Public Perception of Newspaper Adherence to Ethical Principles in the Reportage of Electoral Processes in South East Nigeria

Abstract

Newspapers which are expected to report within the limits of media ethics while informing and educating the public about electoral processes have been notorious for publishing untruth, half truth and distorted stories when covering electoral process in Nigeria. Thus, more often than not, news events which newspapers project do not agree with the public perception of the actual news events. This provoked the study of public perception of newspaper adherence to ethical principles in the reportage of electoral processes in south east Nigeria. The study was anchored on selectivity theory which argues that previous experiences and current disposition go a long way to determine how readers decode newspaper messages. The research adopted survey method of scientific enquiry, using a 15 - item questionnaire and interviews to elicit information from respondents. The study was guided by 5 research questions and 3 hypotheses. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted. The findings indicated that the public showed concern about newspaper adherence to ethical principles Key words : Electoral process, ethical principle, public, newspapers.