• On Bended Knees: Investigative Journalism and Changing Media Culture in Nigeria

    Editor(s):
    Jyotirmaya Patnaik (see profile)
    Date:
    2020
    Group(s):
    Communication Studies, Cultural Studies, Digital Humanists, Feminist Humanities
    Subject(s):
    Nigeria, Nigerian Civil War (Nigeria , Broadcast journalism, Journalism
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    :Investigative journalism, journalistic autonomy, media culture, Nigerian press, social responsibility, Nigerian civil war, Ancient media culture
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/v9ef-7d41
    Abstract:
    Nigeria, with one of the most robust and freest media in Africa, provides a fertile ground for unencumbered investigative journalism. In the last five years, except for episodic exclusives in one or two newspapers, investigative stories have waned. Why are Nigerian newspapers not engaging in investigative reporting, and what implication does this hold for the watchdog role of the press? This article examined the challenges facing investigative journalism using theoretical and empirically proven studies on variables that decrease journalistic autonomy. Twenty-five structured interviews involving journalists, journalism teachers, and civil society activists were conducted in Lagos and Abuja. The two cities are where media are mostly produced and consumed, where tensions and struggles for control of information, communication, political thoughts, and social discourses take place and, where there exist, but largely unreported, massive political malfeasance, rampant sleaze and pervasive pillage of the Nigerian commonwealth. Findings show that investigative journalism is bogged by a welter of socio-cultural and economic factors as well as professional deficits. The ownership of newspapers by politically exposed individuals and near-zero protection for journalists have worked to restrict investigative journalism. These tendencies tend to imperil the watchdog role of the press.
    Metadata:
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    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    10.15655/mw/2020/v11i1/49758
    Publisher:
    Media Watch
    Pub. Date:
    2020-1-7
    Journal:
    Media Watch
    Volume:
    11
    Issue:
    1
    Page Range:
    97 - 118
    ISSN:
    2249-8818,0976-0911
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    2 years ago
    License:
    All Rights Reserved
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