Professional Development of Video Journalism Standards for Online-Native Nigerian News Organisations

Online-native news organisations have proliferated across Nigeria, and video journalism has emerged as a critical content format for digital audience engagement, yet professional standards for video journalism in these organisations are largely undefined and inconsistently applied. This study developed professional video journalism standards appropriate for online-native Nigerian news organisations. A standards development methodology was employed, combining structured interviews with 18 video journalists and editorial directors from twelve online-native Nigerian news organisations including Stears Business, The Cable, HumAngle, and Premium Times, with a quality review of 90 video journalism pieces produced by these organisations in 2022 and 2023. Quality dimensions assessed included technical production standards, narrative structure, source ethics, visual ethics, accessibility provisions, and audience engagement metrics. Interview data revealed that only three of twelve organisations had documented production standards for video journalism. Training in video journalism was provided formally by only four organisations. Ethical guidelines for filming vulnerable subjects, a critical issue for conflict and poverty coverage, were absent from ten of twelve organisations. The developed standards framework covers eight professional dimensions including technical quality minimums, editorial narrative requirements, on-camera ethics, copyright compliance, caption accessibility, and SEO optimisation for video content. Expert validation by fifteen video journalism educators and practitioners confirmed the framework's practical relevance. The study recommends the Nigerian Guild of Editors adopt these standards and develop an accreditation pathway for online-native video journalism operations.

Keywords: video journalism standards, online news, digital journalism, Nigerian media, professional standards