Citizen Journalism and Security Challenges: Audience Perception of Ethical and Security issues in Nigeria’s online Journalism Practice

Abstract

Citizen journalism has transformed the face of journalism practice in Nigeria and the rest of the world. The Internet has basically restructured the mode of news and information gathering and distribution. Unfortunately, not complying by the ethics of the profession has become its main challenge, a circumstance that is put down on some identified factors. Today, there is no distinct difference between the function of conventional journalism and citizen journalism. Conventional journalism, which is the established career of journalism, calls for different kinds of trainings, which could be through education or apprenticeship, for them to carry out their social responsibility function. This is a contrast in the case of citizen journalism, which is currently assuming the role of conventional journalism. This situation foretells undesirable effects to the journalism profession and has equally contributed to the rise of security challenges around the country. Situated within the framework of Source Credibility Theory, this study was designed as a survey. The population of study were residents of Awka metropolis from which a sample size was selected. Finding shows that major issues associated with the credibility of citizen journalism are issues of ethics, professionalism, and training which pose a security threat to the stability of the country. The study recommends that these challenges require to be crucially addressed before they cause mayhem and chaos in the country