A living archive for Africa's journalism opens with the editor "Ladbone"
Nigeria's CJID launches a digital platform to preserve the continent's media history on 22 October, starting with a book on Lade Bonuola as he turns 80.
Lagos — Africa's journalistic memory is scattered: old newspapers, personal papers, photographs and broadcast recordings are often deteriorating or impossible to find. The Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) wants to change that with the Living Archives Initiative, which it launches in Lagos on 22 October, Premium Times reports.
The initiative, the CJID's new flagship project, comes with a digital archive platform to document and preserve the lives and work of the people who shaped journalism, public accountability and democracy across the continent. It is meant for journalists, fact-checkers, researchers, students, policymakers and the public, and as a model for other African institutions.
"Journalism cannot renew itself if it loses the memory of how earlier generations confronted power," said the CJID's chief executive, Dapo Olorunyomi.
First up: "Ladbone"
The first edition is devoted to Lade Bonuola, known as "Ladbone", whose career spans more than five decades:
- He began at the Daily Times, writing the column "Caught-out by Ladbone".
- He was the pioneer editor and managing director of The Guardian.
- He co-founded The Comet in 1999, and later worked as a senior consultant to Compass Newspapers and The Guardian.
An anthology, Ladbone: A Life in Print, with contributions from more than 80 editors, media managers, academics and others, will be unveiled at the launch, which also marks Bonuola's 80th birthday. Olorunyomi said the essays show how journalists worked under military rule while keeping their integrity. The launch will include a panel discussion and a book review, and will be streamed online.
Source: Premium Times, 17 October 2026.
