A Comparative Study of Digital Competence and Response to Digital Innovations by Korean and Nigerian Newspaper Journalists

Abstract

In the 21st century, digital innovations beset many industries, but particularly the journalism and mass media industry. This invariably has forced changes in how the profession is studied and practised. A lot of new possibilities came with respect to news gathering, processing and dissemination. A lot of new gadgets and software programmes are now available, many of which make the practise of journalism quite easier, and also some quite disrupt the industry. Followed with the advent of internet, journalism has effectively entered a new era. Readership demography is changing as online and social media usage increase. In some cases, old media giants have slowed down while new digital giants emerge. The gate-keeping role of the traditional media is being challenged by user generated contents and citizen journalists. The revenue streams of the traditional media get fractured, and with the fracture some media organisations fail in business and sometimes close down entirely. For journalists too, these changes have brought new realities. For many of them, this is no longer the profession they used to know; it has become a new one with different dynamics, which require new skill sets and force on them new job specifications in order to remain in it. For some who cannot cope with this new reality, they have to leave the profession for good. Because digital competence has become a requisite for the practise of journalism in the now, what makes sense is for every journalist to train and keep retraining to be able to function in the digital environment. Also as many new technology facilities emerge, it is also necessary to keep retraining to be able to use them. But not all journalists are always able to learn new skill or acquire premium competence. For many reasons; like digital divide with regards to their countries of residence, economic realities, attitude, etc. these journalists are not getting the required training. And when this is the case, it has consequences for journalism itself. In the light of all said above, this paper aims to conduct a comparative study of digital competence and response to digital innovations by Korean and Nigerian newspaper journalists. Korea and Nigeria share some common realities with respect to political and media history, and yet there are a lot different with regards to newsroom culture, media economy and opportunities. This study aims to discover how these realities may affect and shape the capacity of journalist to acquire new skills for journalism practise in the digital era and, importantly, if there are similarities and differences that could be observed among Korean and Nigerian newspaper journalists in the acquisition of digital skills for journalism practice in the now.