APPLICATION OF MEDIA ETHICS IN NEWS GATHERING AND DISSEMINATION

APPLICATION OF MEDIA ETHICS IN NEWS GATHERING AND DISSEMINATION

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Background to the Study

In a dynamic and evolving culture like Nigeria, the role of Nigerian journalists in information collection and transmission are diverse  Journalists in Nigeria operate as a pivot for socioeconomic, political, and cultural activity. On this premise, successive governments in Nigeria rely heavily on media assistance to disseminate policies and programmes to the public. According to  Okoro (2015), in essence, the rationale for this may be explained by the reality that humans are inquisitive creatures. Their curious minds appear to perceive and interpret the world around them and the events that occur in it. People, above all, are social beings; they are communicative creatures.

As observed by  Ewuola (2016), journalism is the daily collection and transmission of news, which indicates that journalism is primarily concerned with providing information to an audience on a regular basis via a proper medium of communication. In essence, journalism may be defined as the collection, processing, and transmission of news and news-related information to an audience. The term refers to both the process of gathering news and the literary style employed to distribute it. The activity or employment of gathering, writing, and editing news articles for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio, according to Merriam Webster. As a result, journalistic practise carries great influence and necessitates the highest ethical and truth-seeking standards. As journalists struggle to give credibility to their news articles, experts have recognised that its essential elements of objectivity, accuracy, fairness, and balance have just assumed mythological attributes. As a result, the journalist becomes a "walking paradox" (Nordenstreng, 1995), as one cannot help but notice that journalism is so full of contradictions that "we have to question even the most fundamental dogma of the profession - truth seeking - because the way it has been conceived and practised in journalism serves as a deceptive filtering device, preventing as much as it helps the truth being discovered" (p.117) Kate and Majority both use it (2013).

According to Odemwingie, O. (2020), journalism has become a significant force in Nigerian society throughout the years, not just as a way of expressing ideas, but also as a social force to be reckoned with and a vehicle for mobilization. This also implies that the media has evolved into one of the most significant and fundamental social processes in every civilization. This is simply because humans, as social beings, must communicate in order to build trust and improve their chances of survival. As a result, the media serves a variety of critical purposes, including information, education, agenda setting, monitoring, cultural promotion, cultural integration, and so on, without which society would be in chaos and darkness (Akinfeleye, 2015). However, journalism as a career necessitates discipline, adherence to ethics, and moral behaviour in order to protect the society that relies so heavily on journalists for timely and day-to-day information. This is critical because society is supposed to respond constructively and intelligently to information provided by journalists. As a result, people will be able to make informed judgments thanks to the countless instructive, educational, and entertaining programmes distributed by journalists (Okoro, 2015). Unfortunately, because of government pressure on journalists, a desire to protect personal and corporate interests, poverty, and a lack of professional training, many journalists engage in unethical practises such as sensationalism, invasion of privacy, code of conduct violations, impunity, disregard for security laws, brown envelope collection, and so on (Bankole, 2002). These negative developments have an impact on the credibility of the mass media to their audiences; listeners, readers, and viewers in Nigeria have lost trust in mass media content due to the influence of unethical practises on news judgement and objectivity as opposed to the ethics of the profession. According to Ojo (2003), ethics should provide the journalist with a standard by which he may determine if an action is right or wrong, good or terrible, responsible or irresponsible; that journalists nowadays must be aware of their limitations in order not to misuse the power of the media.

Unfortunately, economic extremism on the one hand and government coercion on the other dominate Nigerian communication. Poverty degrades human dignity in poor countries like Nigeria, causing the scale of honour and trust for money to affect the news rather than the editor's sense of worth. Apparently, the ordinary journalist's compensation is insufficient for the vast work they undertake in society, forcing him or her to make sacrifices (Folarin, 2005). In light of these perspectives, the researcher set out to critically investigate the influence of media ethics in news collection and distribution among journalists in Ilorin metropolis via empirical study for test validity.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In recent years, the mass media is a strong tool for disseminating information to the public. However, there is no denying that we are in the midst of a critical revolutionary period in Nigerian history. To state that the mass media, as an institution, and journalists, as individuals, Umechukwu, )2016) opined that they play an important role in communication management in society is a fact that cannot be disputed in Nigeria, given the critical role of journalists in society as a conveyer of information, i.e. watchdog, education, information, integration, and entertainment, among other things. It is terrible that in recent times, journalists' wrongdoing has taken over the substance of the mass media . As a result, numerous perspectives on the efficacy of the media and journalism as a profession have emerged among the educated class, opinion leaders, government agencies, stakeholders, and the general people. In this regard, certain communication experts, such as Daramola (2015) and Babatunde (2017), have said that they no longer trust in the media message or content. It has been said that journalists and the mass media in general lack credibility and objectivity in their reporting of events due to the effect of unprofessional conduct on the part of journalists.

Furthermore, the advancement of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), particularly the inflow of information on social media, makes it relatively simple and accessible for journalists to collect information, decreasing the burden of finding and acquiring information materials. This information, which is frequently false, frequently enters the public realm via the media (Duyile, 2016). Because of the ease of access to the internet and other communication technologies, as well as the poor working conditions of journalists, such information is easy to abuse.  This emerging negative trend in information gathering and dissemination drew the attention of the researcher to set out to examine application of media ethics in news gathering and dissemination

1.3 Objective of the Study

The broad objective of this study is to examine application of media ethics in news gathering and dissemination. Other specific objectives includes:

1. To investigate whether journalist applies ethics during news gathering and dissemination.
2. To examine  the extent  journalists maintain the ethics of the profession in news-gathering and dissemination.
3. To highlight some of the effect of  journalists not upholding the ethics of the profession.

1.4 Research Questions

1. Do journalists in Lagos state apply the ethics of the profession in news-gathering and dissemination?
2. What is the extent  journalists maintain the ethics of the profession in news-gathering and dissemination.?
3. What are the effect of  journalists not upholding the ethics in news-gathering and dissemination?

1.5 Research Hypothesis

Ho: Journalists in Lagos state do not apply the ethics of the profession in news-gathering and dissemination.

Hi: Journalists in Lagos state apply the ethics of the profession in news-gathering and dissemination.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The study draws attention to the actual performance and adherence to the ethics of journalist and Nigerian journalism. This derived that media do not operate in vacuum because what media do affect the media and others. In fact, the issues are significant to media practitioners, owners and patrol of the media.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The scope of the study is focused on application of media ethics in news gathering and dissemination. The  study is streamlined to cover journalists in Ikeja. This is for proximity and to lessen the financial burden of covering other locations. The scope of this of study comprises all member of Nigerian Union of Journalists in Ikeja 

1.8 Limitation of the Study

This research work like every other has its own limitation, in the process of putting this work together. The study is limited by the population and the consequence sample draw from it. In other words, they are many chapel we have about 37 Nigeria Union of Journalists but only focus on Edo state Chapel.

1.8 Operational Definition of the Terms

Press: This is a collective name for mass media including print and broadcast e.t.c. Within the context of this research, the press includes all the media involved in the collection and dissemination of news.

Ethics: It is the principle or code of conduct that governed the practice of journalism, which involve accuracy, objectivity, fairness etc.

Brown Envelope: It is a term in the media sphere which means bribe given to journalists. This practice negates ethics of the profession.

Journalist: A writer for newspapers and magazines. He/she is someone employed to provide news stories for newspapers or broadcast media. Within the context of this study, a journalist is a person who works with collecting, writing and distributing news and other current information to a target audience.

Credibility: Credibility is the belief or trust which audience or readers have on the contents of the broadcast/print media based on observance of ethics of the profession.

Gate Keeping: Any person or formerly organized group directly involve in relaying or disseminating information from one individual to another mass medium. Gatekeepers can add or reduce the content of the message. Gate keeping remain a sacrosanct duty which the media should carry out without ulterior motive.

Newsgathering: The act of reporting or finding news worthy events and reporting them. This act must be carried out with observance of the highest ethical standards.

News Dissemination: Takes on the theory of traditional view of communication, which involves a sender and receiver. The traditional communication view point is broken down into a sender sending information, and receiver collecting the information processing it and sending information back in form of a feedback.

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