CHAPTER
ONE
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Communication is the transmission of a
message from a source to a receiver (Baran, 2009). Communication is the engine
room that sustains the existence of the human society. Communication is also
the motor and expression of civilization and human activity. This view of
communication has been identified with the writing of Political Scientist
Harold Lasswell (1948). He said that the convenient way to describe
communication is to answer these questions: who says what, through what
Channel, to whom and with what effect?
Expressed in terms of the basic
elements of the communication process, Communication occurs when a source sends
a message, through a medium, to a receiver, producing some effect. Schramm
(1954). Communication integrates knowledge, organization, and power and runs a
thread linking the earliest memory of man to his noblest aspirations through
constant strife for better life. As
the world advanced, the task of communication has even become more complex and
subtle contribute to the liberation of humankind from want, oppression, fear,
and to unite mankind in community and communion, solidarity and understanding.
However, unless some structural changes are introduced, the potential benefits
of technological and communication development will hardly be at the disposal
of the majority of humanity.
During the colonial period in sub Saharan
Africa, the Western media were largely responsible for the dissemination of
information to the world. From the 16th century to the 19th
century, colonial administrators, missionaries and merchants were largely
responsible for disseminating ideas about the third world countries, today this
dissemination is carried out by various forms of print and electronic media:
Newspapers, Magazines, Television, Radio and the Internet (Biney, 1996:6)
Some Africans scholars for negative
reporting on Africa have criticized the Western media. They were accused of
propaganda, which was aimed at justifying the actions of western powers while
trying to paint African in a bad light. However, Western media journalist
attending the International Press Institute World Congress defended their
positions, arguing that they have been misunderstood. Sections of the Western
media are exacerbating such tensions through careless or one-sided coverage, or
more dangerously, Western coverage of Africa suffers from lack of objectivity.
The Western media frame Africa as a continent of corruption, hunger, diseases,
insecurity, rape, ethnic clashes etc.
Africa, which is always
under-presented by the Western media, is referred to as a developing continent,
lacks communication equipment and the technology to compete with the Western
media. The main reason for this state of affairs is that the funding of the
media is poor in the continent because of the economic status of the continent.
An explanation of Africa’s poor economy lies in the role played by colonialism
in turning most of her economies into mono-cultural economies to be dependent
on the West. The consequences of this is that African media outfits don’t have
the financial strength to give qualitative news about Africa to the world and to
compete with the Western media.
1.2 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Technological advancement in
communication technologies has continued to eulogize television as a powerful
medium of mass communication. Interestingly, television programme span around
the circuits of human endeavour including politics, culture and education.
Udeajah
(2004, p.7) affirm this when he notes that:
We all know in truth broadcasting
has become an indispensable form for the practice of politics and governance in
all modern nation states. The reasons are quite simple. No other medium can
deliver as large and instantaneous an audience to the politicians or government
as broadcasting can. It is also the belief all over the world that broadcasting
is an eminently persuasive medium;
omnipresent in people’s homes, working places even in transit. It is akin to a second skin
through which most people stay in touch with their immediate environment and
the world at large.
It is therefore in recognition of this
that the federal government in 1992 deregulates the broadcasting industry. What
hitherto was the exclusive of the government become open for all Nigerians;
this marked a turning point in the history of television broadcasting in
Nigeria.
The first television station in Nigeria
was (WNTV) in 1959, this was followed by the
Eastern
Nigerian Broadcasting Service in 1960 and the Broadcasting Corporation of
Northern Nigeria (BCNN) and then to the era of deregulation.
Supposedly,
private television stations emerged. They includes: African Independent
Television
(AIT), MINAJSystem Station Obosi, Silver bird Communications, Unity TV
Communication, Chrone TV Choffaan Communication etc. Commending the federal
government DecreeN0. 38 of 1992 on the deregulation broadcasting sector, Okenwa
(2000, p.53) stated thus:
The year 1992 marked a critical
turning point in the development ofthe broadcast media Nigeria. It came with
policies that were to revolutionalize the media industry through allowing
private participation in ownership of the electronic media.
The deregulation of broadcasting in
Nigeria widened the scope of programming, performance scheduling as well as
scope of competition in the sector. Both old and new television stations began
to compete with each other so as to remain in the business and make profit.
Duru
and Okafor (2003, p.136) supported this statement thus:
The advertiser perceives the
broadcast deregulation, because the resultant effects of their advert messages
in audience are encouraging. Similarly, research shows that privatization has
resulted in more job, mobility, creativity challenge and healthy competition,
which make for the exploitation of hidden creative talents.
Indeed, private participation in the
ownership and operation of television stations increased qualitative
competition. This has resulted in the packaging of quality programmes for
audience viewership. Such competition has arguably spurred government
television stations out of their seeming compliancy. They have now risen up to
the occasion in order to sustain themselves in businesses in line with the
capitalist orientation of our economy.
It is surprising therefore that station
like Plateau Radio Television Corporation (PRTVC).
Enugu
State Broadcasting Service (ESBS) and other government owned television
stations have continued to package local and foreign programmes for the
viewership of the target audience.
Interestingly too, most of these foreign
television programmes are specifically packaged and transmitted for the
viewership of Nigerian students. This implies that there is something about
education which such foreign television programmes intend to impact on the
psyche of the Nigerian student, it is assumed there must be a corollary between
such foreign programmes and the social behaviours of the students.
These foreign television programmes are
specifically aired to impact some measures of social tenets on the behaviours
of the students. They are not transmitted for the purpose of transmission but
to influence the social behaviour of these students. The problem therefore, is
whether students actually expose themselves to the viewership of such
programmes and if they do, is the exposure minimal or maximal and to what
extent such foreign television programs impact on their social behaviours.
PART ONE
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