JORAS - Nigerian Journal of Religion and Society

This paper addresses the need to embrace peace journalism in journalism practice in Nigeria. The major focus of the paper is reorientation for Nigerian media and journalists towards embracing peace journalism and conformity with media laws and journalism ethics in their reporting of inter-communal violence in Northern Nigeria. The primary objective is to stop the violence- provoking culture of news reporting that a section of the Nigeria media specializes in during inter-communal violence in Northern Nigeria. The paper uses Sobowole's (1989) content analysis format to present sampled evidence from the Nigerian media of violations of media laws and ethics by Nigerian media and journalists. Aspects of the literature review come from a collection of instances in which the mass media directly or indirectly instigated more violence, or added fuel to a violent situation in Northern Nigeria. The paper in this context therefore confirms that the mass media, whether in the Northern Nigeria or the South, sometimes instigated conflict through biased reporting, deliberate distortions, criminal partisanship and un-professionalism confounded by influences of tribalism and exploitation of the religious divide to settle political vendetta, tribal grudges or both. Peace journalism and conformity to media laws and ethics are recommended to end this inflammatory practice.

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