| Abstract: |
Journalism, like other professional careers is guided by codes of ethics which
regulates how practitioners (journalists) discharge their duties. Over the years,
journalism in Nigeria has been criticised for a number reasons bordering on
unethical practices and how they serve government's or owner's interest more than
that of the public. This paper will therefore examine the various factors affecting the
Nigeria mainstream on their roles as fourth estate of the realm. The study adopted
the social responsibility theory. This study was based on qualitative research method
and utilised the secondary data in accessing the challenges of journalism practice in
Nigeria. The study discovered that pressures from employer, threats of violence
against journalists, bribes, gifts and freebies, pressures from family, friends and
close associates among others are the various ethical issues in the practice of
journalism in Nigeria. Government control of mass media in Nigeria is through
regulation, government ownership of media organisations, ownership control by
politicians and wealthy individuals, government influence through political
pressure and editorial control. The study also discovered that because of the above
factors journalists give substantial attention to government activities and political
events, journalists may exercise caution when reporting on powerful political
actors, political pressure can affect the framing and tone of political reports and
certain stories may receive greater prominence. Based on the findings, the study
recommends that training and retraining of journalist on the ethics of journalism, as
well as highlighting the social implications of violating the ethical codes of the
journalism profession.
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