LITERATURE REVIEW ON IMPACT OF OWNERSHIP STRUCTURE ON RADIO: A STUDY OF RADIO RIVERS 99.1FM”.
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
This chapter focuses on the review of
relevant literature bordering on this research topic. The topic is bed rocked
on the impact of the ownership structure on the programmed content of Radio
Rivers FM. It should also review past works in the area of the research being
conducted.
2.1 Theoretical
Review
The
theories adopted in this work include:
2.2.1 Agenda-Setting Theory
The research hinges the agenda setting
theory of the media. Agenda setting theory of the mass media according was
first formalized by a prominent America journalist, Walter Lippman. According
to Childs and Reston (1959), the agenda setting theory simply states that the
mass media have “the ability to mentally order or organize the world for the
people”.
Proponents of the agenda-setting
theory are of the view that the media often present to the audience certain
basic socio-political and economic issues that dominate popular discussion and
debate even at interpersonal level at some period in their history.
Cohen (1963:13) drags home the
agenda-setting power of the media in the following statement”. “The press may
not be particularly successful in telling people what to think, but it is
stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about. Extending
this further Maxwell and Shaw (1976:176) state that “media emphasis on an event
influences the audience to see the event as important…media not only inform us,
but also influence us as to what is important to know” so one of the functions
of the mass media is to set agenda for the society.
Generally, people depend on the media
to get information on what is going on in their society and the world at large.
Whatever the mass media give coverage is considered as important. As a result,
everyday discussion is hinged on topics gleaned from the media. This is
referred to as conversational currency. Since the man in the street does not
have any other source of information, it therefore follows that his only window
to the world is the mass media.
2.2.2 Uses and Gratification Theory
This theory is also known as the
“functional theory”. Proponents of the theory are of the view that people do
not expose themselves to media messages for the sake of doing so, rather there
are certain ulterior motives which compel them to do so. As stated by Dominick
(1990), in its simplest form, the uses and gratification theory states that
audience members have certain need or drives that are satisfied by using both
media and non media resources. Those needs satisfied by the media are called
“gratifications”.
Rosengren et al, (1985), as cited in
Okunna (1999), argue that because of the uses and gratification people expect
from the mass media, they tend to selectively expose themselves to mass media contents,
choosing only those media messages (or channels for that matter), that would
serve the function of satisfying or gratifying their needs. A study by Compesi
(1980: 155), on why people watch a given television programmes showed that
people said they watch the programmes for entertainment as a habit for
continence, as a social utility for relevance or escape from problems, escape
from boredom, for reality exploration or advice.
Every person who exposes himself to
one form of the media or the other does so, in other to meet one need or the
other. According to Dominick (2002) communication experts have classified the
various uses and gratifications into four categories.
a. Cognition:
This simply means the process by which knowledge and understanding are developed
in the mind of an individual. It involves the ability to know something that
was not known previously.
b. Diversion:
Many audience members expose themselves to the conducts of the media in order
to divert their attention from the clogging problems of everyday life. The
division is used in two ways:
i.
Relaxation:
Many members of the audience expose themselves to the content of the mass media
in other to escape from pressure and problems of life.
ii.
Emotional
Release: Media contents contain people and heroes whose
activities, troubles and triumphs are identifiable with those of their
audiences. By exposing oneself to such media content, the individual
experiences emotional release identification.
c. Withdrawal:
People use the mass media to create a barrier between them and others.
d. Social
utility: Human being has been described as social animal. So every human have
that urge to communicate. The content of the mass media, creates an avenue for
discussion.
2.2.3 Social Categories Approach Theory
The people behind the social
categories approach are Schramn and Donald (1971:4). One of the most
distinguishing characterizes of the mass communication audience is that it is
heterogeneous-consisting of people from different social, cultural, education,
geographical and even gender background. The audience is also said to be mass.
Mass here does not imply that all the members think, behave or react the same
way. The media disseminates information in order to serve or suite various
categories of the audience. This could be in terms of language. The mass media
(a radio station) will most likely broadcast with more than one language. This
is in order to serve both the literate and the illiterate members of the
society. The mass media also interpret the messages to various members of the
society.
2.2.4 Brief
History of Radio in Nigeria
Radio broadcasting was introduced into
Nigeria in 1932. The establishment of radio-broadcasting in Nigeria was the
result of the determination of the British colonial authority to link the colonies
with the “mother country”. Such a link was expected to serve the dual purpose
of providing a powerful propaganda machinery for the British as well as
providing a source of information about Britain and the wider world (Obaro
Ikimi 1979:1). In the views of Kalu Nsi (1997:1) the scene was set in the
Second World War. The master had messages. The messages, mostly about the war,
had to be delivered clean and clear to the “subject”. Nigeria was a subject and
the master was Great Britain.
The need to disseminate war propaganda
and other information grew so much that the colonial secretary set up a
committee to “consider and recommend” what steps could be taken to accelerate
the provision of broadcasting services in
the colonies, co-ordinate such services with the work of the BBC and to make
them a more effective instrument for promoting both local and imperial
interests. It was this committee that recommended the introduction of radio
broadcasting into Nigeria and other British non-settler colonies.
The white “settler” colonies had
broadcasting services established to link them with Britain much earlier. The
committee envisaged that the programmes to be broadcast in the colonies would
consist of a mixture of selected BBC materials and local government programmes
(that is progammes emanating from the government of each colony) piped into
homes through “wired wireless”, Obaro Ikimi (1976:1). The wireless engineering
section of the post and telegraphs department (P&T) installed loud speaker
boxes at strategic locations and many homes within the Lagos area for the main
purpose of relaying the war messages to many people. Wireless monitors and
announcers (Staff of P&T) timed the radio is the BBC and relayed BBC
programmes to the listeners through cable lines into the loud speaker boxes.
The homes to which the loudspeaker boxes were installed were those that could
afford to pay the monthly rental of five shillings. The P & T department
called this system Radio Distribution Service (RDS)-a one-way telephone system
in which wires were run from the P&T wireless station to the points where
the boxes are fixed (Kalu Nsi 1976:1). With time, the post and telegraph
department were merged to form the nucleus of broadcasting in Nigeria.
In 1939, there were less than 1,000 subscribers.
By 1944 there were distribution stations in Lagos, Ibadan, Kaduna, Enugu,
Calabar and Port Harcourt. By 1949, the station had reached ten in number and
there were 4,56 licence radio sets Obaro Ikimi (1979:1). The station which
included those in Abeokuta, Kano, Jos, Zaria and Onitsha were referred to as
Provincial Broadcasting Station (BBS). The P&T supplied wireless monitors
and announcers to tune and relay the BBC programmes and to inform the listeners
through an installed microphone, what they were going to hear on the radio for
the day. The P & T also supplied the linesmen who made sure that the lines
were in good working condition. On the other hand, the Public Relations
Department supplied staff-broadcasting officers whose duty is to translate the
BBC English news into three main Nigerian languages (Yoruba, Hausa, Igbo) as
well as into Pidgin English.
The interest of Rediffusion started to
wane when people could purchase more radio set and tune into different world
stations and enjoy their favourite stations. War veterans had brought back
potable radio sets and affluent purchased some of them (Kalu Nsi 1979:4).
In April 1951, T. W. Chalmers was
appointed director of broadcasting in Nigeria. In 1957 the Nigerian
Broadcasting service was transformed into Nigerian Broadcasting Cooperation.
The motor of new cooperation was “uplift the people and unite the nation”. The
objectives of the cooperation were:
i.
To provide efficient broadcasting
services to the whole federation of Nigeria, based on national objectives and
aspiration; and to external audiences in accordance with Nigeria’s foreign
policy.
ii.
To provide a professional and
comprehensive coverage of Nigerian culture through broadcasting.
iii.
To contribute to the development of the
Nigerian society and to promote national unity by ensuring a balanced
representation of views from all part of Nigeria.
iv.
To ensure the prompt delivery of
accurate information and the people.
v.
To provide opportunities for the free
enlightened and responsible discussion of important issues and to provide a two
way contact between the public and those in authority.
Radio Rivers Fm
Radio Rivers FM also known as Radio
Rivers 2, is the first state-owned FM radio station in Rivers State and the
second FM radio station to bunch in Nigeria. It is run by Rivers State
broadcasting Cooperation (RSBC) and operates on 99.1 mega hertz. The station
first signed on the air on Saturday, May 2, 1981.
Radio Rivers FM had a broad range of
programming. This includes; news and information (particularly on the diverse
ethnic groups of Rivers State who don’t receive wider coverage on other
stations), local sport, music, art and culture and public announcement. It is
the only major radio station existing that is devoted to promoting Rivers
people and their local vernacular languages.
Function of Radio Broadcast
To really show the importance of the
mass media in the society it may be necessary to examine the following
statement by a one time Democratic President Thomas Oeeferron. Radio broadcast
function are classified into manifest and latent. The manifest functions of the
mass media are those functions which are obvious, and which the society is
conversant with. Several scholars have identified a number of manifest and
latent roles of the radio broadcast. The purpose of this section is to examine
the functions of the mass media.
The functions of the mass media in
this work will be discussed under the following broad headings:
i.
News and information
ii.
Education
iii.
Interpretation and co-relation
iv.
Persuasion
v.
Selling/advertising
vi.
Entertainment and recreation
News Gathering and Information
Dissemination
The most important function of the
mass media is to acquaint the audience with some important recent events and to
enrich their store of knowledge regarding the events in the society in which
they live. News gathering and information dissemination basically refer to the
surveillance of the environment. This word “surveillance means keeping a close
watch over someone or something.
The major function of the media is to
provide information to the people and to keep a close watch on the activities
of individual and governments. It is the basic duty of the media to alert the
society and to create awareness through the provision of information concerning
events and happenings. For instance, the media provide information on crises in
different parts of the world, earthquakes, weather conditions, outbreak of
diseases like the Sever Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Ebola fever, Aids etc
it is at the level of surveillance that the mass media make the greatest
contribution towards societal survival and growth.
Education
The radio broadcast media instruct and
teach the society by imparting knowledge with a view to broadening the mental
horizon of the individuals members of the society. Mere information and
acquaintance with events is not education; education results when there is a
significant change in a people’s behaviour and the benefit of the individuals
and the larger society. The media teach skills acquisition, character formation
and development of the intellect.
Education through the mass media can
be in two ways. First, information provided by the mass media can educate the
evidence. This may be incidental and can fall under informal education. The
radio broadcast media can also be used as a matter of deliberate policy to
teach.
The mass media has a profound impact
on the preservation and promotion of cultural values and the transmission of
the cultural heritage of a people from one generation to another. This is done
through helping the individual to internalize the cultural and moral norms of a
society.
This process of transmitting a
people’s cultural heritage through the radio broadcast media from generation to
generation known as socialization. In other words, socialization is a process
through which an individual comes to know learn, adopt and internalize the
norms and values of his group or society.
One of the major problems associated
with the socialization role of the mass media is that frequent exposure to
foreign programmes can bring about total erosion of a people’s tradition
values, debase standards, and lead to the internalization of foreign cultures,
leading to cultural domination.
Interpretation and correlation
Another important function of the
radio broadcast media is to interpret or analyze the events that the audience
is already acquainted with. Interpretation goes beyond information, it entails
explanation, so that the public is told what to do, how to do it, and the
implications of a particular line of action. If the radio broadcast media were
to provide mere information about events or happenings the public may not know
the meaning and implications of certain actions.
Events in society do not happen in a
vacuum. One event in one sector of human life may have some effect on another
event in another sector. For this reason, the mass media undertake the task of
helping to correlate the different happenings in different spheres of societal
life. Correlation, as far as mass communication is concerned, “refers to the
interpretation of information about events in the environment and giving
prescription for action in response to these events (Daramola, 2003:28),
editorial news commentaries, and features are some of the ways the radio
broadcast media interpret and analyze events in the society. Interpretation by
the mass media comes in the following forms;
i.
The radio broadcast media select
particular stories from the mass of events that happen in the society daily.
They also ignore some. This selection is dependent upon how important or useful
the media feel a particular event is.
ii.
The radio broadcast media also interpret
events and polices through cartoons may be humorous at face value, they have
interpretational potentials for the reader.
Persuasion
The radio broadcast medic can convince
and convert the public through critical reasoning and logical argument to
abandon an old system and to embrace a new cause of action. The media function
as adequate forces of motivation and mobilization for groups in society for
instance, it is on record that the early nationalists depended heavily on the
early press to motivate the people and to mobilize them to fight for
independence. The early press gingered political consciousness in the people,
leading to political agitation for freedom from the colonial masters. These
broadcast media motivated and mobilized the people to take their fate in their
own hands, to find justification for the war and to remain resolute in the
fight even in the face of obvious odds and apparent defeat.
Again, the media can be used as potent
force to seek the integration and re-integration of a people with chequered
history. In every society, people are divided along certain lines, which can be
cultural, political, social, economic or even religious. Such different are
bound to bread division, mistrust, friction, hostility and misunderstanding
among the people. The mass media are therefore used to ensure the integration
of the various segments of a society. To do this, the media provide information
about each group and the need for them to understand and appreciate the
peculiarities of one another. The radio broadcast media are also deliberately
used to emphasize the thing that unite the different groups and to de-emphasis
the issues that divide them.
Selling (Advertising)
If there is one function of the media
that contributes to rapid economic development, then it is advertising.
Advertisement helps the radio broadcast media to be in business. If the media
where to operate without advertisements, they will surely fold up. This is
because the returns on investment will not be able to offset operational costs,
not to talk of making profits. So advertising has been described as the
backbone of the media. So therefore the role of advertising towards the growth
of national economy cannot be over emphasized. Advertising is a powerful tool
in the quest of national development.
Entertainment and recreation
The radio broadcast media creates
entertainment to its audience by airing entertaining programmes. Entertainment
attracts the largest possible listening audience. We must point out here that
for media content to be classified under entertainment can as well be
informative, educative or even play serious or cultural
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Programme
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Date
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Time
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News
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Everyday
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7am
12noon
6pm
9pm
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Sports
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Everyday
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7:30am
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Religion
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Saturday
Sunday
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After
noon
After
evening
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Entertainment
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Everyday
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Morning
After
noon
Evening
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Discuss
(lets talk)
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Weekdays
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3
PM
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