Effect Of Gratification On The Practice Of Journalism

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
In this dynamic and challenging society of ours, the role of Nigerian mass media is too many to mention. Journalism practice has performed enormous and crucial roles for meaningful rural and national development. The Nigerian media serve as a pivolt upon which socio-economic political and cultutural activities revolve. It is on this basis is that many succession government in Nigeria depend largely on the support of the media in propagating their polices and programmer to the people.
This rise in the mass media and mass communication as journalism practice has been stimulated in various science. The reason for this can be explained by the simple realization that people are curious beings. Their in qursitive mind always seals to comprehend and interpret the world around them and the occurrence therein. Above all, people are social beings; they are communicating creatures Umechukwu (20000).
The development of popular newspapers and periodicals broadcasting has led to institutional and cultural innovations, this permitting efficient and rapid communication between a few individuals and large populations, these various media of communication have been responsible for the rise in the social empowerment of citizen of modern societies. Additionally, the media have shifted though generally, from the traditional roles to more vocationally relevant objectives, which embrace the promotion of people’s interest in society in all sphere of life.
Hoggert (1957) endorses the above view when he observes that, over the years, mass media have become an important force in society not only as a means for the expression of ideas also as a social force to be reckoned with and a vehicle for mobilization.
Geibner (1990) is right when he says that the mass media provide the broadest common currencies of public interaction in a society”.
Therefore, communication endenced through the mass media becomes one of the important and basic social processes in any society. This is simply so because people, as social being, must communicate and by so doing, establish credibility and enhance their enhance for survival. Hence mass communication performs a number of vital functions such as: information, education, agenda setting, watch dog, cultural promotion, integration cultural promotion etc, without which society would be in chaos and in the dark.
In British playwriting, Tom slippardsplay, Night and Day, set in post colonial Africa a world weary press photographer has this to say. “I have been around a lot of places people do awful things to each other. But it’s worse in places where everybody is kept in the dark. Information is light.” By providing information for the people, the mass media, according to lass well (1948) summarized do the duty of keeping. Surveillance on society, correlate the environment and transit social her tage from one generation to the other, and entertain the public.
However, journalist practice as noble profession demands for discipline and ethical behavior to uphold the crucial and dependency of the society on the mass media for survival. The public require information Mac Bride at all (1981) posit.
…. This is needed in order to react knowledgeably to personal conditions, as well as be in a position to take appropriate decision. Through numerous educational programmers, such as quizes, debates and document arise; the public can be concretized on the need to accord people their proper position.
Unfortunately, due to government pressure on the journalism, poverty and lack of training, may journalism engage on some unethical practices such as sensationalism, yellow journalism, cheek book journalism, invasion of privacy particularly Brown Envelop (CVM gratification) as
This study characterized the present Nigeria mass media landscape.
The development affects credibility of mass media on their audience. Because mass media audience: listeners, readers, viewers etc has lost confidence on mass media content owing to influence of gratification on journalist news judgment and objectivity. As opposed to the journalist ethics of the professional that should guide practitioners at all times.
Ukozor (2002) post, ethics should give the journal standard by which he can judge action to be right or wrong good or bad responsible or irresponsible that journalist today needs to know their limitation so as not to abuse the power of the media in coronation of this view, Okunna describe ethical journalist as in Bastion of democracy. The impact of this shows the essence of ethical responsibility on media practitioners for balance, objective and accurate reporting in news.
Regreetably, communication in Nigeria is mainly influence by economic extremism on one hand and government pressure on the other hand. In developing nations like Nigeria, poverty debases human dignity and causes the scale of honour and trust for money through gratification to influence news as opposed to editors of sense of value. Also, the remunention of average journalist is too poor considering their enormous task they perform in sociality thereby making him or her to compromise.
Thus, recognition of this views the researcher set out to examine critical the effects of gratification on the objective practice of journalism through empirical study for test of validity.

1.2 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM
Mass media is a powerful instrument and channel of information dissemination to the people.
In view of this crucial role of media in society as perveyor of information watch, education, integration, entertainment e.t.c is widely accepted. But it is regrettable to observe in the resent time that most government policies and programmes in the media radio, Television, newspapers and magazines aimed to better the living standard of the chizenry in the country does not get to the target audience or achieved the desired impact on people’s life. This situation, pose a serious setback on government developmental objectives in line with dividend of democracy of the present dispensation.
Consequently, this development has generated varied opinion among educated class, opinion leaders, government agencies stakeholders and general public on the officacy of the media and journalism profession in this regard. Some critics was of the view that they don’t believe in the mass media message or content as they use to be. Because Nigeria mass media today lack credibility and objectivity in their reportage of event owing to influences of gratification on the journalist news editors sense of news judgement while some said that they only use media for intertainment then for information play theory.
Thus, in realization of these view interest the researcher in this study to critically examine the effects of gratification on objective journalism through method for test of validity.

1.3 OBJECTIVE
1) To further the investigation properly, the researcher believe that the study will have the following objective.
2) To determine whether journalist demand or receive gratification as requirement to discharge their duty in present media practice.
3) To ascertain if acceptance of gratification influence their sense of news judgement.
4) To determine whether gratification effects journalism practice positively or negatively.
5) Finally, to identify factors responsible for this practice among journalist with a view of addressing them.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study will have the following significance:
1) To help put gratification among journalist in discharge of their duty.
2) It will help media houses to redirect and reoriented their staff on the effects of gratification on media credibility.
3) It will also serve as a useful guide for future researcher that may be interested in this area of study and policy makers on communication.
4) It will help reveal some factors that militate against journalism practice, like news commercialization, ownership influence, and poor salaries etc. on media performance.
5) Finally, this study will help to stress the need for process freedom and right of people to know for sound media practice in Nigeria.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1) What are the impacts of journalism in our society?
2) Has demanding and receiving of gratification by journalist impact on the credibility of journalist.
3) What are the role of training of the performance of journalist?
4) Could financial background play a role influencing the attitude of journalist towards gratification?

1.6 HYPOTHESES
Hi: Journalism practice impact negatively in our society.
Ho: Journalism practice does not impact negatively in our society.
H2: Demanding and receiving gratification affects media credibility.
Ho: Demanding and receiving gratification does not affect media credibility.
H3: Lack of training among Journalist is responsible for unethical practice of gratification.
Ho: lack of training among journalist is not responsible for unethical practice of gratification.
H4: Non Payment of salaries of journalist encourage gratification.
Ho: Non payment of salaries of journalist does not encourage gratification.
H5: Government consorship affects press freedom and efficient journalism practice.
Ho: Government censorship does not affect press freedom and efficient journalism practice.

1.7 CONCEPTUAL AND OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERM
1) Gratification conceptually refers to gift gives to somebody in point in time.
Operationally: Gratification refers to money, and other incentive given to journalist in media houses, newspapers, magazine, radio and Television by newsmakers to influence their news coverage as opposed to ethics of journalism profession.
2) Effects: Conceptually means impact on something.
Effects: Operationally means negative or positive influence of gratification on journalist sense of news judgement.
3) Journalism conceptually means the act of writing and printing information through media.
Operationally journalism refers to the process of gathering, processing and dissemination of information to the he trogenous, faccless and diversified audience by news gate keepers.
4) Objective conceptually means the publication of truth, fair, accurate and unbiased report by journalist in performance of information dissemination task in society.
And in line with ethical code of the profession.

1.8 ASSUMPTION
This research study is based on the following assumptions.
1) That demand of gratification among journalist effects the credibility of mass media and journalism practice as a noble profession.
2) That little or nothing has been done by government and mass media houses to improve on the remuneration of media workers as a factor for ethical behaviour that threaten the integrity of journalism profession.
3) Mass Media institution should engage audience research to repackage their programmes and news content to rest the confidence of the audience on the media.
4) That poverty and government presume the main causes of gratification as unethic practice on journalism profession.

1.9 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY/SCOPE
This study mordern journalism and the effect of gratification practice should have encompassed all the media in Nigeria, but due to poor finance and logistics, it was limited to Enugu State Broadcasting Services (ESBS) which is government owned media organization. The scope of study is Enugu the establishment is Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS).
The project topic deals with the effect the gratification practice have among modern journalists and on mass communication and the public as a whole.
Moreover, the limitation of the time made it impossible for a further research wotk beyond one case study used (ESBS) poor access to textbooks and study reports, the study could not go beyond what we have commendable and reliable result at the end is generated.