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

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

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

History and profile

''Newswatch'' was formed by Nigerian journalists Dele Giwa, 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 Nigerian statesman and military dictator who ruled as military president of Nigeria from 1985 when he orchestrated a coup d'état against his military and political arch-rival Muhammadu ...

, 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 editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

of ''Newswatch'', was killed by a mail bomb 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 also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...

'' 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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' 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 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. It is bordered to the south by Lagos State and the Bight of Benin, to the east by Ondo State, and to the north by Oyo and Osun states while its western border forms part of the national borde ...

Governor Aremo Olusegun Osoba 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, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Oce ...

'' 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 Weekly magazines