It is one year already since The Ultimate Newspaper hit newsstands nationwide. It was on February 11, 2023 that the first edition of The Ultimate made shockwaves across Kupe-Muanenguba Division and the seat of power, Bangem.
The birth of the newspaper served as a new dawn to rural communication in Cameroon as the voice of communities. The newspaper has in one year been a voice in fostering community development through communication.
The focus has been on the hinterlands and acts like the voice of communities. It has been a paper ‘for the community, by the community.’
The one year journey has been a roughshod of sweet and bitter memories. As we stick to our goal of ethics and professionalism, we may have stepped on toes in trying to inform the public on community issues. This has not been an easy ride.
We have been threatened severally, falsely accused, especially by those who misinterpreted headlines without reading the detailed stories. These have helped us to grow as we strive to improve our standard in every edition.
The worst has been to access the difficult terrain of Kupe Muanenguba. There are days we trek to villages for news coverage. We have been soaked under the rain but our determination remains unwavering.
We have had accidents and have been incapacitated temporally in our bid to serve the population. God has been on our side indeed. The human resource to help pilot this vision has been challenging. However, we are still in the training and building phase. God is our helper.
Irrespective of these difficulties, the joy and satisfaction to have disenclaved a division that had never had a media organ, with The Ultimate Newspaper has kept us moving.
Though with little sales and lack of adverts, we thank elite, colleagues and the entire population of Kupe-Muanenguba for accompanying us in this journey. We promise to read deeper, acquire for journalism knowledge to serve you better.
We thank the Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of Kupe Muanenguba, Mungambo Ekema William, for seeing into the future of The Ultimate and providing a serene atmosphere for us to function.
The Ultimate started with a Facebook Page which was transformed to a newspaper. Within eight months, we expanded to the Ultimate Community Radio, Ultimate television and The Ultimate Website. The future is positive with God on our side.
By Olive Ejang
