CONTINUATION OF LITERATURE REVIEW ON COMMERCIALIZATION AND PERFORMANCE OF THE BROADCASTING MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS

2.2.4 What is Commercial Broadcasting?

          Commercial broadcasting is the practice of broadcasting for profit. This is normally achieved by interrupting normal programming to air advertisements also commonly called “commercials” in this context. This is the dominant type of broadcasting in the United States and other countries such as most of Latin America. It is also common elsewhere, but usually exists alongside broadcasting organization where programming is largely funded by government or private donations. In an hour of broadcast time on a commercial broadcast outlet typically ten (10) to Twenty (20) minutes are devoted to advertising. Advertisers pay a certain amount of money to air their commercials usually based upon the popularity or ratings of a station Network.

          This effectively makes commercial broadcasters more answerable to advertisers than the public, which is a major criticism of commercial Radio and Television programming on commercial station is often more sensationalistic particularly during rating period such are swept aside from an abundance of advertising matter (commercial propaganda).

          Commercial content is likely to the more oriented to amusement and entertainment (escapism), more superficial undermining and conformist, more derivative and standardized (McGuail 200:106). In addition, it can be argued that commercial relationships in communication are intrinsically distancing and potentially exploitative. The commercial variant of a communicative relationship does not support the formation of ties of mutual attachment or lead to shared identity of community. This is against one of the principles of public service broadcasting which says that public service broadcasting should enhance national identity and community.

          Commercial broadcasting is often controversial for many reasons. Chief among them is lack of quality and risk in the programming much of time and a perceived failure to serve the local interest due to media consolidation. 

          Commercial radio in particular is often attacked for perceived homogeneity in programming, covert politicized censorship of content, and a desire to cut costs at the  expense of giving the station an identifiable personality, the financial viability of commercial broadcasting  as Golding and Murdock  91996:16) noted depends directly on advertising revenue, while more and more of the other sites where creative work is displayed such as museum, galleries and theatres, have been captured by corporate sponsors and  enlisted in their public relations campaigns (Schuler 1989:4).

          Commercial broadcasting assume  that audience are sovereign consumers and that the only workable index of quality is their pattern of choices, that is the degree of popularity of radio or television programmes, effective demand, the willgness of individuals to purchase a product is the criterion of its quality (Keane 1991: 121),  Murdock (1989:183) claims for instance that quality is in the eye of the beholder in the current debate ...the propagandist. This leads him to a cunningly unconventional market oriented definition of the public service Model. “Anybody who within the law of the land provides a service which the public wants at a price it can afford is providing a public service”.

2.2.5 The Concept of Commercialization and News Commercialization

          According to Mcquail (2005:550) commercialization is a process by which media structures and contents come to reflect the profit-seeking  goals of media industries and are too much governed by market considerations.

          Nnorom (194) cited in Ekwo (1996:68) defines news commercialization as “a phenomenon whereby the media report as news or news analysis, a commercial message by an unidentified or identified sponsor, giving the audience the impression that news is fair, objective, and socially responsible”.

2.2.6 Evolution of radio commercial

          As broadcasting operations became expensive, stations reached for ways to have their stations, turn profit. The phone company finally came up with a workable plan. AT and T began selling time on WEF, their flagship station in New York to anybody who wanted to broadcast a message.

          As cited in Dominick (2009:152), Baran (2004:383), the first radio ad, was broadcast on WEAF, in 1922 (the cost was 50$  for 10 minute spot). Also, in 1922, the queensboro reality company paid 300$ for five radio talk’s that enrolled “the benefits of living in the country”, preferably on a lot brought from queensboro reality. Other companies quickly recognized the advertising potentials of this new medium and bought time on WAF and other stations.

2.2.7 Commercialization of News in the Nigerian Media

          Omenugha and Orji (2008) quotes Ekwo  (1996), Ogbuoshi (2005) says that commercialization  of news can be traced back in Nigeria media houses, as the result of the structural  Adjustment programme (SAP) introduced in 1986, and government cutting down its subvention between 30-40% and its final withdrawal of subsidies  to its media houses.

          The media houses, faced with the increasing rise in production cost and the economies situation in the country resorted to some mean, which includes commercialization of news to generate income. This situation has led to a lot of compromise, with sensationalization of news stories, and half truths.

          According to Omenugha and Orji (2008:17), commercialization of news, thrives in Nigerian media, because most media houses, make their reporters to officially function as marketing officials in addition to main reportorial duties. For instance, those in charge of specialized pages or columns, who are made to source for adverts for supplements to support their’ pages, or the pages are dropped, on the grounds that the content is irrelevant. In broadcasting, producers are asked to scout for sponsors for their programmes with a promise of commission.

          News commercialization also thrives in Nigerian media because of the pattern of news reporting and the means of news gathering. Omenugha and Orji (2008:18) gives a survey carried out by the researchers in a school of journalism in Nigeria to find out the major means of news gathering by Nigerian journalist top on the survey list was events (60%) interview (22%), investigative news gathering recorded (60%0 while news breaks or exclusives were as low as (2% 0 this simply means that the Nigerian, journalists have become so self pro it minded that their news source depends on one events of the affluent in the society, who can pay for it to be packaged as news.

2.2.8  Some Reasons why Media Houses in Nigeria Commercialize

          It will be totally unfair to condemn the proponents of news commercialization content that:

1.              News commercialization helps to generate income for the media house for the welfare of staffs, operations of the organization and profit to survive in case of litigations.

2.              News commercialization-according to the supporters, is another form of taxation on the rich and influential members of the society, since those who often pay for the “services” are the well-to-do, influential and power holders in the society.

3.              There is a psychological effect on the individual journalists, when people in authority offer payments to them, for publicity or a particular favour. The journalist at this point, feels  his job is important as well as appreciated by those in authority.

4.              Considering the harsh economic situation, coupled with the high cost of production in Nigeria, the supporters of news commercialization believe it is a major tool for the media houses, not to feel the weight so much.

2.2.9  Some Ethical Implications of News Commercialization

          With the growing concern for news commercialization, which many believe negates the fundamental principle of fairness, equity and balance required in journalism practice many scholars below are some of the implications of news commercialization, as highlighted by Omenugha and Orji (2008:24-25).

1.     News commercialization makes the news susceptible to abuse by interest groups who can pay their way into the media to project an idea they want the public to accept,  whether positive or not.

2.     Investigative journalism is no longer a focus for most media organization, because of the zeal to quick and more money. This on the other hand has led to loss of variety in news. Some media organizations have lost the primary focus, turning to praise singing and propaganda, which has dangerous consequences on the society like Nigeria.

3.     Commercialization of news violates the ethics and conduct of journalist, which states, it is the duty of the journalist to refuse any reward for publishing or suppressing news or comment.

4.     News commercial can lead to the distortion of objectivity and balance in news, because the person or organization when pays for the news often dictates the content. The media no   their part, do not want to lose a client who pays well, and so do all within their reach to satisfy such customer. The customer in return may dictate how, and what he/she wants out of the news packaging of the media house. This can extend to dictating to the media house, what they should give out as news.

5.      Commercialization of news has made several Nigerians to drift form the local television and Radio stations, believing that news on these stations is not credible enough.