ABSTRACT
The issue of rural–urban information lopsidedness has over the years generated controversies in much development media gathering. The fact that development messages are being propagated with marginal benefits shows that they were not tailored to the intended beneficiaries and they failed to take cognizance of Nigeria’s diverse linguistic peculiarities. Consequently, the messages are either lost in transit through the channels or are misinterpreted by the receivers. This paper observes that, for messages to be effectively disseminated, they must be coded in the language of the community. The national or regional-based media are believed to concentrate on urban centres to the disadvantage of the rural communities. This paper therefore examines how Nigerian journalists practising in the indigenous language media deploy new information and communication technologies in their everyday practice. Moreover, it discovers the impact of these technologies on indigenous language media practice and how this could serve to accelerate or decelerate the development process. Finally, it observes that, though the use of new technologies impact on journalists’ work routines, the news content they produce, the structure of their work environment and their relationships with sources and readers, it nonetheless poses ethical and professional challenges.
