satisfaction of the people to whom we owe this service. As our slogan states, we have given them MORE THAN JUST NEWS!

GM: What do you mean by MORE THAN JUST NEWS?

MA: MORE THAN JUST NEWS means not just providing to the people what has happened. It means exploring the story behind what has happened. It means interpreting what has happened in terms of what it means to the people. It means playing and consolidating our role of pursuing investigative journalism to expose what someone is trying to hide at the expense of the public. It means providing a platform where organisations can tell the people what is going on inside them. It means catering for the rural masses through a free publication like Fuko which is expanding the frontiers of its circulation by the day. It means getting involved in corporate social responsibility activities.

GM: Does the fact that NPL has won this award consecutively for the last two years give you a sense of satisfaction?

MA: It does. I am satisfied because winning it consecutively speaks to the fact that we have been consistent. It means people are endorsing our excellence. It points to the fact that people are recognising the standards that we are jealously safeguarding.

GM: Listening to you suggests that you really felt bothered in years when NPL lost this award to another media house.

MA: Of course, I was concerned.  When another media house won, it meant we have failed to do enough. As you know, we always want to do well and remain the best. So, in the years when we did not win it, it was time to sit back, reflect and strategise. The result is this success. And let me assure the public that we don’t sit on our laurels. We do not stop to undertake appraisal of ourselves to make sure that our products are providing first-class service.

GM: How will you ensure that NPL sustains this consistency?

MA: It is a challenge we are ready to meet. It means that we have to continue to build and everyone must put their hands on deck. It will start with the leaders and involve the teams. We have to synchronise and fully utilise the talents that we have at our disposal.  We have some of the best human resources in this area of business. There is a combination of highly trained personnel, many at degree level, and those with very rich experience. We also have those that continue to update their skills and knowledge through international training. We need to put all these resources together and move in the direction of wanting to achieve more.

GM: The vision of NPL is to be a media house of choice. How will you use this opportunity of having been endorsed by the public to realise that vision?

MA: It is an opportunity that gives us more appetite to expand the frontiers of our service to the people. We have in our plans to open in the near future a radio and television station to add to our existing brands. We have also been very innovative in the service of online publishing because not only have we provided information but we have also provided a platform where our readers interact and engage in productive discourse for the good of our country. We need to consolidate all this.

GM: What do you have to say to the NPL family?

MA: I wish to sincerely thank everybody for this success. The fact that the people are saying we are doing well must challenge us to do even more. We have to remain the kind of people who believe that anything can be achieved. We have to do everything there is to do with passion. We have to be smart and professional in our work. We have to have the hunger to achieve even greater things. We must always keep in mind that today’s offering needs to be offered better tomorrow for it to generate people’s interest and satisfaction.

GM: Do you have anything to say to the other stakeholders, including our readers and advertisers?

MA: They deserve our sincere thanks and gratitude. It is their support that has complemented our efforts to achieve everything that we have managed to achieve all these years. I want to sincerely hope that we will continue to build on this relationship to achieve even more together. I wish to pledge, on behalf of NPL, that we will continue to be a media house that is guided only by the truth in our reporting. We will remain an independent, objective and fair media house whose fidelity remains only to the public. Because it is these values that have made NPL brands to be the most credible. I wish to assure our advertisers that NPL is the most reliable platform where they have to place their adverts because besides being a media house of integrity, our brands enjoy the highest circulation in Malawi. We will remain the media house that does not just provide information, but also come up with projects through which we are able to partner with the people to achieve their social and economic goals.

GM: Your last words

MA: We came onto the scene some 20 year ago with a mission of contributing to the development of the nation through providing information that would help the people make informed choices and influence decision makers to respond to the call of duty to serve Malawians well. We want to think we have made our contribution despite the challenges that the media in Malawi face. We believe we still have a bigger role to play to make our country a better place. We wish to assure the public that we will always be there for them.