Influence of Photojournalism on Environmental Advocacy Campaigns in South West Nigeria

Abstract

Environmental photojournalism is becoming a powerful medium for mobilization of environmental awareness and action. This study examines the extent to which environmental photojournalism contributes to affecting advocacy outcomes and grassroots action among respondents from six selected universities in South-West Nigeria. The study, using regression analysis on survey data obtained from 61 respondents, investigates how exposure, community engagement, campaign effectiveness, and reach influence the environmental advocacy and grassroots participation. Findings show that exposure to photojournalism campaigns (β = 0.535, p < 0.001) and community engagement (β = 0.440, p < 0.001) are strong predictors of environmental advocacy outcomes. Further, campaign effectiveness (β = 0.545, p < 0.001) and reach (β = 0.354, p < 0.001) were found to greatly influence grassroots environmental action. These results indicate that on the sentimental front, the win-win scenario for photojournalism campaign with maximum dissemination in the public domain for meaningful community participation favours pro-environmental behaviours. Thus, the combination of strong visual storytelling with effective outreach and active engagement is critical for any further action in environmental advocacy. Recommendations include strengthening the campaign content and media outreach, promoting community participation, using social networks, and building local photojournalists' capacity for sustainable environmental action.