MEDIA PERSONNEL'S PERCEPTION OF THE ROLE OF DEVELOPMENT JOURNALISM IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACT

This study is focused on the Media personnel's Perception of the role of Development Journalism in rural development. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the level of awareness among media personnel regarding the principles of development journalism, identify how media personnel perceive their roles in promoting rural development through development journalism and explore the challenges faced by media personnel in practicing development journalism in rural areas. For its theoretical framework, the Development Media theory was adopted, while the methodology used by the researcher to gather data was the survey research method. Findings of the study revealed that a majority of the respondents have received training and they feel they have effectively implemented development journalism principles, when reporting on rural development issues. The findings also indicated that media personnel also perceive their role as essential in promoting rural development, with unanimous agreement on their contribution to shaping community development narratives in Benin City. It was concluded that media personnel perception of developmental journalism in the development of rural areas is positive. It was therefore recommended that government and media organizations should invest in improving access to transportation and technological infrastructure for media personnel working in rural areas. It was also recommended that more comprehensive and continuous training programmes should be introduced to ensure that all media personnel remain updated on best practices in developmental journalism.