ABSTRACT
Academic writings are replete with
studies on news imbalance. So much have been said about news imbalance in the
international scenes.
However, by writing this project,
the researcher intends to look beyond the imbalance to the root cause.
It is hoped that the information
contained in this project will go a longway to correct the persistent problem
of urban – rural news imbalance in Nigerian newspaper.
Consequently, chapter one introduce
this study as well as the theoretical frame work on which the study is based.
In chapter two, the researcher gives
an in-depth review of the works and studies done by the urban – rural
imbalance.
Chapter three simply states the
method of study used to conduct t he study.
Chapter four and five presented and
analysed the data. Besides, the researcher drew some conclusions from the data
presented and make appropriate recommendation.
TABLE
OF CONTENT
COVER
PAGE
I
TITLE
PAGE
II
APPROVAL
PAGE
III
DEDICATION
IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
V
ABSTRACT
VI
TABLE OF
CONTENT
VII
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1
1.1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
1
1.2
STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM 8
1.3
OBJECTIVES OF THE
STUDY
9
1.4
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
STUDY
10
1.5
THEORETICAL FRAME
WORK
11
1.6
RESEARCH
QUESTION
13
1.7
RESEARCH
HYPOTHESIS
14
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE
REVIEW
15
2.1
GATE KEEPING
STUDIES
15
2.2
STUDIES ON RURAL -
REPRESENTATION IN NEWSPAPERS
20
2.3
STUDIES SHOWING IMBALANCE WITHIN –
A
COUNTRY.
21
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
28
3.1
RESEARCH
METHOD
28
3.2
RESEARCH
DESIGN
28
3.3
SAMPLING
TECHNIQUES
30
3.4
SAMPLE
SIZE
31
3.5
MEASURING
INSTRUMENT
33
3.6
DATA
COLLECTION
34
3.7
DATA
ANALYSIS
34
3.8
EXPECTED
RESULTS.
36
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1
DATA ANALYSIS AND
RESULT
37
4.2
DATA
ANALYSIS
37
4.3
RESULTS
48
4.4
DISCUSSIONS
54
CHAPTER
FIVE
SUMMARY AND
RECOMMENDATION
58
REFERENCES OR
BIBLIOGRAPHY
62
APPENDIX
67
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:
“Two powers which make modern
society different from the previous one are the power of industrial technology
and mass media of communication, of which the newspaper is a part . when Dexter
(1964) made this statement, little did he know that the mass media of
communication will create some problems for modern society.
However, this news and information
from the mass media has never flowed in a balanced way. It has always
been lopsided – this imbalance in information flow has been one pertinent issue
both in international and national communication in the global scale, the
information imbalance has reached the stage, according to Nwosu (1986) when “a
demand for adrastic change I the present pattern of information flow between
and among nations should gather momentum.
The third world nations are
complaining that “not only is every little said about them but also that every
little said about them but unfavourable’. (Masmond,1979). Such information
about the third world is usually about disaster, crime, coup detect tribal war.
Etc.
This unequally distributed and badly
used information /news made some see the reason to demand for the new world
information and communication order (NWICO).
Sofar, so much effort and resources
are being spent in the call for NWICO. The demand of the third world of which
Nigeria is a part, for a balanced flow of information, is perhaps best
delineated and forcefully argued in the so-called NWICO (mgbemena & Onwura,
1980).
Moreover, the western nations go to
any length to defend their nations. Stephenson (1990), for instance, argued
that “the attention given to disruptive news in the third world is
characteristic of all, media system, particularly those of the third world it
self.
In re – affirming what Stephenson
said, meil (1990) says that if western journalism is quality of bias, sop is
journalism all over the world. He said apply that “certainly much global
coverage can be said to contain basis –but all reporting can be so indicated”.
However, are the allegations of the
western nations right? It is a fact that Nigeria is an outspoken nation among
the third world nations demanding or this new balance and free flow of
information between two parties.
The result of some researchers and
expressed opinions did not exonerate Nigeria from the imbalance flow of
information, which it accuses the western media of.
After all, imbalance flow of
information has the same ill consequences, whether it is at international or
inter – national levels. Imbalance within a nation is equally unacceptable as
imbalance between nations (Agba,1997) one may ask, what is the situation of
Nigerian journalism? Is it guilty of imbalance flow of information among and
between different sectors of the country.
1.2 THE ROLE OF
NEWSPAPERS IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT
The print media of which newspapers
is an outstanding parti-plays an important role in rural development. According
to general system theory, which has an important influence on system level
analysis of mass media effect, “social system’s usually change their structures
to higher level of complexity (development) (cawallader, 1968). This process of
elaboration according to general system theory “is a result of information
exchange element of social systems” (DEUTCHE,1968).
Besides scramn (1972) described
newspapers as a channel for informing, motivating, persuading, instructing and
providing a means of a collective participation in development. Lasswell(12972)
has identified it’s other basic functions to include the surveillance of the environment,
correlating parts of the environment and the transmitting cultural breakage.
“rural development, according to Okorie (1986) is predicted upon understanding
the rural people, rural environment, and interaction of rural system brought
about by “change agencies” incidentally the newspaper is among the change
agencies.
It is obvious and beyond doubt that
newspaper doubt that newspapers are important to national development and
variably to rural development it all depends on the way the newspapers discharge
their functions.
Unfortunately, the situation in
Nigeria is not commendable. Although Nigeria is imbued with a passion for rapid
national development and has embraced the notion that the mass media must be
used and guided to promote national development, the newspaper (mass media) is
still found wanting in this regard.
Lerner posted that mass media
(newspapers) have a relationship with national development. He attached great
importance to newspapers in nation –building process. It has been said that media
development is “tied closely with a country’s development” (schramn,
1964).
However, our situation in Nigeria is
pathetic. Our information officers, including newspapers managers, editor and
reporters have not done well enough is sensitizing the people toward rural
development, which constitute the center for national development programmes. A
traditional view is that the resolution of social problems in rural areas is
related to inputs of information. If a system sufficiently saturated with
information. According to this view, “a general understanding will invariably
lead to development of the system (Rogers, 1975).
With respect to Nigeria suleiman
(1983) has noted that reading the Nigerian newspaper one will almost get the
impression that outside the various states capitals and some local governments
headquarters (urban areas) there are no more human habitations in the country”
.
This is because the tendencies of
the expense of the newspapers have always been to report the urban areas at the
expense of the rural areas. This tendency has not helped to foster
rural/national development in any way, because according to the population
census figure of 1979 over 70 percent of Nigerians are rural dwellers. Oton
(1978) observed that everywhere in the rural areas, development programme are
going on that are never chronicled.
It is also alleged that Nigerian
reporters, being urban-based tend to perceive the news different from the rural
areas to urban cities. Often times news reports about rural areas to urban
cities. Often times news reports about rural areas seem to concentrate on
disasters, failures, disputes and the negative features. All of these are
antithesis to rural and national development. The urban centrality of news has
gotten to the stage when one has no choice but agree with Omu (1981) who pitied
the realities for doing so much and getting so little from the Nigerian mass
media (newspapers).
It is bad enough that the rural area
seldom gets mentioned in the newspaper, but worst Dave (1970) said “people in
the rural area are neither little nor invisible and are doing newsworthy things
besides committing crimes.
It is as if the Nigerian
reporters/editors forget that the content of communication of any given time
reflects the value pattern of society (schramn, 1964). By removing almost in
entirety rural news room the newspapers, it is as if the newsmen are telling
the public that the rural areas are not important in national development.
1.3 STATEMENT OF
THE RESEARCH PROBLEM
In the international scene various
reason have been proffered by the third world nations for their unyielding
demand for a balanced information flow between them and the western nations.
Firstly, the third world nations have realised the importance of information.
Secondly, they have observed that the under reporting of the developing
nations, distorts the image that others have about them.
However, according to Agba (1997:
pg) the third world nations including Nigeria must show sincerity in their
agitation for news balance by balancing news flow between urban and rural
communities in their individual nation:
Ironically, inspite of their
unyielding demand for balanced flow of news, no noticeable change have been
observed in their national urban rural news imbalance. This is traceable to the
failure of Nigerian newsmen and communication policy makers to integrate the
rural populace through banked information flow. This study intends to find out
the extent of the coverage of rural areas vis-à-vis the urban areas.
Besides, there is an apprehension
that dwindling government ownership of newspaper in Nigeria poses a threat to
the integration of the rural populace in the news content of newspapers. This
encourages the super imposition of the urban populace.
Furthermore, the responsibility of
Nigerian newsmen in this news imbalance is one problem that this study intends
to sole.
1.4
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
Communication is an indispensable
tool for motivating and mobilizing the human resources needed for national
constructively and instrumentally (Agba,1997).
This study also intends to review
the reports about the rural areas to ascertain whether they are positive or
negative. Another purpose of this study is to find out the causes of the
prevailing news imbalance and see whether newsmen are to blame.
1.5
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY:
This study is important to our
present day Nigerian society where 80 percent of the total populations are in
the rural areas. Schramn (1975) once said, “the content of communication at any
given time reflects the value pattern of society”. It is hoped that this
study will proffer some useful suggestions on how to include the majority of
Nigerians in the newspaper rather than just a few elites. Besides, for our
demand for NWICO to be met and to benefit the majority, there is need for this
imbalance between urban and rural areas to be dismantled.
This study will help develop a new
national information and communication order for Nigeria. This seems to be the
first step in the right direction, if NWICO must be realized. Further, the
information contained in this research will provide handy reference materials
for all communication policy – makers.
1.6
THEORITICAL FRAME WORK:
The theoretical frame work that best
explains the urban rural news imbalance in a explains the urban rural news
imbalance in a given society like Nigeria is the agenda-setting theory. It was
the late lewin who applied the term “gatekeeper” to a phenomenon, which is of
considerable importance to students of mass communication. Lewin pointed out
that the traveling of a news item through certain communication channels was
dependent on the fact that certain areas within the channels functioned as
“gates” carrying the analogy further, Lewin (1947) said that “gate sections are
government either by impartial rules or by gate keepers”, and in the vater case
an individual or group is in power for making the decision between “in” and
“out”. Little wonder Larson (1986) argues that “the public agenda is powerfully
shaped and directed by what the news media choose to publicize. True
concept of agenda-setting is defined as “ the ability of the media to effect
cognitive changes among individual, to structure thinking, to mentally order
and organise the world” (Ramprasad, 1983).
The implications is that news men
through the gate keeping process may decide to report a rural event instead of
an urban event or vice-versa. Furthermore, part of the organising principle for
this study is essentially derived from Gattug’s “structural theory of
imperialism” and more particularly from aspects of his model that touch upon
communication structure and its differential news flow consequences.
Essentially, Gatting’s theory posits
a structured division of the world (Nations) into ‘centre’ and ‘periphery’ that
relate to each other in a clominance dependency exchanged relationship.
According to Galtung (1965) this structural division is accompanied with an
reinforced by feudal network of communication dominated at the centre. These
feudal communication network are characterized by high degrees of interaction
and flour between ‘centre’ and lesser degrees of interaction and flow between
‘centres’ and periphery of Gattung identifies some defining parameters
that distinguished a center from periphery. Centre and periphery holding. For
example, centre trend invariably to be at the higher end of the technical
economic development. The ‘periphery on the other hand tend to be at the lower
end of the development scale.
In news communication flows Gattung
sees distinct pattern emerging from the structured division.
- A preponderance of centre-news events in the press systems.
- The discrepancy in centre-periphery news exchange ratios invariably will be negative, that is centre news will always take up a much larger proportion of news content in the news media.
1.7
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Following the studies to be reviewed
four research questions were formulated to guide the study.
- Are Nigerian newspapers dominated by urban or rural news items?
- Do Nigerian newspapers cover negatively the rural areas than they do the urban cities?
- Are news men entirely dependent on their own personal criteria of news selection/rejection or not?
- How are top news stories chosen, who and what constitute the guide of newsmen?
1.8
RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS:
In this study, hypothesis were
formulated to test the reliability of our assumption hence, the researcher have
the following hypothesis that will help achieve accurate result.
- Nigerian newspapers mostly are dominated by urban news items.
- Rural areas are being covered negatively than urban cities.
- Whether the news will be carried on or not depends on the news men (chief editors)
- Code of conduct help to guide the newsmen, also chief editor controls their works too.
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