Ini Ekott, a former deputy managing editor at Newslodge, has launched a media company called Pluboard.
Mr. Ekott is an alumnus of Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa, where he won the award for best financial journalist in Ghana cohort 2 administered by the University of Ghana and the business schools of Kenya’s Strathmore University.
According to a statement released by Mr. Ekott on Wednesday, the startup aims to redirect journalism, especially economics and business reporting, towards a model that actively puts people at the center of content creation, delivery of information and the promotion of accountability.
“For too long, the news has been more about influencers and ‘newsmakers’ and less about people and what affects them,” he said.
In the statement, Mr. Ekott noted that the organization’s goal is to bring back real issues in a fiercely honest way while executing its core role of informing and helping people understand the world around them.
“The platform will deliver multi-format content, including video offerings, and will constantly work to make news simple,” the statement said, adding that its target is anyone knowledgeable enough to consume information in Nigeria and elsewhere.
According to the statement, the company’s brand speaks to its goal: Pluboard is abbreviated as Plural Board, denoting a platform focused on people, the plurality of issues that affect them, and the plurality of information products offered.
“We are interested in what others are following, but more interested in what they are not,” Ekott said.
innovative extras
The statement says that Pluboard launched with a small team of volunteer writers who focus on business and economics, politics, security, the environment and technology, areas the company believes impact people the most.
Ekott noted that the team began posting in late February, days before the 2023 presidential election, and that the company unveiled its entire site last week, with additional sections.
The platform’s reporting approach has quickly garnered attention due to its distinctive article structure, he noted.
He said: “Most news follows the ‘Plu-print’, which includes ‘Key points to note’, ‘Why this matters’ and ‘More information’ sections. Your exclusive and lead reports will include a paragraph summarizing the article and emphasizing its relevance to the public.”
It’s part of a deliberate writing style that gets to the point and addresses readers’ peculiarly limited patience, said Ekott, who starts out as the publication’s editorial director.
Pluboard will also offer innovative extras, such as explanations, how-tos, pricing information, and product reviews, content that it hopes to monetize. It will provide Nigeria’s first dedicated coverage of consumers and how corporate policies affect them.
“With technology and the web, there is information overload; along with that comes fake news. It is true, therefore, that despite that overload, there remains a hunger for high-quality information based on accuracy, completeness, and independence. That is a market opportunity for us,” Mr. Ekott said.
Pluboard is starting out as a free, ad-supported media site, but will gradually transform into a subscription-based service, Ekott said.
Profile
Mr. Ekott joined Newslodge at its inception in 2011, having previously worked at 234Next. He left last year after an extensive tenure that included several pivotal newsroom roles, including deputy managing editor. His writing has been published in Mongabay, Africa in Fact, and the Inter Press Service, and he has reported for the New York Times.
As part of a team of journalists led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Mr. Ekott reported on the globally acclaimed investigation of the Panama Papers. The team’s Pulitzer Prize-winning work exposed how the world’s rich and influential used tax havens to hide their wealth.
He previously won the Wole Soyinka Investigative Reporting Award and the Global Integrity Investigator Award. Several reports he oversaw have won multiple awards, including the CNN/Multichoice Award in 2016. His most recent investigation into the illegal wildlife trade was recognized as a Fetisov Award finalist.
Mr. Ekott has a degree in physics and electronics and an MBA.
“After dedicating years to the practice of quality journalism, it is time to go a step further, focusing more on people and seizing a business opportunity,” he said.