COMPETING JOURNALISTIC ROLE CONCEPTIONS AND ETHICAL JOURNALISM PRACTICE IN NIGERIA

This article examines the intersection between journalistic role conceptions and ethical journalism practice within the Nigerian media environment. It interrogates how competing professional roles: watchdog, guide dog, attack dog, guard dog, and lapdog journalism, shape ethical decision-making and professional identity. Drawing on normative and critical theories of journalism, the study synthesizes global and Nigerian scholarship to argue that journalism is increasingly characterized by role plurality and institutional tension. While the watchdog ideal remains central to democratic theory, empirical literature suggests that Nigerian journalism operates within a hybrid system where ownership influence, political pressure, and economic constraints shape role performance. The article concludes that ethical journalism in Nigeria is not merely a function of professional codes but a negotiated outcome of competing role expectations and structural conditions.