THE POPULAR IS SELDOM CORRECT: SELECTED WRITINGS ON GOVERNANCE, MEDIA AND DEMOCRACY, 1984-2009

“The collection is useful for its historicity and its freshness and for the ideas contained therein. More importantly, it is a journalist’s documentation of his interventions in the public arena. In the second section of the book, Lanre Idowu focuses at great length on the media with an instructive emphasis on such issues as ethics and the responsibility of the media, standards and values, and professionalism, with so much history about media practice and the personalities involved which should interest both the young and the older generations. Students of media sociology and history will find enlightening, Idowu’s commentaries on some of the icons of the media profession: Babatunde Jose, Alade Odunewu, Tunji Oseni, Uncle Sam, Yinka Craig and on such issues as “The Shape of News”, “The Media and Public Morality”, “On Pen Names” and “Covering or Covering Up Corruption.” The same can be said for his “The Media, Democracy and Good Governance” and “Democracy, Press Freedom and Media Credibility”, two extended commentaries in which he revisits the main thematic indications of the book’s sub-title. The Popular is Seldom Correct is a good advertisement for the value of the freedom of expression and an engaging commentary on the Nigerian media and the environment of its operation. It confronts us with how so much still needs to be done with regard to values, attitudes and leadership in Nigerian media and society. It is recommended for general reading and for the attention of students of the Nigerian mass media”.—Reuben Abati, PhD, former Editorial Board chairman of The Guardian