MARITAL STATUS AND PROFESSIONALISM IN MEDIA PRACTICE: A STUDY OF FEMALE BROADCASTERS OR FEMALE JOURNALISTS IN OSUN STATE

Abstract

Journalism practice over the years has been a herculean task meant to give detailed and proper account of happenings to people in the society. The role is being taken up by men and women who had been passionately trained in that area. In media, women’s role or impact cannot be over emphasized as many have risen through the rank from being reporters to the top management position in both the print and broadcast industry because of the level of professionalism displayed in their job. However, women journalists face myriads of challenges including abuse, sexual harassment and marital issues such as divorce, spending inadequate time with spouses and children which may affect them in the discharge of their duties. This paper therefore looks at marital status and professionalism in journalism practice with a special focus on female broadcast journalists in Osun State. The study identifies the reasons why many married women are not taking up journalism in Nigeria. Furthermore, it identifies the challenges of being married as a female broadcast journalist. The fulcrum of this work is based on feminist muted group theory, while the survey research method was used. The population of this study consists of married female journalists in Osun State, specifically in two media houses. Purpose sampling technique is used to choose the sample and the measuring instrument used in gathering of information for is questionnaire.