Okara
Globalization and information technology has revolutionized traditional journalism.
Journalists and publishers still have the duty to abide by the established ethical principles in the age of digital journalism.
Kemela Okara, Barrister, Gray’s Inn London, LLB Middlesex, BL, stated the above at the NCDMB Media Stakeholders workshop in Lagos recently with the theme, “Ethical and Legal Landmines in the Age of Digital Journalism in Nigeria”.
The Nigerian Law according to him has sufficient provisions and penalties in place to ensure practitioners fulfill their ethical and legal obligations.
Ethical and Legal Obligations of Digital Journalists in Nigeria, he said, are responsibility to authenticate publications and publish erratum or corrigendum promptly as at when needed (Duru, 2016). Responsibility to uphold the principle of independence, impartiality and objectivity (Apuke & Omar, 2017)
He stated that Journalists have the responsibility to protect and uphold the integrity of journalism by obeying the established laws and standard practices of the profession.
Speaking on Legal Regulations Guiding Journalism in the digital age, he said, “The Nigerian legal and judicial system has laws and acts in place to regulate digital journalism. Some of them include, The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999(As Amended) Law of sedition as provided by the Criminal code, Defamation law, Obscene and harmful publication laws, Copyright law, Cybercrimes law, Official secrets act and Freedom of information act”.
To be continued in pat 2
