CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Journalism practice wields such enormous powers and call for the highest standards of ethics and commitment to truth. Ethics and truth in journalism have assumed global concern as scholars that their basics constituents of objectivity, accuracy, fairness and balance have merely assumed mythical qualities as journalist battle to assign credibility to their news stories.

According to Tuchman in 1978:2, describes objectivity as facility (a mechanism which allow the journalist to hide even from themselves the constructed and partial nature of their stories). This views seems to have garnered force as increasingly scholars suggest that news when professionally selected is guided more by oganisation needs than by professionalism. The journalist thus become s a walking paradox (Nordenstreng 1995),as one can not fail to see that journalism is so full of contradiction.

That we have to question even the most fundamental dogma of the profession truth seeking because the way it as been conceived and practiced in journalism serve as a deceptive filtering device preventing as much as helping the truth been discovered. (Nordenstreng in 1995:117) news commercialization practice in Nigeria media industries adds to this contradiction and deception, creating a continuous dilemma for ethics and objectivity in journalism practice in Nigeria.

1.2  STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

1.   In order to know if commercialization of news violate the ethics and conduct of journalist.

2.   To know how commercialization of news has affected information flow tremendously.

3.   Just to know how the commercialization of news makes it susceptible to abuse by interest groups who can pay their way ito the media. So as to project an idea they want people to accept whether it is positive or not.

4.   Lets know if commercialization of news should be performed in every media.

5.   To know that news commercialization can leads to news distortion.

6.   In order to examine the possible future of commercial news.

1.3  OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

1.   To know the extent of how the commercial news is affecting ethics of journalism.

2.   In order to know the side effect of commercial news in the ethics of journalism.

3.   It makes us to know the possible future of commercial news.

4.   To know the benefit of abiding the ethics.

5.   In order to know the ethical implication of news commercialization.

1.4  STATEMENT OF RESEARCH QUESTION

1.   Does commercial have any importance in the field of journalism?

2.   To what extent does commercial news influence or affect objectivity?

3.   Of what importance is commercial news to the media station?

4.   To what extent don journalist adhere to the media ethics?

5.   To what extent does commercial news affects ethics of journalism?

1.5  SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significant of this work is to contribute to the existing knowledge and

further investigate or revealed other areas that researchers have not covered i.e