THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE JOURNALISTS AND GENUINE NEWS REPORT(AN ASSESSMENT)

The journalism profession has great impact on the individuals and society at large, hence it is expected that its ethical principles be adhered to and practitioners are to be guided by standards of professional practice that is acceptable globally. Today, the reverse seems to be the case as there is much gap between what is expected and what is practiced. It is on this premise that this study undertakes an evaluation of the ethical challenges facing journalism independence in and genuine news report in south-south Nigeria with a focus on three randomly selected states: Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta states. Using the survey research design and the questionnaire as the instrument for collecting data, the study found among 744 journalists that there are discrepancies in the internal and external factors affecting journalism independence in and genuine news report in Nigeria. It also found that managerial incompetence poses a great challenge not just to the performance of journalists based on ethical principles but also on the image of the journalism profession. Hence, the researcher recommends amongst others that expert services should be engaged in the evaluation of the journalism in Nigeria with respect to profession standards of ethics and to ensure that the profession is up to date on regular basis to meet the required standard based on professional best practice.