Newspapers’ compliance with the code of election coverage of the 2015 elections and citizens participation : implication for journalism education and professionalism

Oyesomi, Kehinde Opeyemi and Salawu, Abiodun and Onyenankeya, Kevin (2019) Newspapers’ compliance with the code of election coverage of the 2015 elections and citizens participation : implication for journalism education and professionalism. African Renaissance, 16 (1). pp. 41-64. ISSN 1744-2532

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Abstract

The election period is a period where the newspaper is to show professionalism, social responsibility and act ethically in the dissemination of news to its readers. To enforce this, the Nigerian media code of election coverage was established. This study therefore was carried out to examine the newspaper coverage of the 2015 presidential election and its compliance with the section 2 of the Nigerian media code of election coverage using the two major newspapers in Nigeria, The Punch and The Guardian. This study was anchored on the Social responsibility theory, an ethical theory which stipulates that an individual/Institution/organiz ation is accountable for fulfilling civic duty and that the actions of this individual/institution/organization must benefit the whole society. This includes ensuring that news published to the public during the election process is done with accuracy, balance and fairness. This study adopted the quantitative content analysis as the research method and the instruments of data collection was the coding sheet. The results gotten indicated that there was 80% level of compliance with the code of election coverage in the area of accuracy and fairness, but work still need to be done in the area of balance and citizen’s participation in the election using the newspaper as a medium. The study therefore recommends among others that the newspaper should work on being balance when publishing news stories concerning political parties/candidates and also ensure that the columns that feature the views of the citizens are always available in every issue during the election period so as to increase the level of citizen participation.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Education, Elections, Journalism, Newspaper and Professionalism
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Mrs Patricia Nwokealisi
Date Deposited:	09 Aug 2019 08:30
Last Modified:	09 Aug 2019 08:30
URI:	http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/12825

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