Unethical Practices among Journalists and the Nigerian Public Sphere

Semiu, Bello; Aminat, Adejola; Folarin, Jamiu

doi:10.29333/ojcmt/2407

Cited by 3 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…Others occasionally take to the practice of trading any damaging information about the government for money “if the government doesn’t want it published or want it watered down” (GHC1). These interactions are some of the unethical practices among Nigerian journalists that have led to “common generalization that every journalist lives on brown envelope and journalists in the country have largely become political praise singers” (Semiu et al 2012: 220).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Journalists and Political Sources in Nigeria

Ciboh

2016

The International Journal of Press/Politics

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The relationship between journalists and political sources has been characterized by a tug of war between reporters and officials where top politicians have the upper hand in the coproduction of news through their ability to provide critical information subsidies that most news media rely on. The dynamic of the journalist–source relationship has, however, mostly been analyzed in stable high-income democracies. This article goes beyond existing research by analyzing the relationship between reporters and officials in Nigeria, in principle, a democracy but in practice, a hybrid regime where journalists face substantial political pressures. Through a combination of content analysis and in-depth interviews, it shows how journalists in Nigeria are not only dependent on the information subsidies found in the West but also affected by politicians using positive (monetary awards) and negative (intimidation and violence) tangible incentives that go well beyond information subsidies. The article argues that this shapes the nature of coproduction of news in Nigeria and that more broadly, the resources available to politicians to influence journalists through such positive tangible incentives and the degree to which they, with impunity, can use negative tangible incentives, should be key dimensions for future comparative work on relations between reporters and officials as political communication research goes beyond stable democracies where money handouts and violence is unlikely to be the key factors influencing news production.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Journalists and Political Sources in Nigeria

Ciboh

2016

The International Journal of Press/Politics

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“…Thus, it is widely agreed among philosophers that ethics is synonymous with morality which suggest actions in human conduct and behaviour. Ethics, according to Frankena and Granrose (1974) cited in Semiu, Adejola and Folarin (2012) concern the problems of morality and immorality resulting from philosophical thinking. Ethics as moral philosophy further illustrate the knowledge of good or bad conduct in society, using societal norms for its evaluation in each society (Okunna, 2003).…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the view of Omole (2000) ethics, as cited by Okunna (2003) re-echoed in Semiu et al, (2012) is seen as "the shared normative values, which any society holds dear and are used to judge the behaviour or performance of any member of a society" (p.5). To be a good ambassador of society, ethics provides the minimum acceptable behaviour which members must attain.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, we must not forget as practitioners, scholars and students of journalism that we must have a healthy regard for the public interest and always observe the highest professional and ethical standards in order to gain and maintain public trust. However, it is unfortunate in the media industry to say the true practice of journalism (Semiu et al, 2012), is no more in existence, rather what is being practised is commercialized journalism or what is systematically termed as PR-journalism. This is why Ekeanyanwu and Obianigwe (2012) regarded it as a new form of news commercialization.…”

Section: Poor Remuneration and "Brown Envelope" Syndrome In Nigerian Journalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As such, media consumers make no difference between politicians and journalists as many of them are not reliable, trustworthy, reputable and honest through the various manipulative ways they handle news rather giving the fact of the case. For instance, people react with disdain, laughter when told journalism is built and practised upon truth-telling or founded on the ethical principle of truth and objective journalism (Semiu, et al 2012).…”

Section: Poor Remuneration and "Brown Envelope" Syndrome In Nigerian Journalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Corruption in the Media: Implications for Ethical and Socially Responsible Journalism

Ahmed

Mustapha

Abdulbaqi

et al. 2020

JPMM

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Corruption is an important problem affecting every strata of the Nigerian society. Its impact on Nigerian media is no exemption. Corruption in relation to media is popularly tied to brown envelope which ultimately affects journalist sense of news judgment. Hence, this paper took a theoretical approach to examining the relationship between the issue of brown envelope syndrome and unethical practice within the Nigerian media system and its implications on ethical and socially responsible journalism. Surprisingly, result of the literature reviewed revealed that poor journalistic training and lack of professionalism is responsible for unethical practice in Nigerian media. It further revealed loss of credibility, loss of watchdog roles and decline in news quality, values and public trust of journalists as its implications on ethical and socially responsible journalism. The paper recommend among others, that sound education in form of regular seminars, workshops and professional trainings be given to would-be journalists where legal framework and media regulatory bodies served their responsibilities by regularly checkmating the excesses of journalists to confirm strict adherence to ethical codes.

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The Influence of Newspaper Ownership on the Objectivity of the Coverage of Nigeria’s 2015 Presidential Election

Mordi

Ogbu

2017

ESJ

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This paper examines the impact of politician-businessperson-owned (PBO) newspapers on the objectivity of the reportage of the 2015 presidential election in Nigeria, by some selected media organisations. Adopting analysis of documentary evidence as methodology, the study examines the dominant themes of some PBO newspapers during their coverage of the election. This was done with a view to establishing their level of objectivity, which is defined in terms of whether these media organisations gave equitable coverage to all the 26 political parties and their candidates; and their level of compliance with professional ethics. Using gatekeeping theory as main theoretical framework, the paper finds that media owners, and not the editors, appear to be the gatekeepers. The paper recommends proper regulation of media organisations in the country to ensure that they meet stipulated ethical standards.

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Unethical Practices among Journalists and the Nigerian Public Sphere

Cited by 3 publications

References 1 publication

Journalists and Political Sources in Nigeria

Journalists and Political Sources in Nigeria

Corruption in the Media: Implications for Ethical and Socially Responsible Journalism

The Influence of Newspaper Ownership on the Objectivity of the Coverage of Nigeria’s 2015 Presidential Election

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