Nigerian Mainstream media Professionals and Media Ethics

Panelists: The February session explored the ethical challenges and responsibilities of Nigerian mainstream media. Leah Katung-Babatunde, CEO of Saban Media Services, and Chinyere Godwin, an On-Air Personality from Kiss FM Lagos, provided valuable insights. 

Date: 29^th February 2024 

Objective: 

1. To examine the role of ethics in Nigerian mainstream media, focusing on the responsibilities and challenges faced by media professionals. 

2. To highlight the importance of adhering to ethical standards in journalism and media practice 

3. The objective is to foster a culture of ethical journalism in Nigeria and promoting accountability and professionalism among media practitioners 

Activities: 

1. Interactive session with panelist 

2. Questions and answer session involving the audience  

Key findings and results: 

1. Media professionals are trained on media ethics during their days in the university 

2. Poor remuneration affects the integrity of media professionals in upholding the ethics of their profession 

3. There is consistent effort among some members of the public especially politicians to get media professionals to distort the fact in their favour 

4. Media houses do not pay their workers well, and this creates room for compromise 

Challenges faced: 

There was challenge getting the contact details of the executives of NUJ from the official website of their organization. When email was sent to them via the email provided on their website, the NUJ did not respond. This point to the fact that the official email of the NUJ is not check regularly and this could affect their competence in handling complains sent to them.  

Lesson learned: 

1. There is the urgent need for media professionals to embark on ethics causes specifically tailored to meet the ethical demands of their profession. The media houses where they work can sponsor such training 

2. There is an influx of untrained practitioners in the media field and these set of people do not have the ethical and professional training need for the job. Hence such people should be made to take professional ethics courses applicable to their profession. 

Total number people reached: 138