International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: The practice of journalism is changing due to new media tools that have created multi-media platforms for news production and distribution which demands new approaches from community journalists who have direct dealings with the rural populace.
Objectives: To investigate how community Journalists in Cross River State, Nigeria are adapting with emerging trends in journalism practice orchestrated by advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and new media.
Methods: Descriptive survey research design was adopted with a population of forty (40) community Journalists drawn from Chronicle and Federated Chapel of Nigerian Union of Journalists, Cross River State who have some communities as their news beats.
Results: Findings reveal that local Journalists do not pay much attention to news and events about rural communities. It also shows that community journalists frown at proliferation of online news as it negatively affects their revenue streams.
Conclusion: The study concluded that, the place of community journalism in the advent of Internet and its social media platforms is an edge to improve on rural news reporting with the availability of new media tools which have created multi-media news production and distribution techniques.
Unique contribution: This study provokes community journalists to accept, utilize and adopt technologically induced new media to boost their professional journalistic trade.
Key recommendation: Nigeria Union of Journalists and media organisations should organise trainings for community journalists to keep them abreast with current trends in in community journalism.