Safety of Journalists in Campus Radio Stations in Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the safety of journalists working in campus radio stations in Nigeria State, Nigeria, with the objectives of ascertaining the nature of safety violations, their perceived influence on journalistic practices, and the level of awareness of safety issues. Anchored on the Social Responsibility Theory and the Safety of Journalists Framework, the study employed a descriptive survey design. A structured questionnaire served as the instrument for data collection and was administered to 117 campus radio journalists selected from across the state. The findings revealed that while some respondents reported experiencing forms of harassment such as physical attacks, threats and intimidation, the mean responses on most indicators were below the acceptable threshold, suggesting relatively low but still notable levels of safety violations. These threats, however, had reasonable pay, high independence, influencing journalistic behaviour such as avoidance of sensitive stories and diminished professional motivation. The study also found that student journalists demonstrated moderate to high level of awareness regarding safety protocols, including knowledge of civil rights, laws, and training and international press freedom situations. It concluded that campus radio journalists, though operating in educational media. The study recommends the establishment of institutional safety policies, regular security training and proactive university frameworks to protect student journalists and uphold the principles of press freedom in academic settings