1.1 Introduction
Ethics in media refers to the symbols of values that the media are expected to respect. This includes a dedication to disclosing the facts objectively rather than subjectively motivated by self-interest, source privacy and attributing what is reported to the right source. Ethics are the inner superintendent decent moralities, ideals and opinions that people use to analyses or interpret a situation and then decide what is the right way to behave. It is free to discharge their duties in the society but media needs to follow ethics in collecting and disseminating the news by ensuring objectivity and fairness in reporting of information to society.
The news is very important in media. News, data, material also referred as information ethics which is the branch of morals that concentrations on the association between the construction, organization, broadcasting, use of information, the moral values and ethical codes leading human conduct in society.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitation of the study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Since the media are social organizations who hope to offer a moral contribution to society, there is a need for laws to govern journalistic practice. The news media are a principal source of those images in our minds about the wider field of public relations, a world that for most people remains out of view, out of sight, out of mind, wrote Walter Lippmann in his 1922 classic, Public Opinion. The aim of the media is to keep people informed about current events and to keep them up to date with the latest news and fashion. It tells the story of citizens who are separated by geography.
In other terms, media will make a significant contribution to society. It has the ability to influence people's minds when it has connections to people, which gives it a lot of power. This power may be utilized constructively by informing the public or destructively by deceiving the public. The most effective use of the media is to inform the public regarding fundamental human rights. The media serves as a link between government and the general public. With the media's critical position in culture, there is a need for ethical considerations.
According to Oso and Pate (2011), Johnson said that the media can be a great secular church and a machine of evangelism for dispelling the darkness of confusion, expelling mistake, and maintaining reality. Journalists have been accused of being subjective in the course of their duties, and their position has been debated. Briggs and Burke (2005) opine that journalists are not to be believed and that they are slanderous. The explanation for this is that, due to the existence of ownership, employers of the news industry, whether government-controlled or privately owned, are subject to editorial oversight. Politicians who can pay to operate a publishing company can control what is in the newspaper's columns (Dare, 2010).
Government-owned media works to defend the government's interests, while commercial media works to protect the interests of the founders, resulting in violations of the code of ethics. He who pays the piper sets the stage, as the phrase goes. This study would look into how the art of journalism is practiced in Nigerian news outlets. Journalism is a trading technique or occupation that involves using different media to convey news to the public. Journalists face several difficulties in collecting, processing, and disseminating the news (Stovall, 2005).
Journalists face serious obstacles in the course of their work. Journalists are culture's watchdogs or gatekeepers and they determine what news is and making significant decisions on what society does about it. As gatekeepers in culture, journalists are governed by a code of ethics that ensures they are performing their duties in accordance with the law. Journalism ethics refers to the code of ethics that journalists are expected to follow. They provide a dedication to reporting the facts objectively without being swayed by self-interest; preserving the confidentiality of sources and attributing what is said to the appropriate source; and maintaining the secrecy of sources and attributing what is said to the appropriate source (Ike, 2005). Media has evolved to the point that it is as important as food and clothes. It has played an important part in the development of civilization.
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Role of Media Ethics on News Reporting.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that poor coverage of important issues are some of the current problems in media which raises ethical issues. The ethical way of achieving responsibilities is harder, but all media people should be ready to test such a challenge if they want to protect the purity of their media.
Also, journalism ethics is still ignored by a lot of news reporters. It is therefore essential to bring the matter to the fore and tackle it.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to examine the Role of Media Ethics on News Reporting. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To examine the various media ethics that applies to news reporting;
- To determine the role media ethics plays on news reporting; and
- To determine if these ethics are being followed by contemporary journalists.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- Are these ethics being obeyed by contemporary journalists?
- What is the role of media ethics in news reporting?
- What are the various media ethics that apply to news reporting?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: There is no significant News ethics being obeyed by contemporary journalists
- H1: There is significant News ethics being obeyed by contemporary journalists
1.7 Significance of Study
This study will be significant to the media and provide a call to awareness on whether journalists or news reporters are paying attention to these media ethics. It will be an addition to the academic world as it will provide further research for other researchers to use as materials when executing studies of their own.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.8 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Role of Media Ethics on News Reporting in Nigeria. This study will only cover media ethics and its role on news reporting only. An examination on the various media ethics will be looked into.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Operational Definition of Terms
News Reporting: It is simply the act of reporting news. It refers to presentation of facts and prominent timely stories in news papers and so on.
Media: It refers to any medium used to disseminate information.
Media Ethics: These are the various rules and regulations guiding the act of news reporting.
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