Another Look at the Possibilities and Challenges of Citizen Journalism in Nigeria: A Narrative Review (Published)

This paper highlights the possibilities and challenges of citizen journalism. A narrative literature review was employed as the method of analysis. Data sources included web of science and Google scholar. The study highlighted that citizen journalism offers professional and non-professional journalists alike opportunities to be active participants in news content creation. Revealing the negative aspect of citizen journalism, the study postulate that in as much as citizen journalism has no editors (gatekeepers) to verify the truth on news and information disseminated, it, therefore, has no credibility and authenticity source because, in the world of endless information, credibility is an essential ingredient for information seekers. To curtail some of the issues affecting citizen journalism/participation, the study recommends that participants (citizen journalists) should try as much as possible to ensure that their news and information are edited by professionals before they are published.

Keywords: Citizen Journalism, Credibility, Information, gatekeepers, media professionals

Another Look at Mapping the Territory: Seven Traditions in the Field of Communication Theory (Published)

Each passing day, we come across different signs, images, and symbols as well as impression flashing before our eyes. Different messages collide to prompt our own sense of reasoning. How we process and digest the diversity of information and understand the symbols of what each message means is something to be looked upon. There have been a lot of theories that has tried to explicate the nature of human communication and how human comprehend symbols as well as how it is applied in a given society or community, this is so because there are different, individualistic perception of a particular form of communication symbols and sign due to the complex nature of assimilating the meaning and application of communication. These have made different traditions of understanding, communication to be formed to better explain different concepts and viewpoint of communication. This paper reviews Robert Craig propounded model that encapsulates the field of communication into seven traditions. These are known as the semiotic, the phenomenological, the cybernetic, the socio-psychological, the socio-cultural, the critical, and the rhetorical traditions”. Thus, each of this tradition, captures a different aspect or specialized area of communication and knowing each one gives new and sometimes conflicting viewpoints on why we relate and comprehend the information we absorb on a daily basis.

Keywords: Information, Messages, Seven Traditions of Communication, Symbols, communication

Another Look at the Political Economy of the Mainstream and New Media (Published)

This paper examined the political economy of the mainstream and new media, it explicates how media industry, the political economy of the media and capitalism affects the accessibility of information in the new media. The study established that the political economy of the media deals with the generation and distribution of resources (film, social media, online newspapers etc) and that power (capitalism) affects it. The paper’s design method is a narrative literature review and the data sources included Google scholar, blogs, Google, and the web of science. Books, print journals, magazines, were also used. A narrative review was conducted between March –May 2017. The paper outlined and discussed the issues raised, into themes concerning political economy of the media; new media; Marxist and Pluralist view of media ownership; the political economy of the new media and the influence of capitalism on the accessibility of information from the new media. The study revealed that capitalism is one of the driven forces that affects the pluralism and democratization of information on the internet; due to capitalism some classified information are sold and copyrighted

Keywords: Capitalism, Democratization, Information, New Media, Pluralism, Political Economy