Negotiating inclusion: new 'alternative' media and the institutional journalistic practices of print journalists in Nigeria Motilola Olufenwa Akinfemisoye A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Central Lancashire, for the award of Doctor of Philosophy November 2015 Student Declaration I declare that while registered as a candidate for the research degree, I have not been a registered candidate or enrolled student for another award of the University or other academic or professional institution. I declare that no material contained in the thesis has been used in any other submission for an academic award and is solely my own work. Signature of Candidate Type of Award Doctor of Philosophy School Journalism and Media ii ABSTRACT This study uses an ethnographic approach (in-depth interviews and newsrooms observations) combined with Critical Discourse Analysis to closely interrogate how journalists in four Nigerian print newsrooms; The Punch, Vanguard, Nigerian Tribune and Guardian, appropriate ‘alternative media’ content and new media technologies in their newsmaking practices. The choice of these four newsrooms enables a detailed reading of how the process of appropriating new media technologies and alternative media content takes place in Nigerian print newsrooms. The study explores how and whether (or not) these appropriations are impacting on institutional practices of Nigerian print journalists. It also sheds light on the spaces which new media technologies negotiate in these newsrooms and how these journalists negotiate the appropriation of alternative media content. Beyond the everyday newsmaking practices, the study uses the reporting of two key events; the Nigerian elections of 2011 and the Occupy Nigeria protests of 2012 to show how journalists in Nigerian print newsrooms negotiate their appropriation of alternative media content and new media technologies in reporting key events. Together, these examples highlight the creative appropriation of new media technologies in Nigerian print newsrooms and the need to avoid technological determinist perspectives which totalise experiences elsewhere as being universal. The study therefore reinvigorates the continued relevance of newsroom ethnography and argues that a sociological approach, which importantly considers local context imperatives, remains useful in understanding how Nigerian print journalists appropriate new media technologies and the resulting alternative journalisms. The findings of the study provide useful insights into the journalistic cultures in Nigerian print newsrooms and highlights how these journalists negotiate their appropriation of alternative media content. While the (disruptive) impact of new media technologies on newsmaking practices in these newsrooms cannot be ignored, the study finds that a number of local context factors constrain and shape how appropriations take place in these newsrooms. Thus, Nigerian print journalists appropriate alternative media and new media technologies to suit traditional journalistic practices. The study’s contribution to knowledge therefore lies in acknowledging that, beyond binary assumptions about the impact of new media technologies on journalism practices in Africa, particularly Nigeria, there is the need to consider the creative and complex ways in which journalists in these contexts appropriate these technologies. This study should thus be read as a step towards that end. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ vii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................ ix ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. x LIST OF PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCE PAPERS ......................................... xi CHAPTER 1: Introduction and Background to the study ......................................... 1 1.1 Original contribution of this study .............................................................................. 7 1.2Research aim, objectives and methodological approach.............................................. 8 1.3 Research context ....................................................................................................... 10 1.3.1 A cursory overview of the Nigerian press.............................................................. 13 1.4 Thesis Outline ........................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 2: Confronting the dream deferred: Of ‘new’ media and the case for a sociological approach to studying the African media landscape .............................. 18 2.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 18 2.1 The media democratisation process: A story of contradictions ................................ 19 2.2 Journalism and new information and communication technologies in Africa .......... 22 2.2.1 Embracing mobility: Localised appropriation of the mobile phone ...................... 30 2.3Theoretical overview: Locating the study within the sociology of journalism tradition ........................................................................................................................... 32 2.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 38 CHAPTER 3: Research Methodology ......................................................................... 40 Researching Newsroom Cultures and Journalists’ Newsmaking Practices in Nigerian Print newsrooms .............................................................................................................. 40 3.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 40 3.1 Studying Nigerian print newsrooms: Rationale for qualitative approach and some philosophical underpinnings ........................................................................................... 41 iv 3.2Research Strategy and Design .................................................................................... 44 3.2.1 Deploying Ethnography: Watching from the inside ........................................... 44 3.2.2 Critical Discourse Analysis ................................................................................ 56 3.3 Sampling Method and Selection ............................................................................... 59 3.3.1 In search of newsrooms and journalists to include in the sample: my audit trail ..................................................................................................................................... 63 3.4 Researcher’s Reflexivity ........................................................................................... 64 3.4.1 In the field: The place of rapport and ‘who you know’ in studying Nigerian newsrooms ...................................................................................................................... 65 3.5 Notes on Ethics ......................................................................................................... 67 3.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 67 CHAPTER 4: Alternative media and ‘new’ everyday practices in Nigerian print newsrooms ...................................................................................................................... 69 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 69 4.2 Every day is not typical in Nigerian print newsrooms .............................................. 70 4.3 Mobile Phones, Blackberry Messenger: The ‘new’ ubiquitous news gathering tools in Nigerian newsrooms ................................................................................................... 76 4.3.1 Mobile phones as ‘note-pads’ and journalists’ ‘extended arms’ ........................ 78 4.3.2 ‘No off-duty’ ...................................................................................................... 82 4.4 Journalism-on-the-go: ‘Healthy news’ at ‘fast food’ speed ...................................... 84 4.6 Negotiating authority: Physical space in Nigerian print newsrooms ........................ 87 4.5 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 91 CHAPTER 5: “They are putting us on our toes”: Dilemmas of Nigerian print journalists in appropriating alternative media, emerging patterns and ethical implications for the profession ..................................................................................... 93 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 93 5.1 Alternative media appropriations in the newsmaking practices of Nigerian print journalists: Of emerging ‘new’ news beats and ethical transgressions ........................... 94 5.2 Confronting the