COMMUNITY JOURNALISM AND THE CHALLENGES OF RURAL REPORTING
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COMMUNITY JOURNALISM AND THE CHALLENGES OF RURAL REPORTING
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study.
Community journalism is a startling notion when considered through the lens of its application in Nigeria. Looking at the issue from the perspective of community radio, the historical development of broadcasting in Nigeria reveals that community/local/rural radio was never considered as an integral part of it.
This situation has persisted, as the phenomenon of community radio is not currently felt anywhere in Nigeria. So far, the location of broadcasting stations has followed the pattern established by previous Nigerian governments in the concentration of infrastructure, which benefits the metropolitan centre at the expense of rural communities.
Until April 21, 2009, when stakeholders held a one-day policy debate in Abuja to declare the inevitability and desirability of community broadcasting in Nigeria, broadcasting in Nigeria was created and delivered in all of its forms.
In comparison to other African countries that have embraced community radio, Nigeria is still in its early stages of rural broadcasting. Apart from several campus radio stations run by higher education institutions in the country that have some characteristics of community broadcasting, there is hardly nothing concrete on the ground other than rhetoric and policy frameworks.
According to Ajijola, quoted in Moemeka (2008, p.7), the number of community radio stations in several African nations is as follows: Mali 120, Senegal 44, Burkina Faso 27, Niger Republic 24, Republic of Benin 22, and Ghana 8. Furthermore, Quarmyne, as referenced by Konkwo (2010, p.98), argues that South Africa has 92 community radio stations while Mozambique has 25.
In Ghana, for example, the purpose of community radio is clearly outlined in the 1995 legislation. According to Alumuku (2006), Ghana’s legislation “stipulates that community broadcasting should be non- sectarian, non-partisan and not-for-profit but add that commercial advertising is permissible on community broadcasting stations for the purposes of sustainability …”
He went on to say that the legislation requires at least 70% of all community broadcasting stations’ programming to be in local languages, with the station producing 80% of the content.
At least 20% of the programming should be of national relevance, such as relays of national broadcast news from the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation.
In Zambia, the National Broadcasting (Licensing) Regulations Act of 1993 provides legal support for the creation of community radio. It is an independent authority with the authority to license, regulate, and allocate frequencies as a necessary component of the liberalisation process (Alumuku 2008).
Similarly, in South Africa, the promulgation of the Independence Broadcasting Authority (IBA) Act of 1993, as pontificated by Alumuku (2008, p 17), “paved the way for the licensing of community radio stations, and the government’s white paper on broadcasting published in June 2001 outlined the government’s first ever policy on community radio.”
While the blame for excommunicating Nigeria’s rural population through community broadcasting falls solely on the government, some analysts say journalism professors and mass communication academics should also be held accountable for their failure to promote community broadcasting.
Konkwo (2010), Claussen (2008).While Konkwo (2010) specifically blamed African journalism educators for contributing to what he described as a “cheerless situation,” Claussen (2008) lamented the fact that journalism educators and mass communication researchers in Africa are almost completely ignoring community radio, which is becoming increasingly important globally.
The mass media is technologically driven. Technology has altered the course of news reporting in our culture. Ate (2008, p. 73) validates this argument, focussing on satellites:
As society becomes more complex by the day, media practitioners must technologically position themselves in a vantage point to successfully execute their social responsibility function to the public.
In those days, everyone could accept the concept of news as an account of what had occurred. And for an event to be considered novel, it must be reported. However, with the advent of satellite technology, the method of news collection and dissemination has been transformed.
People can watch events from anywhere in the world live. He went on to claim that technology is a component of culture, and that the nature of a civilisation is heavily influenced by the technology it acquires.
1.2 Statement of Problem
Community journalism plays an important role in giving a voice to rural, marginalised, and underprivileged groups, as well as those who do not have access to mainstream media, and it frequently delivers news that contributes to a development agenda.
The financial sustainability of rural reporting is frequently a significant barrier for community journalism. In Nigeria, as in other third-world countries, people living in rural areas are overlooked when it comes to knowledge transmission and development.
This has added appeal to metropolitan locations. Rural areas have a high percentage of ignorance, in addition to their low physical development. The problem prompting this study is as follows: what are the challenges of rural reporting in Nigeria
1.3 Objectives of the Study
This has the following objectives:
i. Investigate the significance of community journalism in rural development.
ii. Evaluate the efficiency of these modes of communication.
iii. Examine rural residents’ attitudes and perceptions of community journalism.
iii. Investigate the challenges of rural reporting in Nigeria.
1.4 Research Questions.
The study addressed the following questions in accordance with its aims.
i. How does community journalism contribute to rural development?
ii. How effective are the avenues of communication?
iii. What is the attitude and perception of rural residents towards community journalism?
iv. What are the barriers to rural reporting in Nigeria?
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