Historical Appraisal of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe’s Contributions to Nigeria’s Journalism (Published)
Citation: Andrew Asan Ate and Joseph Omoh Ikerodah (2022) Historical Appraisal of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe’s Contributions to Nigeria’s Journalism, International Journal of International Relations, Media and Mass Communication Studies, Vol.8, No.1, pp.1-18
Abstract: Founding fathers of the Nigerian press have made tremendous contributions to journalism practice in the country. This paper takes a look at the contributions of two towering founding fathers of the Nigerian press- Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, from historical research perspective, digging into archival materials from media historians and evidences from the duo major publications: Nigerian Tribune and The West African Pilot respectively. The work which is anchored on the gatekeeping concept of the media has put in proper perspective the contributions of two media icons of the mid-twentieth century Nigeria’s journalism for academic and professional scrutiny. Lessons from the professional ups and downs of the probed veteran journalists and their relationship with their audience will, in no small measure, justify the social relevance of the discourse. The study recommends among other things that journalism institutions in the country should identify and teach contributions of the founding fathers of the Nigerian press to enable young journalists have a solid foundation in their profession. The study also recommends among other things that modern day journalists in Nigeria should sustain the fire brand journalism practice of the duo which appears to have gone into extinction.
Keywords: Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Journalism, Newspapers, Nigerian press
The Influence of Citizen Journalism in the Practice and Profession of Journalism in Zimbabwe (Published)
Citizen journalism has been widely cited as revolving the field of journalism especially in Zimbabwe where traditional media is said to be exclusive due to the styles of newswriting such as the inverted pyramid style which is elitist. In citizen journalism anyone can be a journalist and this poses a threat to the practice and profession of journalism. In an effort to revolutionalise mainstream media in Zimbabwe, digital survival strategies have been employed by newspapers where people can now read newspapers online. Traditional journalism has been heavily criticised by many scholars as failing to play its watchdog role by being elitist, focusing on political figures in a society at the expense of ordinary people. It is alleged that what makes news are the powerful people who misuse the media for their own self-centered advances at the expense of ordinary people in a society. The public media is used as a political party’s sharpest weapon for propaganda purposes as suggested by Epp Lauk and Kreegipuu (2010). The contention by scholars that the practice and profession of many journalists and media are as dishonest as are different political parties with regard to how they frame, articulate and signify the political and economic crisis in Zimbabwe results in incompatible insights and worldviews by the general populace. This then brings the main thrust of the study to ascertain how citizen journalism purports to be practicing good journalism. A qualitative research methodology was used for this study which was informed by a constructivist philosophy. In constructivism reality is subjective as people are prone to have different interpretations regarding a particular phenomenon. The study was informed by the Public Sphere theory as well as the Democratic Participant Media theory. To ensure trustworthiness of data, triangulation of data sources and data generation techniques was done.
Keywords: Citizen Journalism, Journalism, Practice of Journalism, Profession of Journalism
Exploring the Extent of Press Freedom in Nigeria (Published)
Press freedom has become one of the major challenges of Journalism practice in the world. This paper explores the factors militating against press freedom in Nigeria using some relevant examples. The researcher used the qualitative method of research using secondary data comprising of books, journals and other scholars opinion for the discuss and analysis. The study is embedded on two theories out of the normative theories i.e the authoritarian and social responsibility theory. The study reveals that there are a lot of factors in Nigeria that impedes or militates against press freedom ranging from secrecy, legal pressure, direct censorship and force among others. Findings also reveal that Nigerian press freedom is a paradox and only exist on paper i.e. on constitution but not in practice. The research recommends that since press freedom is granted in the constitution of Nigeria, there should be statutory backup and in order not to hinder press freedom, journalist should be allowed to have access to government sources and records so long as it will not bring chaos to the society at large.
Keywords: Journalism, Journalist, Militates, Nigeria, press freedom