A Critical Survey of the Perception of University Students on Citizen Journalism Practice in Nigeria (Case Study of University of Ibadan)
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The broad objective of this study is to the perception of citizen journalism and the challenges they face in practicing citizen journalism. Specifically the study seeks to:
- Ascertain University of Ibadan undergraduates level of exposure to citizen journalism
- Ascertain University of Ibadan undergraduates level of awareness of citizen journalism practice in Nigeria
- Find out University of Ibadan undergraduates’ attitude towards citizen journalism practice in Nigeria; ‘
- To ascertain if University of Ibadan undergraduates have positive perception towards citizen journalism.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
The Internet and World Wide Web invented by Dr. Barnes-Lee more than two decades ago are initially designed to move data and other information from one place to another in a reliable and most efficient way, have created the communication opportunities needed by citizens to become actively involved in gathering, processing and dissemination of information. Curtis (2012) describes citizen journalism as “the gathering, writing, editing, production and distribution of news and information by people not trained as professional journalists.” Writing about citizen journalism, Mark Glaser noted that: The idea behind citizen journalism is that people without professional journalism training can use the tools of modern technology and the global distribution of the Internet to create, augment or fact-check media on their own or in collaboration with others. For example, you might write about a city council meeting on your blog or in an online forum. Or you could face-check a newspaper article from the mainstream media and point out factual errors or bias on your blog. Or you might snap a digital photo of news worthy event happening in your town and post it online. Or you might videotape a similar event and post it on a site such as YouTube (Glaser, 2006). It is the dissemination of information by individuals who are not journalist by profession but they have something newsworthy to share. The success and popularity of citizen journalism have shown that the idea of online journalism has been successfully taken to participatory level and this underscores the fact that citizen journalism emphasizes dialogue, where active senders and active receivers play functional roles in shaping the message content being sent across.
Citizen Journalism
Citizen journalism simply can be said to be a situation whereby every citizen has an equal opportunity to create, produce and disseminate information or media content to people. It can be said to be a form of democratic enhancing form of journalism where there are no gatekeepers and where the public sphere is not managed by an individual and the medium is accessible to everyone. Scholars in the past and present have attempted to give different meanings to the concept.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitutes of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description.
This study was carried to examine a critical survey of the perception of university students on citizen journalism practice in Nigeria. University of Ibadan in Oyo State forms the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which only seventy-seven (77) were returned and validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 77 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain a critical survey of the perception of university students on citizen journalism practice in Nigeria. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of a critical survey of the perception of university students on citizen journalism practice in Nigeria
Summary
This study was on a critical survey of the perception of university students on citizen journalism practice in Nigeria. Four objectives were raised which included; Ascertain University of Ibadan undergraduates level of exposure to citizen journalism, ascertain University of Ibadan undergraduates level of awareness of citizen journalism practice in Nigeria, find out University of Ibadan undergraduates’ attitude towards citizen journalism practice in Nigeria and to ascertain if University of Ibadan undergraduates have positive perception towards citizen journalism. A total of 77 responses were received and validated from the enrolled participants where all respondents were drawn from University of Ibadan in Oyo State. Hypothesis was tested using Chi-Square statistical tool (SPSS).
Conclusion
With the growth of citizen journalism, it should be noted that the big problem with the concept is the question of credibility of news sources and content. Therefore, consumers of citizen journalism should understand that however well-intentioned a citizen journalist might be, reading the news with a skeptical eye is a good practice.
Recommendation
There should be increased enlightenment and education of the public through the radio, television, newspapers, seminars, and workshops by communication scholars on the negative consequences of wrong application of the internet and other social media tools for information dissemination.
- Since the cyber crime bill has been passed into law, appropriate measures should be put in place to ensure effective enforcement of the law to deter people from cyber mischief.
- The mainstream journalists should try as much as possible to cross-check information received from the citizen journalists before making use of it.
- Since citizen journalists cannot be banned from reporting events or situations, there is need for them to be adequately sensitized on basic professional guidelines in order to report as efficiently as possible
References
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