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BROADCAST DEREGULATION AND EFFICIENT INFORMATION DISSEMINATION

BROADCAST DEREGULATION AND EFFICIENT INFORMATION DISSEMINATION

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BROADCAST DEREGULATION AND EFFICIENT INFORMATION DISSEMINATION

Abstract

Deregulation has been a blessing to all Nigerians because it encourages private investors to set up their own television stations in Nigeria. This research looks at “Broadcast Deregulation and Efficient Information Dissemination in Nigeria (A Study of NTA and ITV Benin).”

Four research questions were developed for this study. The population of Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area in Edo State was 371,106. The researcher utilised the purposive sampling approach to pick respondents for the sampling size of 150.

The study’s findings show that deregulation of broadcast media stations has risen, making news more accessible to all people in Ikpoba Okha. They urged, among other things, that the government pursue deregulation in order to foster efficient information.

Chapter one

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

The broadcast medium consists of radio and television. They serve as a medium for education, entertainment, and advertising.

According to Oroh, Chester et al. (1971, p:4) defined broadcast as the dissemination of a signal capable of being received by the general public via frequencies, visuals, or both.

However, the radio transmission was sent via the British Empire service from Daventry, England. Soon after, in 1932, the Lagos station began experimenting with rediffusion service.

The Nigeria Posts and Telegraphs Department was tasked with distributing programmes to subscribers in Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan. This was to be used in conjunction with the Empire Broadcast Service.

Radio made its official debut in 1936, when the first Radio distribution service (rediffusion) was established in Lagos to distribute programmes originating from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in London as part of its abroad operation.

According to Okunna (quoting Okenwa, 1993), television came into this country through regional effort.

Nigerian politics right before independence.

More attention Regional development and innovation

That was to accelerate the region’s development.

Over the years, the Nigerian television broadcasting business has been under government control.

However, since the deregulation of television broadcasting in Nigeria, media have risen so far, have chosen a path similar to that of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), and quality is generally poor, possibly due to the singular inception of AIT (African Independent Television is also boring, and of course, no serious plan is made in the area of developing content.)

The deregulation of Nigeria’s broadcast media environment, with the passage of decree No. 38 of 1992 (now an act of parliament) establishing the Nigeria Broadcasting Commission (NBC), provided a significant boost to the growth and development of broadcasting in Nigeria.

Television broadcasting began in Nigeria in October 1959, under the administration of the country’s western division. It was known as Western Nigeria Television (WNT) Ibadan to both Nigerians and Africans as a whole. All other regions eventually formed their own television broadcasting stations.

However, at some point, the federal government took control of television broadcasting in Nigeria, and the name was changed from a regional name to the Nigeria Television Authority, which has complete authority.

Deregulation has been a blessing to all Nigerians because it encourages private investors to set up their own television stations in Nigeria. Deregulation of broadcast media could be said to have begun in 1992

when the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) was established. This ended the government’s monopoly (state and federal). Since then, Nigerian Broadcasting has granted licenses to many private radio and television stations.

Okunna (2006) identifies the main causes for government control over broadcasting.

Is founded on the concept that air waves (electromagnetic spectrum) are a limited public resource that can only be managed and best used for the public welfare.

Despite the fact that television was made possible by regional government, the federal government has always had exclusive control of the broadcast media.

Due to popular demand, the then-military government of President Ibrahim Babamose Babagida (IBB) gave and approved licenses for private broadcast media in Nigeria by establishing the Nigeria Broadcasting Council (NBC) through decree 38 of 1992.

Since then, many private broadcasting companies have sprung up. Some of these private media include ITV, AIT, MINAJ, and Galaxy, among others.This is to ensure that information is conveyed effectively throughout society.

The question now is, how has this been accomplished? Could it be stated that even after years of deregulation, society continues to seek more information from the public? This is what the study hopes to find out.

Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Benin

The Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) regulates television broadcasting in Nigeria. The only aberrations were during the second republic (1997-1983). When some states formed their own stations independent of the NTA structure, control, and management, in accordance with the provisions of the 1979 constitution that made radio and television broadcasting a concurrent topic between the federal and state governments.

Aside from that, the Authority has broad powers to oversee the country’s television business. The Nigerian federal military government formally promulgated a decree establishing the NTA in April 1977.

The decree establishes the Authority as a policy-making body composed of sixteen members, including a chairman, the chairman of the six zonal boards

a director general, a representative of women’s organisations, and people with experience in each of the following areas. Management of media arts and culture, engineering, finance, and education.

The NTA was founded to re-establish order in the midst of instability, to instill a sense of national destiny, and to promote common cultural boards among all ethnic groups in Nigeria via television programming.

And to guarantee that the services it offers represent Nigeria’s unity as a federation while also adequately expressing the cultural traits and affairs of each state, zone, or other section of the federation.

The Authority’s additional functions, among others, include:

1) To organise and coordinate the activities of the entire television network.

2) Develop and implement a formula for allocating cash among stations.

3) To serve as the interface between the federal government and the zone operation.

4) To provide and receive broadcast-worthy material from others.

Independent Television

The ITV was founded on June 26, 1995, by Sir Chief Dr. Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion. It received her licence from President Ibrahim Babamose Babaginda. The station went on air on March 27, 1997, on UHF channel 22 in Benin City, Edo State. The station’s logo is “Certainly the Best”. It was the first private broadcasting station to be awarded a licence in Nigeria.

The station is comprised of seven departments. Administration and Human Resources, Engineering Programmes, General Operations, Commercial Marketing, Accounts, Training, and Manpower Development are all part of the department.

Since then, they have done an excellent job of disseminating information, entertaining, educating, and covering other topics of interest at the station and internationally.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Deregulation is critical in the distribution of information, enabling for a free flow of information across all look and cronies. It is a declaration that governments have deregulated broadcast media as information dissemination remains limited.

Some private broadcasters are increasingly using it as a campaign arena for political activities involving themselves or their associates. Is this the goal of deregulation? This is one of the problems that Nigerian media practitioners face.

The ownership of this private media house cannot be ignored since they may need to be safeguarded; putting up a media house may not just be for information distribution but also for their own benefit. Therefore, the statement the challenge is how can the media practitioner ensure the free flow of information.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The purpose of this study is to determine broadcast deregulation and effective information distribution in Nigeria, utilising NTA and ITV as case studies.

1) To investigate the influence of the emergency and increased deregulation of broadcasting media on broadcast station improvement in Edo State.

2) To investigate if deregulation of broadcasting serves as a watchdog over government activities in Edo state.

3) Determine whether deregulation of broadcasting media has contributed to the development of Edo state.

4) To investigate whether the people of Edo state prefer deregulation of media over government-owned media.

1.4 Research Question.

1) Has the emergency and expansion of broadcasting media improved broadcasting stations in Edo State?

2) Has the deregulation of radio stations served as a watchdog over government activities in Edo State?

3) Has deregulation aided the growth of Edo state?

4) Do Edo state residents prefer commercial media over government-owned media?

1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study

The study has been restricted down to NTA and ITV in Benin City, Edo state. Because it is not only difficult but also impossible to evaluate the impact of deregulation in all 36 states of the federation given the time available for this work and other required materials.

Limitation

The primary issue with this study is the time factor. The time constraints of this study prevented the researcher from conducting a thorough and comprehensive research job.

This study was conducted under academic stress, which may have resulted in some minor flaws in the study. Financial issues, including the ability to secure funds for project work, were a significant challenge.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This work is significant because it will help the general public understand the reasons for and benefits of deregulation in the broadcast business.

Government: Through NBC, the government will be able to sanitise and control a large number of broadcast stations.

Media House: Broadcast Media will perceive the necessity to repack their programs because there is competition among broadcast outfits for both audience and Adventism.

The research aims to determine whether or not the goal of deregulating broadcast media has been realised. And to find out what obstacles they confront in accomplishing their goal. Also, to examine whether the liberalisation of broadcast media has enabled free information flow.

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