Appraisal of Digital Media Users Generated Content and the Gate-Keeping Role of the Broadcast Media in Nigeria

Abstract

In the light of the pervasiveness of non-trained digital gate-keepers in the media environment and the broadcast media feeding off on news content created by the digital media users, the gate-keeping suffers interference in the hands of non-media professionals. This is as a result of exposure to, and ready accessibility to devices that can be used by non-media professionals to transmit information via the internet, this paper examines the kind of information they generate, through interactive web sites using smart phones devices, and how this information is subsequently processed for the traditional broadcast media's use. The study further examined roles that could be played by professionals in the traditional broadcast media, in cross- checking contents created by these digital media users. The study employed Survey as a research design. Three hundred and eighty six (386) questionnaires were administered to respondents in Ikeja, Lagos State using the Convenience sampling technique, while In-depth interview was also conducted on news broadcast professionals in selected media houses. Data analysis was done using Simple descriptive statistics, while presentation was done using frequency tables. The findings revealed that digital media users, many of whom are mainly non-journalists, perform gate-keeping tasks on their content using digital devices. The study also revealed that digital media users share in the journalistic role of creating contents, but such contents were found not conforming to ethical standards of the professionals. However, it was found out that in making use of User Generated Contents, the traditional media have in place some relatively gate-keeping procedures. In conclusion, it can be deduced from this study that the media landscape is shared by non-journalists whose content output are useful in providing additional news materials to the traditional media, yet such content were not subjected to gate-keeping procedures before being offered for use. Therefore, in the light of the findings from this study, it is recommended that traditional broadcast media may encourage the patronage of User Generated Content, but in doing so, they must ensure strict gate-keeping.