Newspapers which are expected to report within the limits of media ethics while informing and educating the
public about electoral processes have been notorious for publishing untruth, half truth and distorted stories when
covering electoral process in Nigeria. Thus, more often than not, news events which newspapers project do not
agree with the public perception of the actual news events. This provoked the study of public perception of
newspaper adherence to ethical principles in the reportage of electoral processes in south east Nigeria. The study
was anchored on selectivity theory which argues that previous experiences and current disposition go a long
way to determine how readers decode newspaper messages. The research adopted survey method of scientific
enquiry, using a 15 - item questionnaire and interviews to elicit information from respondents. The study was
guided by 5 research questions and 3 hypotheses. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted. The findings
indicated that the public showed concern about newspaper adherence to ethical principles