CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE NEWSROOM: WHAT NIGERIAN JOURNALISTS KNOW AND HOW THEY CAN IMPROVE

This study examined the knowledge of journalists in the newsroom to determine what they know, what they do, and how they could improve their reporting of climate change in Nigeria. The study population included 15,000 registered members of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) from 37 councils (chapters). It was a mixed method that employed both quantitative and qualitative data. The sample size was 403. A purposive sampling procedure was applied while gathering data from the respondents via the Internet. It was found that journalists in Nigeria do not have sufficient knowledge of critical issues around climate change, such as mitigation and adaptation strategies. The study also found that only 14% of journalists regularly report climate change issues. This study concludes that professional deficiency was the reason why the majority of journalists do not report on climate change. It recommended training, retraining, and exposure to awards and other opportunities to encourage journalists to report climate change frequently