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.