Abstract

In the perennial quest for national development in Nigeria, the media have often been enlisted to play active roles. But it seems that the hope for a realistically sustainable national development in Nigeria still remains a mirage, leading to the notion that the emergence of Citizen journalism would help to revive the hope. Based on this, the paper assessed Citizen journalism practice vis-à-vis its capacity to substantially promote socio-economic progress in Nigeria. The paper developed the idea that given the gateless manner citizen journalism operates, there is propensity for serious counterproductive effects of its practice on the socio-political and economic development in Nigeria. Three research questions were raised to guide the investigation. Adopting the survey method, the questionnaire was used to generate primary data from 384 respondents selected from the six Area Councils that comprise the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), Abuja. Findings showed that citizen journalism is not effective enough to advance the cause of national development in Nigeria owing to the aberrant mode of its practice, which glorifies inter-ethnic conflicts and disruptive reportage. From this standpoint, the paper concluded that citizen journalism cannot appreciably contribute to socio-economic and political progress in Nigeria unless the government develops a regulatory to compel the citizen journalists to practice in synch with the established ethos and canons of journalism.

Key Words: Citizen Journalism, National Development, Implication, Social Media

About the Author

*Paul Uko Obagwu is the founder of Blossoms Global College and Blossoms Institute of Management and Technology, Oju and a doctoral candidate at the Department of Mass Communication, Nasarawa State University, Keffi, Nigeria. His areas of research interest include, new media, journalism, and development communication.

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 16, No. 1, April 2024, pp. 57-68

© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).

Article Citation

Obagwu, P. U. (2024). Assessment of citizen journalism among residents of Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 16 (1): 57-68.

Full Article

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