TITLE:
Influence of Journalist Knowledge about Gender Mainstreaming Ideology on the Reporting of Gender Issues
AUTHORS:
Nkem Fab-Ukozor
KEYWORDS:
Influence, Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Reporting, Journalists, Nigeria
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Applied Sociology,
Vol.9 No.7,
July
8,
2019
ABSTRACT: Democracy has universal appeal in its respect for popular participation, accountability, equity and equality. The adoption of gender mainstreaming in Nigeria via the National Economic Empowerment Development strategy in 2003, and recently the 7-point agenda, vision 2020, among other development programmes support democratic values in the sense that the country’s ultimate goal is to achieve national development based on gender parity. This study sought to determine the Influence of Journalist Knowledge about Gender Mainstreaming Ideology on the Reporting of Gender Issues. The research which was anchored on the critical cultural theory was necessitated by the need to find out empirically how Nigerian journalists understood gender mainstreaming issues and its implications for their reportage of the issues. The survey research method using questionnaire and semi-structured interviews was adopted in this study. Practicing journalists in Nigeria put at 10,000 made up the study population. The sample size was 500 based on Nwanna’s (2008: p. 71) expert recommendation of selecting 5% of elements or units for a population size of several thousands. Results from the study established that Nigerian journalists have significant knowledge of gender mainstreaming issues which in turn influence the reporting of the phenomenon. Also, the dominant form of reporting of gender mainstreaming issues by journalists’ influences their perception of the phenomenon. In view of these findings, the study recommended sensitization of journalists to ensure that journalists begin to appreciate their ethical responsibility towards the cause of gender mainstreaming. Again, there will be need to strengthen advocacy and also move beyond the media organizations to media associations, since they are the umbrella body that can take decisions worthy of influencing media and editorial policies which, can facilitate gender sensitive and balanced reporting.