Government Media Ownership And Implications For Media Credibility

The issues of media ownership and control can never be overemphasized due to the dwindling situations surrounding media practice in Nigeria. The media is said to take the coloration of where the practice is being carried out i.e the way the media operates in Nigeria cannot be the same as the way it will function in other countries such as Soviet Union, United States, Britain etc. The study is aimed at reviewing the government media ownership and implications for media credibility linking it to the Marxist and Pluralist theory. The study revealed among other things that although Nigerian private media flourishes but their continuity depends on not overstepping or overriding on the government power. Individual own the media while government policies influences its operation. The study recommends that both private and government media should be allowed to practice freely without any internal or external forces. The media should not allowed to the hands of the rich at the expense of the poor.

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

Mass media are very important tools of communication, through which information is passed to even the farthest end of the society. They enable us to communicate with each other by helping us to overcome the barriers of time and space. They perform both primary and secondary functions for the society.

The media of mass communication are divided into the electronic (broadcast) and print media. The print media involves mainly magazine and newspaper; they are informers which provide retrievable, researched, in-depth and interpretative news stories of events.

The broadcast media comprise of the radio and television, it has not been as enterprising as it should be. This is due to the majority ownership and control of the broadcast media by the government.

Concisely put, broadcast is a society wide type of message dissemination, which involves the transmission of ideas, words, sounds, pictures and values in the form of signals through the airwaves to a target audience. Broadcasting is an activity of a branch of the media of mass communication called the electronic media that use transmitters and airwaves in the transmission of news and information to their heterogeneous audience.

Ownership is a critical factor for the content of any medium. This implies that there is a connection between ownership and the content and nature of a medium. The nature of ownership itself is determined by the character of the owner, his interests and the vision he has for the medium. Character here indicates whether ownership is private or public, private oriented or non-profit oriented. Interest refers to the economic (business) concerns and political persuasion of the owner. And vision here, means the idea of the owner about what a medium should be or do and his understanding of the practices and goals of journalism.

All these go a long way to determine the interest of the medium and its coverage of certain issues. McQuail (2000) contends that the belief that ownership ultimately determines the nature of media is not just a Marxist theory but virtually a common sense axiom summed up in Alttschull‟s (1984) "Second law of journalism: the contents of the media always reflects in interests of those who finance them.

The disposition of an owner is to his interests and vision for the medium would also, to an extent determine his view of the theory of social responsibility which sees "media ownership as a form of public trust or stewardship, rather than as an unlimited private franchise" McQuail (2000).

According to Uche, (2009,p.56). The owners of the media in Nigeria are not only major capitalists in their own right but are also closely linked to the ruling circles around the globe. Further more, result Indicates that the current media ownership pattern in Nigeria negatively affects the ability of the media to perform without hindrance. This is exemplified by the situation where media practitioners working in both private and public media organizations make sure that their reports are not perceived as "unfavorable" by the government of the day.

The reality is that public media which are financed with public funds and controlled by public officials do not criticize government actions or inactions because of fear of sanctions (Uche, 2009). Many media executives in the public media have been known to lose their jobs because they disagreed with government officials. Some private media outfits established by associates of public officials indirectly influence the running of private media out fits.

"He who pays the piper calls the tune"" is a common statement in the media. Ownership has continued to play an influential role in the editorial policies of media organisations. It is so bad in some media organisations that the ethics of journalism are exchanged with the opinions and decisions of the proprietors of the organisation. Dare (2000) while writing on the influence of ownership on mass media content said, " there is no doubt that owners in market based media have ultimate power over content and can ask for what they want to be included or left." This is against the ethics of journalism. The influence of media ownership is felt more by government owned media organisations especially in Africa. In countries like the United States of America and Britain, there are laws meant to check the excesses of owners. In Britain, there is limited (if any) influence on the content produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation by government.

According to McQuail (2007), Meyer"s survey evidence confirmed that US journalistic ethics frowned on owner intervention, although editors reported a fair autonomy in practice." Contrary to this survey, Schultz"s study of Australian journalists showed strong support for the fourth estate role but also a recognition that it was often compromised by commercial consideration and owner pressure. According to a report compiled by Media Development and Diversity Agency in South Africa, control of any media company can be divided into three: Shareholdings and equity, general management and editorial control.

Government ownership implies that the medium is completely financed by the government e.g. Cross River broadcasting corporations (CRBC), Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS), Radio Nigeria, etc. In government ownership, the government not only finances the media house, but also lay down policies for the media and helps in implementing them. The government previews the news content and news programmes to see if they agree with their policies and what they (the government) want. Also, any news that the government does not want to be made known to the public and is in the news content, the government will erase out of the news content.

Also, the government further controls the media by their decision to invest or not to invest. The government‟s interest will be reflected in their appointment of competent staff.

There is a common saying with regards to mass media control in Nigeria and elsewhere which has become a cliché that "he who pays the piper dictates the tune." This means that owners of mass media organize, channel, and control what the media broadcast and how they broadcast it.

It is obviously true that mass media owners exert a threatening control over the press, whether the mass media is managed by a board of director‟s appointment, by private owner, or by public corporation established by the government. The media have policies set down by the board. The short term and long term operations.

Because of this influences the ownership, the media has become a mere vociferous tool, propaganda and as well as indispensible instrument used by the government to make or mark their relationship with the masses.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Whatever the practice of CRBC the influence of leadership and control on gate-keeping are still present and if it is not handled well, it may greatly impair the success of any program, so this is what the researcher is aimed at finding.

Right programming decision can lead to success for the radio station. In ownership, government exercise total control of the medium or media information. It has the right to appoint the chairman, the editors and members of the board of directors of the body.

In Nigeria, most news covering are determined by the owners and gatekeepers of the organization. These owners are those in the helm of affairs of the government, and like the ruling government, the gate keepers take orders from owners, Uche, (2009). Their rank and file includes the management of radio stations and the various news editors and news and program producers. The philosophy of any media operation in Nigeria depends on the government in place. The problem in this study is examine the impact of leadership decision on radio news coverage.

Since CRBC is one of the state governments owned broadcasting media stations, it could be involved in state government propaganda machinery like others.

This researcher has been monitoring the quality of news and programmes coming out on CRBC and is disturbed by the level of sycophantic (praise singing) on the government that negates objective reporting. It is on this note therefore that this researcher is set out to know whether such non-objective reporting is as a result of government o the journalist or if there are other factors responsible on such unethical reportage.

Government did not own and exert control of broadcast media for its sake but for a definite purpose of using it as a medium or tool of telling its own story the way it suits them.

Most state owned media organizations are hand locked with credibility and objective questions for the way they have handled information dissemination for the government at the expense of the opposition and indeed the people. For this reason, media audience is today known to take state owned media messages with a pinch of salt. And because CRBC is a culprit in this issue, the researcher has chosen it for her study.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The main objective of this study is examine the government media ownership and implications for media credibility; A study of cross river broadcasting corporations (CRBC). Based on this seemingly observation, the objective of this study includes:

To find out how objective the CRBC discharges its duty in the light of government ownership and control.

To determine whether CRBC is involved in sycophantic reporting.

To find out how government influence on the station affect people‟s patronage.

To determine the pattern of recruitment of journalist into the organization.

1.4 Research Questions

A number of questions have been raised and answers to such questions definitely shall provide solution to the problem of government misuse of CRBC. The belief of the researcher is that the following research questions will provide focus and direct her attention to major issues in the identified problems and they are:

To what level has government ownership and control influence affected objective reporting on CRBC?

How does CRBC practice sycophantic reporting?

How true is it that government influence on the station affect people‟s patronage?

To what extent does journalist‟s recruitment into the CRBC station comply with the standard principles?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

From the above mentioned research questions, some hypotheses shall be tested in this study. They are as follows:

H1: Government ownership and control influence affects credibility of reporting on CRBC.

H0: Government ownership and control influence do not affect credibility of reporting on CRBC.

1.6 Significance of the Study

The benefits of this study are numerous. The government media ownership and implications for media credibility demands serious empirical investigation because of its significance as follows:

The study result will confirm whether state government use CRBC as propaganda machinery.

The study will expose the level of government involvement in the management and staff recruitment in the station.

The study will expose the level of sycophantic practice in the government owned broadcast station.

The result of the study serves as reference material for further studies in management, government and mass communication.

Both government and management of CRBC will find the study useful in many aspects..

1.7 Scope of the Study

The study will analyze the government media ownership and implications for media credibility a case study of cross river broadcasting corporations (CRBC).

1.8 Limitation of the Study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. However, the researcher were able to manage these just to ensure the success of this study.

1.9 Operational Definition of Terms

Influence:

Means the effect of the government"s ownership or leadership on CRBC news coverage Calabar.

Media:

The media are tools of communication CRBC as a mass medium tries see how functions, whether it performs all the functions of a medium without intrusion of bias because of its owners or leaders.

Ownership:

Ownership means the legal right to possess something.

It is the ownership of a media house especially the ownership of the CRBC station Calabar that manipulates the performance, news coverage and other programs of CRBC.

News Coverage:

This means sourcing for data, information (news) being covered. Also, to find out if the news covered is people"s oriented or government interest oriented.

1.10 Organization of the Study

This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows.

Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study.

Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature.

Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study.

Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.

Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study.

• Use Of State Broadcast Media As Propaganda Machinery By State Government
• Impacts Of Governments Ownership On Media Objectivity
• Influence Of The Mass Media On Government Policies
• Roles Of The Media In Influencing Enugu State Government Policies During Governor Chimes Government
• Effect Of The Use Of Multimedia In The Teaching Of Government In Secondary School
• Social Media As Tool For Enhancing Information Sharing And Public Participation In Government
• Problems And Prospects Of Government Owned Broadcasting Media In Nigeria

• Mass Communication Project Topics and Materials