CHALLENGES CONFRONTING PRIVATELY OWNED MEDIA STATIONS IN A DEMOCRATIC DISPENSATION
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CHALLENGES CONFRONTING PRIVATELY OWNED MEDIA STATIONS IN A DEMOCRATIC DISPENSATION
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study.
The media, as a watchdog and mirror of the nation, plays an important role in society and has an influence on editorial policy. Kendal (2002, p.32) insists that mass is truly applicable to the medium of radio because it is more effective than other media in reaching all groups of the population uniform.”
However, before we proceed with this work, we will include not only the mechanical devices that transmit and sometimes, messages (TV cameras, radio microphones, printing press), but also the institutions that use these machines to transmit messages.
When we talk about television, radio, newspapers, magazines, sound recording, and film, we mean the people, policies, organisations, and technology that go into mass communication productions (Dominick, 2007).
Mass media refers to technology that is designed to reach a large audience. It is the primary means of communicating with the vast majority of the general audience. Newspapers, magazines, radio, television
and the Internet are the most popular mass media platforms (Ngoa, 2006). The general population often relies on the media to offer information on political, social, and entertainment topics, as well as pop culture news.
News outlets have a significant impact on the general people and their opinions on certain topics via mass media. In many circumstances, the general populace relies solely on the mainstream media for news. For example, when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon in 1969, mass media enabled the public to see this historic occurrence.
Sponsorship of the media house, its control, and the recruitment of its major staff have all had an impact on the media house’s editorial policy because the media house’s owner(s) typically do or do the aforementioned things (Nordenstreng, 2005).
As a result, media ownership has had an impact on editorial policy, posing challenges for journalism as a profession. In this instance, editorial writing must align with the policy structure and editorial guidelines. Nothing demoralises the editor more than having to choose between doing things the way policy requires or resigning or being fired.
The influence of media ownership on editorial policies has caused numerous privately owned media stations to cease operations and lose readership (Nordenstreng, 2005).
As a privately held newspaper, Announcer Newspapers does not have many restrictions that typically effect its readership, with the exception that its front and back page stories are focused on Imo state.
Often, it encounters severe competition from national and local newspapers. Again, people from other states would regard the purchase of a newspaper as a waste because it does not typically spread its tentacles.
According to Uche (2009, p. 56). The proprietors of Nigerian media are not only major capitalists in their own right, but also have close ties to global ruling circles. Furthermore, the results show that Nigeria’s current media ownership pattern has a negative impact on the media’s ability to operate freely.
This is evidenced by the fact that media practitioners working in both private and public media organisations ensure that their reports are not seen as ‘unfavourable’ by the current government.
The reality is that public media, which is funded by taxpayers and controlled by public officials, does not criticise government actions or inactions for fear of consequences (Uche, 2009).
Many public media leaders have lost their jobs after disagreeing with government officials. Some private media organisations founded by associates of public officials have an indirect influence on the operation of private media outlets.
The phrase “He who pays the piper calls the tune” is commonly used in the media. Ownership has posed a significant challenge to media firms’ editorial policies. It is so terrible in some media firms that journalistic ethics are traded for the ideas and decisions of the organisation’s owners.
\Dare (2000, p.22), in writing about the issues of privately owned media stations, stated, “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 violates the ethics of journalism.
According to Dominick (2007, p. 12), “There are codes of good practise that govern how media controllers (editor and station managers) interact as laid out by regulatory bodies.” However, how many media owners adhere to these codes?
In Nigeria, the government has continually employed state-owned media to silence the opposition. Many administrations have used these media to their advantage during presidential election campaigns across the state, particularly when the incumbent government is contesting.
In such instances, the opposition would have to rely on God for a miracle. According to Melody in Meier, “in addition to ownership concentration of the mass media industry, content provision, packaging and distribution have also become a standardised production and marketing process in which the messages communicated are contained and directed in both quantity and quality to meet the economic imperatives of media owners.” Giddens (2009, p.5) stated that the media has a dual relationship with democracy.
On the one hand, the rise of a global information society represents a significant democratising force. However, television and other media tend to destroy the very public.”
In the context of supporting democratic transitions, the goal of media development should be to shift the media from one that is directed or even overtly controlled by government or private interests to one that is more open and has a degree of editorial independence that serves the public good.
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