Tuesday , March 19 2024

Benefits of Development Journalism

Journalism plays basics roles of information, education and entertainment in any society. The underlying goal of these basic roles is to keep the society alive and functional. This is how journalism primarily facilitates development at various levels and from different facets of existence. Development is a multifaceted term that deals with improvement of live from various aspects such as infrastructure, social, economic, political, religious and such other spheres of living. Journalism that facilitates the survival and improvement of life is what development journalism as a concept refers to.

What is Development Journalism?

Development, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary is the act or process of growing or causing something to grow or become larger or more advanced while journalism is defined the activity or job of collecting, writing, and editing news stories for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio. This then means that development journalism consists of writing news stories aimed at encouraging, promoting and sustaining the growth of something.

According to various definitions of the term “development journalism” shows that it is approached from two perspectives. From one context it refers to the communication process that is used to serve the development goals of the government (Ogan, 1982; McMahon, 2023). Also called development support communication, such journalism makes use of all forms – mass media, folk media, and small group and interpersonal communication – to promote the total development plans of an authoritarian regime. From the other perspective, development journalism is defined in a manner similar to that of investigative reporting. Viewed in this manner, the role of the development journalist is to examine critically the existing development programs and projects of a government, compare the planned project with its actual implementation, and report any observed shortcomings (Ogan, 1982; McMahon, 2023).

Development journalism plays social activism role in the society. In communities where most people are unaware of potential dangers in their environment, development journalism opens their eyes to problems still lurking in the shadows and encourages them to engage in behavioural change or mobilize community members to work towards solving addressing the challenges. Through social activism, development journalists can plays pro-active role capable of transforming an underdeveloped community.

Development journalism is an avenue for the press to perform their social responsibility function to the society. This is objective, people-oriented, development-inclined journalism primarily aimed at making the society a better place to exist. The development journalist is at the frontline of responsibility-propelled development communication to stimulate positive change ind rural and urban areas.

Benefits of Development Journalism

Development journalism facilitates good governance in the society. By exposing development needs in rural areas and engaging public servants to do the needful towards addressing such development needs, advocacy-based journalism, and mobilizing rural dwellers through behavioural change reports, development journalism can help ensure rural transformation;

Development journalism has the potential of influencing the decision-making process. The development journalist uses practical insight gained from participant or participatory observation to make a fair and dispassionate analysis of development projects. This is why a development journalist is said to have the power and capacity to influence the decision-making process (Anad, 2014).

Development journalism provides necessary checks and balances in the implementation of national and rural development schemes and project.

Development journalism provides the platform for journalists to exercise their right to know how various developmental plan programmes are being executed and how the taxpayers’ money is being spent.

Development journalism encourages professionalism in the media sector. Since this is a people-oriented work, a development journalist cannot be expecting any form of inducement such as brown envelope before reporting a story. Objectivity, fairness and preciseness guide the reporter in the line of duty. In most cases, the journalist does not depend on press releases but engages in investigative reporting to either expose failures in process of implementing development projects, exposing development needs of the people, or revealing opportunities for positive change in the society.

Development journalism involves indepth, extra-mile reporting that covers news about socio-economic issues often neglected by the mainstream media. The reporter investigates, highlights, narrates, and interprets these issues and provides analysis that helps find solutions for the challenges in order to promote growth and development. As Anad (2014) observes, conventional journalism has a very sharp focus on the major happenings of the time, on keeping up with breaking news as it happens and in the process, many important issues get neglected. This is where development journalism plays very essential role by focusing on an issue, reports about it, and then returns to it to keep track of the progress. This way, development journalism ensures that no story is left behind, especially stories that have potentials of sparking off or sustaining development in a community.

Development journalism encourages participatory reporting. The journalist lives and interacts with the villagers, engages in real-time observation of rural dwellers for instance, in their environment as they experience the challenges, or watches the execution of a development project scheme, even evaluates the results to know whether the purpose of setting up a specific project was achieved. This helps government and other development agents in the post-project evaluation stage of development efforts in communities.

Development journalism plays social activism role in the society. In communities where most people are unaware of potential dangers in their environment, development journalism opens their eyes to problems still lurking in the shadows and encourages them to engage in behavioural change or mobilize community members to work towards solving addressing the challenges. Through social activism, development journalists can plays pro-active role capable of transforming an underdeveloped community.

Development journalism stimulates development-based debates and discussions in the society. Investigative reports about neglects in communities, abandoned projects, infrastructural needs in a society, these stories often spark heated discussions between people who have different views on the topic at hand. Development news reporters can also promote healthy discussions by providing the platform for people to express their opinions on reported issues and topics, whether through opinion pieces or posts on social media. This way it sets agenda that inspires change efforts among in the society.

About Chinenye Nwabueze

Nwabueze is a writer with passion for cutting-edge news

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