Assessment of the media practitioners' understanding of corruption: The case of broadcast media
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2022-09
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addi ababa university
Abstract
The main purpose of this study was to assess the understanding of media professionals towards corruption,in Ethiopia as it‟s a widely spread national problem, therefore the researcher wants to assess and explore the merit and de-merit of the media itself and professionals in combating corruption and their understanding of corruption. the role of media professionals and their contribution to the fight against corruption. The study used the qualitative research method. The researcher conducted in-depth interview, with twelve respondents selected purposively for their relationship with the issue of investigative reporting and investigative journalism. And focus group discussion,with fifteen randomly selected media professionals. And also there was a questionnaire to gather information from 60 media professionals with different experiences. The interview was taken by prepared/semi-structured questions for journalists. The finding of the study revealed that there are gaps in the media sector, anticorruption reportings were used for accusing, and targeting a specific political entity or individuals rather defending the public interest. The participants of the research mentioned different gaps in different sectors, however, the media, journalists, and other concerned bodies need to work with coordination to counter corruption and abuse of power. Based on the results of this study, no one can argue that media professionals do have or do not have a good awareness of corruption, its types, and its activities. But, corruption has different faces. For combating corruption the media and its professionals need to play their extraordinary role. Journalists should respect professional ethics and be a voice for the voiceless of the society. The media and concerned bodies should help journalists with their investigative reporting. The research suggested that professionals need to have a safety assurance for the sake of the public interest as they are confronting treats from different corrupted individuals.