Excerpts on the Media's Responsibility: from Nigeria

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The mass media are expected to inform the citizenry of what goes on in government, which, in a way, keeps rulers in check. Also, the media should be reporting on and promoting discussion of ideas, opinions and truths toward the end of social refinement; acting as a nation's "bulletin board" for information and mirroring the society and its peoples just the way they are, thus exposing the heroes and the villains.

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To whom then are the mass media accountable? It should be the entire society. To their audiences, to whom they owe correct news reportage, analysis and editorialising. To government, to which they owe constructive criticism, a relay of popular opinion and adequate feedback from the populace. To their proprietor, to whom they owe the survival of the media organisation as a business venture as well as a veritable source of education, enlightenment and entertainment. To themselves, to whom they owe fulfillment in their calling, satisfaction and an entire success story. When any of these "judges" of journalistic responsibility is shunted, accountability is dented and automatically, responsibility is affected adversely.

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Source: Noma Owens-Ibie, "Press Responsibility and Public Opinion in Political Transition" in Africa Media Review, Vol. 8 No. 1 1994, African Council for Communication Education.