This research contributes to the study of the journalism by analysing the changes in journalistic practice and news production as a result of digital media and the implications thereof. I critically analyse the role of digital media on news production and journalistic practices and argue that the rise of digital media has significantly changed the roles, practices and structures of the journalistic profession in Nigeria. I also argue that these changes require a practice centred approach to explore changes in perceptions of identity and journalistic labour; attitude towards multi-skilling, working conditions of journalists and the commercialisation of news which have the potential to compromise journalistic performance and the news they produce. A proposed combined approach of Pierre Bourdieu’s Field theory and Howard Becker’s Social Worlds was used. I support Dickinson’s argument that the meso-level analysis offered by field research requires the micro-level analysis of the news world to present a “socially situated, empirically grounded and contextually located” analysis of journalists’ adoption/appropriation of media technologies. To this end, the combined approach provides a more rounded understanding of journalism and news production in Nigeria by presenting a contextual understanding of the socio-cultural and political economic context that shape to the changes that are occurring in the newsrooms in Nigeria. Empirical evidence is drawn from five media organisations in Nigeria (Guardian newspapers, ThisDay, Vanguard, Channels TV and Nigeria Television Authority) to examine these from the perception of journalists. It also argues that the adoption of particular technologies is “socially and culturally determined” and understanding these nuances would contribute to the broader debates on news production and journalism.

The function of a journalist is not only to inform but also to investigate. Since the public has a right to information, jurists need to protect journalists that report from dangerous war-torn regions in order to keep the world informed. As the primary reliable source and often eyewitness to humanitarian atrocities a journalist has a duty to report such atrocities. There has for several decades now been uncertainty regarding the fact whether journalists should be granted special protection or not. On the one hand it is argued that journalists should be protected in terms of humanitarian law due to their humanitarian function, the service that they render in facilitating the free flow of information to the world and the role that journalists play in society. On the other hand, some argue that the protection of journalists is not the responsibility of the international community but rather their individual national governments or local news organisations. / Jurisprudence / LL.M.

The function of a journalist is not only to inform but also to investigate. Since the public has a right to information, jurists need to protect journalists that report from dangerous war-torn regions in order to keep the world informed. As the primary reliable source and often eyewitness to humanitarian atrocities a journalist has a duty to report such atrocities. There has for several decades now been uncertainty regarding the fact whether journalists should be granted special protection or not. On the one hand it is argued that journalists should be protected in terms of humanitarian law due to their humanitarian function, the service that they render in facilitating the free flow of information to the world and the role that journalists play in society. On the other hand, some argue that the protection of journalists is not the responsibility of the international community but rather their individual national governments or local news organisations. / Jurisprudence / LL.M.