QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF ONDO JOURNALISTS' PERCEPTIONS OF NEWS COMMERCIALIZATION

Abstract

Mass media are tools for mass communication which have huge responsibilities to keep members of society informed, educated, entertained and expected to play crucial role in people’s opinion formation and decision making. Recent events have however shown that these responsibilities are threatened by news commercialization, which now shifts media and journalists attention from their social responsibilities to profiteering. The popular assumption about news commercialization is that it is of a negative impact to journalism. This paper therefore assessed journalists' perceptions in Ondo State, Nigeria, on this perceived unethical practice. The study was based on the Social Responsibility Media Theory. Quantitative research methods were used to generate data from the 325 members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ondo State council who constituted the study population. The study found that commercialization of news in the Nigerian media industry is not considered an ethical issue due to the circumstances that gave birth to the practice. The study concluded that inadequate media funding, poor pay and benefit packages for journalists are largely responsible for the practice that now determines newsworthiness rather than the traditional news elements. It recommended improved welfare packages for journalists and increased budgets for media houses to be financially stable and independent.