ABSTRACT

In any academic pursuit all over the world, there must be situations and reason which could propel a research or project of this nature.  This same thing applies to this project which was tentatively researched and written in order to help students who may want to inquire more on the role of the Nigerian Press Council as a regulatory mechanism for the conduct of journalism practices in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Press council though not performing quite to expectation in regulating journalism practices can also play the role of making sure that individual rights are not fringed upon by journalists in the course of covering analyzing and interpreting of issues as they affect the people.

The study on this project topic was based upon the premise that the press perform a vital function in the society as it relates to educating, entertaining, informing of people in order to build a society where its citizens knows their right and enlightened to be able to meet up to the challenges of this modern world.  There is as doubt this project handy as they go further in gaining more knowledge on this topic.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The world is a global village through information link of the media.  A society without the media the is dead, that is to say that the media play a vital role and these roles include to educate, inform, entertain the public on the happenings in the society, to enlighten and to mobilize, etc.

The media had played these vital roles creditably, especially in this inception of new political dispensation. In an attempt to carry out these functions to the masses, the media had made use of various medium of communication with development as its goal.  The media in question are the electronic and print media. In electronic medium, we have the radio and television and in print sector, we have Newspaper and Magazine.

In view of the above developments, all these media cannot function effectively without a regulatory body, which controls their activities and affairs as it relates to journalistic practices in Nigeria.  This gave birth to the press council.  Press council, therefore is an institution that is closely associated with the maintenance of the freedom of the Press and which also protects the liberty of individuals from being infringed upon by the media men.

The Nigeria Press Council was inaugurated on December 29, 1992 after a long chequered and bumpy journey.  This journey began over 30 years ago when the need for self-regulatory mechanism in the practice of journalism in Nigeria gained currency among practitioners and public spirited individuals alike.