Zeitschrift für Massenkommunikation und Journalismus

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

Abstract

Job OI

This paper conducted a comparative study of digital competence and response to digital innovations by South Korean and Nigerian newspaper journalists. Both countries share some common experiences, like political and media history, and yet there are a lot different with regards to media newsroom culture, economy and opportunities in the digital age. How these realities may determine the capacity of newspaper journalists to acquire digital skills is the onus of the study. Mixed method enquiry was adopted; with survey questions and in-depth interviews conducted with newspaper journalists in South Korea and Nigeria. The survey and interviews were analysed, and the result showed a paradox: the newspaper journalists in both countries agree on the assumptions of innovation theory on the changes in newspaper journalism in this era; however, against the predictions of theories of digital divide, the Nigerian journalists showed a greater wiliness and actual competence on the tested digital skills. What accounts for this is the observed difference in the journalists’ perception of the threat of the ongoing changes in their newsrooms.