CHAPTER ONE

                             INTRODUCTION

1.0     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

          Journalism is the deliberate and conscious efforts to gather information, collating and analyzing data for the purpose of informing, educating, and entertaining people with a view of making an appropriate decision (Qasim Akinreti, 2007). Journalism is also an investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a large audience. Rather than defining journalism itself, Shapiro (2010) set out to create a framework for identifying “good journalism” within five “faculties” (discovery, examination, interpretation, style and presentation). The ideal is to inform the intended audience about topics ranging from government and business organizations to cultural aspects of society such as arts and entertainment In essence, journalism is a social relation. Journalism also sets agenda, organizes public debates and discussions, and interprets issues to put them in proper perspectives to make meaning to people. Through these roles, journalism not only educate, inform and socialize; it also confers status, values and significance to issues, thereby serving as the mouth-piece and defender of the voiceless and the oppressed in society (Sambe, 2008).A basic duty of the media professionals in every society is to be a civic watchdog whose mission is to uncover secrets /issues and keep the government accountable to society (Anyadike, 2013).As observed by Itule & Anderson (2007), to achieve this often demands investigation and in-depth work which requires researching, digging deeply, interviewing and writing. Surveys continue to show that most audience, for example, wants a free press that is always there to protect them from authority and give them a free flow of diverse information but those same surveys also show that most audience harbor a deep suspicion about the media, worrying about their perceived power, their meanness and negativism, their attacks on institutions and people, their intrusiveness and callousness, their arrogance and bias. These conflicting images of the journalist contribute to the love-hate relationship between the public and its news media that is at the center of the public’s confusion about the media today.

The information disseminated by the journalist could be harmful or useful depends on its contents. Journalism as a profession has been viewed from different perspective by different people across the world this difference is a function of one of the various factors which include cultural differences, upbringing, group ideologies, predisposition and exposure. These factors may bring about favorable and or unfavorable attitude of member of a group towards a journalist. The relationship of journalist with the public is founded on the need to achieve harmony in society through mutual understanding based on truth and full information. In the original journalistic sense: objectivity required that the journalist set aside himself out of his report by not injecting his emotion, personal opinion and bias into the news report. But this is very difficult, if not impossible. Since journalist may be required to offer interpretation and explanation of the issues they write about, they may consciously or unconsciously inject their own personal opinions and understanding of the issue. In fact, if the mass media should pursue objectivity at all cost, the media audience will be short-changed. (Okoye, 2007).Empirically journalism and journalist have advanced over time, at every stage of its development, journalism and journalist have been embraced with different approach from the pubic while at some point they have received applause and confidence from the people at another era they have been jeered and received widespread criticism. To the journalist image making and values for its element meant almost nothing until public relations was established and it picked out as a discipline from the spectrum of communication. The crisis of confidence that rocked journalism in the 19th Century gave birth to the development in the twentieth century, the concept of social responsibility theory which ascribed to the press some responsibilities in addition to the professional requirements and responsibilities of the profession. Journalist, the main operators of communication organs in the world are among a lot of other professionals that have their image at stake for public appraisal and probe, this is attributed to the steady disposition with regards to the working of a journalist.

The reports of a journalist remain in public view timelessly; the report gives an impression and perception of both himself and society. According to  Agee(1985)  All content of a News has an extra element  ingredient by the journalist , in adding this extra ingredient into their work journalist are guided by the ethics of the profession, these ethics where set aside to regulate or give rules of conduct for the moral judgment of the practitioner.

Journalism is increasingly becoming a difficult concept to define and delineate because of some contemporary developments having direct effects on its practice. According to Kolodzy (2006) the emergence of the concept of ‘Citizen Journalism’ has compounded the problems of; first who is a journalist, second, what is journalism, third, what are the ethical requirements for the practice of journalism, fourth, what are the roles expectation of journalists and journalism profession in the society, as well as many other questions begging for attention and answers. Nwajinka (2003) also stated that the twenty – first century invention of the new media, especially the internet, revolutionized and redefined the scope and practice of journalism all over the world. journalists and news organizations’ dominance in terms of information provision and breaking news has been challenged by the rise of the internet and social media, that news organizations are operating across more platforms, and that journalists are being required to engage with audiences in more ways than the past (Gade and Raviola, 2009). These developments alter the conditions of the legacy journalism profession (Russo, 1998; Aldridge and Evetts, 2003; Deuze, 2005) and raise many questions. Social media have become journalistic lexicon and it seems sourcing information has overtaken self-promotion as a primary social activity. While journalists are growing more sophisticated in their use of social media, and are, for instance, using a great variety of tools to source for news, some journalists are less positive about some of the ways social media affect their journalistic activities, their engagement with their audience, their productivity and the quality of their work. (Oberiri 2016). However, regardless of the seemingly nebulous outlook of journalism in the contemporary time, journalism is concerned with the gathering, processing and dissemination of information regarded as important and critical to the operations of the different components of the society (Kempf, 2007).

As people take in news from either of it sources electronic or print, they are bound to have perception about images and their producers, and this implies that the public do have impression or perception of journalist as those who have a responsibility for the production of the message purveyed by the news media.

In early times public attitude towards journalist was non-committal, they were viewed as nosy peeping-toms against who all responsible citizens doors should be slammed. They were regarded as a category of people who relish in self-defined rights of freedom to see, hear and speak in the interest of society, but a time went by the odds diminished in favour of journalist (Agi, 2015). Public attitudes towards journalist are not peculiar to a particular society, they exist everywhere the world press is found. In Nigeria they serve as social megaphones in the society, in the course of their duty they project image themselves. some members of the public view them as thoughtful , critical, and essential to the day to day running of affairs of government and of various other organizations, while other member view them as corrupt, misguided , immature and sensational in their work, these generalizations are arguable, though  they may not be a true representation and interpretation of the criticism.

1.1     STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

In Nigeria the profession of journalism has metamorphosed through various stages each stage characterized by unequal degree of progression and regression of the images of the journalist. There are claims that journalism has been in the decline since its hay days  , more often than not, journalists publish half-truth, distorted stories and outright falsehood without in-depth investigation, thereby making rumors ,unsubstantiated claims and emotions the bedrock of information gathering .

The invention of the news media especially the internet and social media has not also been left out in the evaluation of the journalist, likewise the several other challenges journalist face in the profession including intimidation and widespread corruption. Some scholars hold that the Nigerian press has become lazy and does less in-depth reporting that many vital issues and events of social significance seem to have been left out of the daily reportage, These views has apparently molded a perception with regards to the profession journalism and the journalist, apparently society has become more critical of the profession, in light of these, appraisals are inevitable to examine the relationship of journalist and society.

1.2     PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

       Determine the factors that influence the public perception of journalist by residents.

       Find out the perceived performance of journalist in Port Harcourt.

       Evaluate journalism profession in Rivers state.

       Evaluate the effect of social media on journalist perception.

       Assess the perception of residents to journalist in Port Harcourt.

1.3     RESEARCH QUESTION

This study was guided by the following research questions:

Q1:  What is the current perception of Nigerian journalist by Port Harcourt Residents?

Q2: What factors influence the perception of journalist by residents?

Q 3: Have the roles of journalist been fulfilled in the state?

Q4: What is the perceived performance of journalist by residents?

1.4     RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

•        Residents perception of journalist is directly proportional to the work of the journalist.

•        Residents are satisfied with the roles journalist have played in the course of their work.

•        The current perception of residents about journalist are influenced.

•        Residents in Port Harcourt are satisfied with the performance of journalist.

1.5     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.

The study of the perception of residents to journalist will be a learning clarification into the journalism profession to enhance the journalist knowledge bringing into limelight the criticisms of the journalist. The project is designed to appraise and help journalist understand the effects of their work on the people and also themselves. Through this work the journalist will be able to identify the areas of their work that needs improvement so as to better serve society and gain more confidence subject to ethical standards. This research will provide recommendation on how to evaluate the performance of journalist in accordance to the ethics of the journalism profession. From a practice standpoint, this study is relevant and timely for the journalism profession, which is currently in the midst of significant changes due to the revolutionary development of new media and technologies. The research will also contribute to scientific knowledge locally, nationally and internationally in the area of journalism.

1.6     SCOPE OF THE STUDY.

This study is delimited to residents of Port Harcourt and non-editorial staffs working in print and media firms.

1.7     DEFINITION OF TERMS.

Journalism: Is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the “news of the day” and that impacts society.

Journalist: A person engaged in journalism; especially:  a writer or editor for a news medium

Perception: The way in which something is regarded, understood, or interpreted

Public: The members of a particular nation, community, or ethnic group.

Image: The general impression that a person, organization, or product presents to the public.

Attitude: A settled way of thinking or feeling about something

Ethics: Moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or the conducting of an activity.

Impression: An idea, feeling, or opinion about something or someone, especially one formed without conscious thought or on the basis of little evidence.

Media: Is the collective communication outlets or tools that are used to store and deliver information or data.

Press: This term refers is synonymous with newspaper, magazine, radio, television, and the journalist who work for them.