African media ethics and social responsibility in the digital age

DOI: 10.5176/2301-3729_JMComm12.72

Authors: Ekwueme Omanwa Ifeoma, Mohammed Ibrahim

Abstract: Journalism is a profession that disseminates information and mediates between the government and the people. It is guided by ethical code of conduct and is expected to carry out its operations responsibly. Before now, adherence to code of ethics and being socially responsible has been a challenge to journalists. But the advent of digitization and globalization which have introduced mobile journalism, citizen journalism and convergent journalism seem to have caused more challenges. In Nigeria, the press do not carry out their functions in the society responsibly; rather they deviate from the norm by manipulating events to suit their corporate interest or the interest of the state. It is then necessary to explore how media ethics should be emphasized and imbibed to ensure that journalists conform to media ethics. The ideal system of media regulation is for the media to be able to discharge their duties with a sense of responsibility to the public. To achieve this, media organization should make good character a priority while recruiting their staff. Policies on media ethics should be inculcated on website to ensure that every user agrees with the policy at the point of creating a social media account.
Keywords: digitization; media; ethics; responsibility;