NEWSPAPERS AND YOUTHFUL DELINQUENCIES IN NIGERIA

The objective of this research therefore, is to examine the concept of citizen journalism practice in Nigeria with special focus on the benefits, challenges and prospects of the practice in the country. The findings reveal that the challenges facing citizen journalism in Nigeria are enormous. These include; computer illiteracy, difficulty in accessing the internet and high cost of ¿surfing¿ the net. Notwithstanding these challenges, it was discovered that the benefits of citizen journalism to the country are invaluable. These include wider coverage of events, urgency in media report and encouragement of ICT in the country. As for the prospects of citizen journalism practice in the country, the findings reveals that citizen journalism will create an information society and increase in the numbers of internet users in the country. However, this study recommends that computer literacy be taken seriously in both secondary and tertiary institutions in order to brace - up the knowledge in the citizens, while requesting government to step - up to the demands of infrastructure in the country and ensure the regulation of internet materials.