''Newswatch'' is a Nigerian weekly news magazine published by Newswatch Communications Limited in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. ''Newswatchs weekly print run can be as high as 100,000 copies.

History and profile

''Newswatch'' was formed by Nigerian journalists

Dele Giwa Dele Giwa (16 March 1947 – 19 October 1986) was a Nigerian journalist, editor and founder of '' Newswatch'' magazine. Early life and career Sumonu Oladele "Baines" Giwa was born on March 16, 1947 to a family working in the palace of Oba Ades ...

, Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese and Yakubu Mohammed in 1984, and the first edition was distributed on 28 January 1985. A 1989 description of the magazine said it "changed the format of print journalism in Nigeria ndintroduced bold, investigative formats to news reporting in Nigeria". However, in the first few months of the administration of General

Ibrahim Babangida Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida (born 17 August, 1941) is a retired Nigerian Army general and politician. He served as military president of Nigeria from 1985 until his resignation in 1993. He rose through the ranks to serve from 1984 to 1985 as Ch ...

, who took power in August 1985, the magazine was shamelessly flattering. It printed his face on the cover four times and even criticized "anyone who attempted to make life unpleasant for Babangida". Giwa, the first

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of ''Newswatch'', was killed by a

mail bomb A letter bomb, also called parcel bomb, mail bomb, package bomb, note bomb, message bomb, gift bomb, present bomb, delivery bomb, surprise bomb, postal bomb, or post bomb, is an explosive device sent via the mail, postal service, and designed ...

in his home on 19 October 1986. The magazine was forced to shut down for six months from April 1987 by the Babangida led-administration for publishing information from what seemed to be a harmless government White Paper. ''Newswatch'' named Babangida "Man of the Year" in 1989 and Babangida appointed Alex Akinyele, a Newswatch Director, as his information minister. In June 1992 the government expelled a journalist from the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

'' who had written an article criticizing government use of oil money. Although, papers such as ''Concord'' and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' were critical, ''Newswatch'' remained silent. As of 1996 the magazine was said to have a circulation of 150,000 copies in Africa, Europe and North America. Prominent directors included Chief

Tony Momoh Prince Tony Momoh (27 April 1939 – 1 February 2021) was a Nigerian journalist and a politician who was Nigerian Minister of Information and Culture (1986–1990) during the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. Birth and education M ...

, Otunba

Mike Adenuga Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Ishola Adenuga Jr (born 29 April 1953) is a Nigerian billionaire businessman, and the fourth richest person in Africa. His company Globacom is Nigeria's second-largest telecom operator and also has a presence in Ghana ...

and Chief Alex Akinyele. In December 2010, the magazine celebrated its 25th anniversary at a ceremony in Lagos. The magazine gave out a book ''Jogging in the Jungle: The Newswatch Story'' to attendees. Former

Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to the ...

Governor Aremo

Olusegun Osoba Chief Olusegun Osoba (born 15 July 1939) is a Nigerian journalist and politician who served twice as governor of Ogun State first from 1992 to 1993 during the Nigerian Third Republic and then from 1999 to 2003. Early life and education Olusegu ...

presided as chairman. On 8 May 2011, it was announced that 51% of the shares of Newswatch Communications Limited had been purchased by Global Media Mirror Ltd., publishers of the ''

National Mirror The ''National Mirror'' is a daily newspaper published in Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Af ...

'' and owned by Jimoh Ibrahim. Ibrahim had taken over as executive chairman, replacing Alex Akinyele. Bala Dan Abu, executive editor, was given the responsibility of building up the editorial team. The new owner was to pay off all debts and pay the backlog of seven months of staff salary. In 2012, ''Newswatch'' temporarily ceased publication. It reappeared again in January 2013.

References

{{Nigerian magazines 1985 establishments in Nigeria English-language magazines Magazines established in 1985 Magazines published in Lagos News magazines published in Africa Magazines published in Nigeria Weekly magazines