NEWS COMMERCIALISATION: AN ABERRATION TO NEWS NEUTRALITY AND WORTHINESS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper looked into the consequences of increasing commercialization of news by media organisations on the time tested principles of neutrality and worthiness. News is a report of events disseminated to the public through the mass media, and as such must be truthful, unbiased and of interest to members of the public. This paper examines the practice of news commercialization by journalists in Nigeria, reasons responsible for the change in ethical standard in journalism practice and its consequences on the neutrality and worthiness of such reports that are sponsored and imposed on the public.  The factors considered in this paper included the history of news commercialisation in Nigeria, the opinions of journalists on why the practice has persisted and its consequences on news reports, lack of fund to finance government owned media stations and the tendency of media organisations to see news as commodity that must be paid for, as well as conflicting interests, were responsible for the shift from neutrality in news report to the commercialization of news.

It was recommended that media professionals get properly acquainted with the ethics of the profession through regular training, the need for internal regulation and the need for adequate funding of media organisations by their owners are mandatory.