Editor-in-Chief Ray Echebiri of Business World in Nigeria spoke to RAP 21 about what his audience wants and how he brings it to them. Launched on 11 September 2006 the paper strives to inform and guide the country on business and economic matters.

“The people who buy and subscribe regularly know what they are looking for when they read our paper. They get information they use to make better investment decisions regarding the money market, capital market, etc,” Echebiri told RAP 21.

“It has been quite challenging over the past two years but also very exciting,” said Echebiri about building the paper in a country that savours its diverse press that according to the BBC, includes more than 100 national and local publications, 14 of which are major daily newspapers.

Echebiri is aware of the obstacles: “We launched into an industry that was already crowded. It is competitive.”

Amid a myriad of newspapers Business World has a more finite place within the industry. “We are not a general interest newspaper. Our paper doesn’t cover all topics. We focus on finance, telecom, the energy sector, brands and marketing as well government policies that affect business practice,” said Echebiri.

To access the centre of the country’s economy the paper has strategically located in its commercial centres. Having a network of offices also aids in assuring countrywide urban distribution, explained Echibiri. The newspaper has three main offices in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt and other agents in various cities to handle distribution. Penetration in rural areas has been much lower than in cities, in part because of the urban focused business content and high illiteracy rates.

Echebiri is well aware of the need to have an equipped staff to maximize the quality of the content. Though over the past two years finding skilled journalists who are able to analyze business affairs has posed as a challenge. “We need people with a business background, not only people who can write,” he said. To this end he has been recruiting people with applicable academic backgrounds and then training them in the newsroom to do such things as computer analysis.

Even with ever-present obstacles Business World has been able to play a substantial role in the country. Two years ago the paper’s circulation was 7,000. Now it has a circulation of 10,000 with aims at increasing it to 15,000 before the end of 2008. Echebiri said the low-income level really affects this number. “We also have to take in the pass on rate, which is at approximately 7,” Echibiri said. “People also come to the newsstand and read the papers and then put them back or people buy it and then give it to others.”

“Building the brand is an ongoing process,” said Echibiri. To initially publicize its name the paper hosted a focus group launch where people in advertising, potential readers, and executives were invited to be the first readers of Business World. Efforts continued with road shows, promotions, and advertisements in other newspapers and on the radio. Business World fliers and stickers have even been created to spread its name.

The newspaper also partners with many organisations for some high-profile events in Nigeria. “During such events, we make presentations to the audience on the paper, highlighting its unique selling points. We also distribute copies of Business World and our staff are usually on hand to market the paper to potential subscribers,” said Echibiri.

Advertising has also been a focal point for maximizing upgrades in the newspaper. Echibiri said it “is a reasonable aspect of the newspaper that is growing on a regular basis. We are pushing hard for this.” Most of their advertisements come from the finance and telecom sectors.

The newspaper is also responding to efforts of increasing Internet access throughout the country. “We want to give the online edition a life of its own...we will be updating it frequently,” Echibiri said. Currently, the website gets about 200,000 views a month.

This week they are also repackaging the paper. “We are bringing in new content that we hope will make the paper richer,” said Echibiri. Business World is basing the changes on surveys conducted to find out what kind of content readers want to see. “For example, right now people have expressed interest in foreign exchange trading, especially online forex trading. Therefore, we have moved into this area to show them how to do it,” he said.

Alongside all of the highlights over the past two years the paper has not forgotten the environment in which it is trying to make its niche. Since Nigeria gained independence in 1960 the country has only been intermittently free of military governments for 16 years. Press freedom has also been affected from the continued use of extralegal measures and arbitrary action.

Echibiri said the country is largely out of the press constraints heavily witnessed throughout the various military rules in the country. “But we really understand when we hear all the stories from other places,” he continued. For that reason Echibiri chose to include a World Association of Newspapers (WAN) advertisement in a recent issue calling attention to the severe press freedom infringements in China.

“We should be part of this war and this is why we published the WAN advertisement in the newspaper. We know China can do better and it is important to us because of Chinese-Nigerian business relations. We have strong business relations with China; they should go by the rule of law and that includes giving the press the freedom to operate,” Echibiri said underscoring the essence of his newspaper as well.