Audience Perception of the Media, Corruption and Accountability of Public Officials in Imo State Nigeria

International audience This study investigated the role of the media in ensuring the accountability of public officials in Imo State from the audience's perspective. The media dependency theory served as the theoretical foundation of this study and the survey method was employed as the research design. The population of this study comprised 5,408,756 residents in Imo State. Using the online sample size calculator, 384 was derived as the sample. The multistage sampling technique was adopted and the questionnaire was used as an instrument for data collection. The findings showed that respondents had the perception that the extent the media is holding public officials accountable is low. Also, it wasrevealed that the respondents are of the view that the media do not play enough role in promoting accountability of public officials in respect of corruption as it claimed. It was concluded that the respondents perceived that the extent the media holds public officials accountable in terms of corruption is low; as such they perceived that the media role in holding public officials accountable is not enough despite the efforts by the media to hold them accountable especially as it has to do with corruption. By implication, they felt that corruption will go unabated if the media is not intensifying effort in holding these public officials at all times accountable.' The researchers recommended that the media should intensify its efforts or the extent of its reportage to ensure that the public officials render accounts of their stewardship to the masses. The media needs to step up its role of holding public officials accountable in terms of corruption through its investigations and reports so as to change the perception of the people and make them believe that the media can be trusted in holding public officials accountable.