A central theme in the history of the Nigeria press is its political orientation. This is understandable, although it has led to the neglect of other aspects of the history and contemporary structure of the Nigerian press. This paper explores one of the crucial yet neglected aspects of this history, i.e. the origin of the process of commercialization of the press and its implications for journalism practice. It argues that commercialization signalled the end of the so-called 'political' press which many commentators still refer to. It also led to some form of professional consciousness and the need for a professional organization among Nigerian journalists.
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