Features
Study: 58% of journalists in select Nigerian newsrooms didn’t study journalism
Written By: Taiwo Adebulu
12 Aug 2025 09:07 AM
A new study has found that the majority of journalists in selected Nigerian newsrooms do not hold journalism or media-related degrees.
Findings from the research, conducted by Kemi Busari, Nigerian journalist and academic, were presented at the 2025 edition of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) National Conference in San Francisco, United States.
According to the study, 58 percent of journalists working in four Nigerian newsrooms surveyed did not study journalism or any media-related course. Of this group, 13 percent were science graduates from disciplines such as physiology, botany, and biochemistry.
Both of Busari’s manuscripts were adjudged top-referred papers. Top-referred papers in a conference presentation are the highest-scoring submissions based on peer reviewers’ evaluations.
The first paper, titled “Beyond the Degree: Examining Hiring Criteria and the Role of Journalism Education in the Recruitment of Journalists in Nigerian Newsrooms”, explored the qualities that newsrooms and editors look for when hiring new journalists.
Analysis of interviews and reporter job advertisements reveals six “ultimate criteria” considered in the recruitment process to include passion, adherence to ethics, writing ability, among others. These criteria remain regardless of the newsroom culture and personal preferences of the recruiters.
There are other “adaptable criteria” that are subject to changes depending on the peculiarity of the newsroom and the recruiting editor. They include critical thinking, age, experience, and others.
The paper also reached a verdict about the importance of journalism degree in the recruitment process as well as the socialisation models employed by newsrooms for new journalists.
The paper won the top paper prize in the Scholastic Journalism Division of AEJMC. The award certificate and cash prize was presented in a separate event on Saturday, August 9.
The second presentation, also a top-referred paper, was titled, “The Paradox of Journalism Degree: Exploring the Motivations and Job Perceptions of Journalists Without Formal Journalism Education.”
Presented on Saturday, August 9, the study used demographic surveys and interviews to uncover the experiences of journalists who didn’t study journalism.
The survey data shows that such journalists constitute 58% of the workforce in the four newsrooms selected for the study. The remaining 42% studied journalism or media-related courses.
Interestingly, 13% of the 58% studied pure science courses like physiology, Botany, and biochemistry.
The study finds that journalists who didn’t study journalism end up in the newsroom mostly unintentionally.
Busari noted the novelty of his research, adding that the study on journalists without journalism degrees is the first of its kind in the journalism education literature.
TheCable
Findings from the research, conducted by Kemi Busari, Nigerian journalist and academic, were presented at the 2025 edition of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) National Conference in San Francisco, United States.
According to the study, 58 percent of journalists working in four Nigerian newsrooms surveyed did not study journalism or any media-related course. Of this group, 13 percent were science graduates from disciplines such as physiology, botany, and biochemistry.
Both of Busari’s manuscripts were adjudged top-referred papers. Top-referred papers in a conference presentation are the highest-scoring submissions based on peer reviewers’ evaluations.
The first paper, titled “Beyond the Degree: Examining Hiring Criteria and the Role of Journalism Education in the Recruitment of Journalists in Nigerian Newsrooms”, explored the qualities that newsrooms and editors look for when hiring new journalists.
Analysis of interviews and reporter job advertisements reveals six “ultimate criteria” considered in the recruitment process to include passion, adherence to ethics, writing ability, among others. These criteria remain regardless of the newsroom culture and personal preferences of the recruiters.
There are other “adaptable criteria” that are subject to changes depending on the peculiarity of the newsroom and the recruiting editor. They include critical thinking, age, experience, and others.
The paper also reached a verdict about the importance of journalism degree in the recruitment process as well as the socialisation models employed by newsrooms for new journalists.
The paper won the top paper prize in the Scholastic Journalism Division of AEJMC. The award certificate and cash prize was presented in a separate event on Saturday, August 9.
The second presentation, also a top-referred paper, was titled, “The Paradox of Journalism Degree: Exploring the Motivations and Job Perceptions of Journalists Without Formal Journalism Education.”
Presented on Saturday, August 9, the study used demographic surveys and interviews to uncover the experiences of journalists who didn’t study journalism.
The survey data shows that such journalists constitute 58% of the workforce in the four newsrooms selected for the study. The remaining 42% studied journalism or media-related courses.
Interestingly, 13% of the 58% studied pure science courses like physiology, Botany, and biochemistry.
The study finds that journalists who didn’t study journalism end up in the newsroom mostly unintentionally.
Busari noted the novelty of his research, adding that the study on journalists without journalism degrees is the first of its kind in the journalism education literature.
TheCable
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