In a classic of converting adversity to advantage, Newsdiary Online which pioneered online newspaper in its current generation has announced repositioning plans after surviving a cyber attack over the weekend. The nature of the repositioning is yet to unfold but in a statement announcing the survival, Danlami Nmodu, the Editor-in-Chief urged readers to expect some changes soon as the publication moves to make engagement with readers more pleasant.
Newsdiary Online dramatically announced coming under cyber attack Friday and, by implication, raising the question of whodunit? The publication declined finger pointing, saying that as there are also free lancers in cyborg attacks, it could be wrong to pinpoint anyone, in or outside government. It is just happy to not only survive what it calls the worst attack on its database ever but to also have learnt some security lessons. The Editor-in-Chief pledges standing by the principle of the right of the people to know and the credibility of the platform as the beacons by which it operates, adding its privileging of good, ethical and responsible journalism. It expressed gratitude to all who sympathised with it in the course of the ordeal.
Newsdiary Online is ten years old. It came on board when the idea of a newspaper that is not in printed form was still strange, even to media advisers to governors, ministers and sundry appointees who would not consider advertising in them. It weathered all that to survive as a leading online newspaper in Nigeria and one of the few quoted by global media platforms. Many of the online newspapers today learnt one or two things from the readily available Mallam Nmodu, the publisher.
Although a convergence between online and print journalism is expected at some point soon, which would mark the next major transformation in the media industry, Newsdiary Online has already blazed a trail. This is to the extent that online journalism has, until recently, been generally spoken of as the future of the profession.
Cyber attack has emerged as the acme of warfare in contemporary times, making a solid IT warrior a minimum requirement not only in the media industry but also airlines, the military, among others.