The News Reporter in Nigeria’s Electoral Process

Mass media professionals are increasingly involved in the education of electorates on election matters in the time leading to, the actual election and post-election periods in different media ecosystems. This article examines the outstanding role of the news reporter as a field journalist in Nigeria’s bid for democratic consolidation. Using historical-analytic and direct observation methods, it identifies different categories of reporters according to different approaches to news gathering and reporting. It looks further at the extent of reporters’ commitment to their responsibilities in the Nigerian media ecosystem. In doing this, it highlights the communication techniques news reporters employ to subtly influence the meaning of messages in the news and the election reporter’s competency indices. The study makes critical suggestions aimed at guiding reporters towards wholesomeness in news reporting. That is, scrupulousness with the application of the different approaches that generate equally different implications on the news consumers or members of society. This emphasis is against the backdrop of the reporters’ pivotal role in journalism in the context of an information and communication technology (ICT) culture juxtaposed with the challenges associated with election reporting in the Nigerian polity.