Assessing the Operational Difficulties and Coping Strategies of Journalists in Ebonyi State in the Age of Internet Revolution
This study investigated the self-perception and coping strategies among journalists who lack internet literacy in Ebonyi State. The major objective of the study was to determine how journalists that lack requisite knowledge of internet cope with their job of filing in their reports to their organisations. Situated within the framework of the Technological Determinism Theory, the research was designed as a survey on ninety-four (94) out of the Two Hundred and Sixty-Two registered journalists in the state who indicated lack of full Internet literacy. A structured questionnaire was employed as the data collection tool. Findings show that the journalists in Ebonyi State who lack internet literacy experience operational difficulties in gathering, writing, editing and filing their reports. It was equally discovered that the majority of these journalists adopt certain survival strategies to circumvent these difficulties and these include dependence on internet literate colleagues; employment of services of cybercafé operators and handing over of their hardcopy reports to the office for completion. The research further found that the journalists perceive their lack of internet literacy as some form of deficiency particularly with reference to speed of operation, finesse and professional growth. However, majority of the respondents are not taking the necessary steps to solve their internet deficiency. The study concluded that this inaction could be attributed to factors like poor remuneration of media practitioners and lack of training/exposure to internet driven modern reporting skills. The study recommended, among others, that the curriculum of institutions where journalism and media studies are taught should include training on ICTs and how to apply them in the context of modern journalism.