THE PERCEPTION OF NIGERIAN PHOTOJOURNALIST ON THE PRESERVATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE IN OGOJA LGA

ABSTRACT The study on the perception of Nigerian photojournalist on the preservation of cultural heritage in Ogoja LGA aimed to find out to identify the strategies used by photojournalists to document and present cultural heritage in Ogoja LGA, to find out the challenges faced by photojournalists in presenting a positive representation of cultural heritage in Ogoja LGA, to examine the perception of the local community towards the preservation of their cultural heritage by photojournalists and to find out the various artifact that tell the Ogoja historical story. The study employed a functionalism theory and a survey research design was employed to enable the collection of primary data from 150 respondents who are photojournalist, selected using a simple random sampling technique, a sample of 150 populations was drawn from photojournalists for the purpose of this study. The questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection, the data collected were analysed using the simple frequency and percentage method of data analysis. The results revealed that visual storytelling techniques is the strategy photojournalist use to document and present the Ogoja cultural heritage. And that the impact of photojournalism on the preservation and presentation of Ogoja cultural heritage is the promotion of cultural heritage sites to a wider audience. Hence, it was recommended that Photojournalists should employ innovative storytelling techniques to showcase Ogoja cultural heritage; and Government and stakeholders should provide support and resources to address challenges faced by photojournalists.