How four Nigerian Elite Dailies Responded to the Challenge of Journalistic Objectivity in their Coverage of Militancy in the Niger Delta

Journalistic objectivity is a contested principle. Yet it is considered as one of the pillars of journalism across the globe. The study explores how four Nigerian elite newspapers (THISDAY, The Guardian, Vanguard and The Sun) applied journalistic objectivity in their coverage of militancy in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region from 2006 to 2009. To provide journalists with a set of usable, practical and realizable principle, “sources” and “balance” are adopted as a moderated and modified version of objectivity in analyzing militancy coverage. Findings indicate the dailies used varied sources in their reports. Sixty-eight percent of news stories are balanced, suggesting the prevalence of objective reporting. By using varied sources, the newspapers provided a platform for the feuding factions to communicate with each other, thereby enhancing conflict resolution. The Vanguard, which incorporated a broader spectrum of sources and used more reports from non-governmental sources, manifested the greatest degree of journalistic objectivity.