COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE OF GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATELY OWNED BROADCASTING MEDIA ORGANIZATION IN NIGERIA
Abstract
This project compares the performance of government-owned and privately-owned broadcasting media organizations (A study of FRCN and Raypower Radio stations Enugu). The survey method was used as the research method, and the questionnaire was used as the data collection instrument. The stratified sampling technique was used to determine the sample size.
Two hypotheses were tested and accepted, leading to the conclusion that the emergence of private broadcasting media in Nigeria improves broadcasting in general and that the entry of private broadcasting poses a significant challenge to government-owned broadcast media in Nigeria. The researcher suggests, among other things, that private individuals acquire broadcast media ownership in order to improve broadcasting in Nigeria, particularly in rural areas (rural broadcasting).
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Study’s Background
The role of broadcasters and broadcast media as agents of rural and national development, particularly at the level of information dissemination, is now widely acknowledged and accepted by experts and policymakers. What appears to be an unresolved issue in many developing countries is how to best utilize the potentials of broadcasters and their media to achieve developmental goals (Nwosu, 1990:119).
There are three types of media ownership in Nigeria: government ownership, private ownership, and partnership. In the case of government ownership, the government establishes, controls, and finances the media outfit.
In the case of private ownership, an individual or a group of people establishes, controls, and finances the media outfit in partnership. Both the government and private individuals have some sort of co-ownership in terms of the establishment, financing, and controlling of the media house.
The media and society have a mutually beneficial relationship. It is in the best interests of society to have strong and robust mass media because it is in the best interests of the media to uphold the values and protect the interests of the society from which they derive their inspiration, support, and patronage. No media organization can exist if it is perceived to be working against its own society (Onukaba 2005:3).
It is the responsibility of any media institution to keep the public informed of what is going on around them at all times by providing accurate, factual, and timely information.
It is also the responsibility of the media to warn and alert the public about impending dangers, to interpret events or to provide information needed by the public to make day-to-day decisions that will cause them to participate actively in a community’s political, economic, and social activities, and to assist the public in determining current trends.
Media organizations are also expected to use their products to educate, entertain, change public opinion, reinforce attitudes, and set societal agendas. People in many societies rely on the media to find out where to work, where to shop, where to eat, where to sit, who to watch out for, and so on. As a result, it is safe to say that the media has an impact on every aspect of human life and society.
However, in order for media institutions to play these roles effectively, they must uphold the values of objectivity, fairness, justice, accuracy, balance, moderation, and decency. The reason governments frequently give for their involvement in the media is that private media cannot be trusted to uphold the profession’s values.
They accuse them of instilling unrealistic expectations in the populace, inflaming anxieties about the country’s conditions, scaremongering, and so on. Of course, these are broad criticisms directed at all media institutions, private and public.
State media institutions are ostensibly established to address the shortcomings of private media while also bringing government programs and policies closer to the people and promoting peaceful coexistence among the various groups in the society in which they operate. However, they are usually constrained by their modes of operation (Onukaba, 2005:5).
The “battle cone” appears to be drawn between those who argue unequivocally that the best way to use broadcast as a facilitator of development in the third world is for the government to own and control it, and those who believe that the best result will be achieved by making electronic media dominantly a private sector affair.
The researcher’s topic is founded on this fact, hence “the comparative study of the performance of government owned and privately owned broadcasting media organizations” (a study of FRCN and Ray Power Radio).
Somewhere in the middle are those who appear to be more pragmatic in their belief that government ownership and control of the media should co-exist with private media ownership, and that commercial broadcasting should co-exist with private media in order to facilitate broadcasters’ work in the area of socio-economic development of their nations.
The current government ownership and control of Nigeria’s broadcast media can be traced back to the history, purpose, and nature of colonial broadcasting services. It was primarily used to meet the information and entertainment needs of colonial Nigeria’s predominantly colonial political and educated elites, as well as the very few Nigerian educated elites (Nwosu 1990: 120-121).
Nigeria has changed dramatically since its independence in 1960, necessitating a change in the broadcast media’s operations and structure to reflect the changing circumstances. Despite the fact that Nigeria’s broadcasting system has changed or broadened its aims, objectives, and mode of operation, the ownership and control structures or pattern remain the same.
Many Nigerian experts and policymakers have given numerous reasons for maintaining the status quo of ownership and control. One of these reasons is that the airwaves are limited and, as a result, should be regulated by the government to ensure equity, order, and fairness. It has also been argued that broadcasting is such an important tool for nation-building and development that it should not be left in the hands of private individuals or organizations.
Fears have also been expressed that because radio and television are powerful tools for politicizing, they may fall into the hands of unscrupulous politicians or political groups who will use them to unfairly gain and maintain political power or to propagate parochial political ideologies or ideas. There is also the issue of funding. Proponents of government control and ownership argue that broadcasting in Nigeria will never be financially viable if it does not rely on government subsidies.
Many people believe that the above-mentioned reason for exclusive government ownership and control of broadcasting in Nigeria is what kept the system in place until 1992. As a result, many Nigerians have come out in favor of broadcasting privatization.
Those who advocate for the privatization of broadcasting in Nigeria appear to believe that electronic media practitioners would provide the best service if they were run as a privately owned business or a commercial enterprise. One of the reasons given for reaching this conclusion is that the electronic media would be able to avoid unsuitable government influence, as the content of broadcast news or current affairs in today’s Nigeria is politically biased.
Some argue that private ownership of broadcast media allows for healthy competition, which could result in better services for Nigerians. The argument that privately owned broadcast media encourages diversity in production, programming, and other areas of broadcasting is related to this service to the masses.
By 1992, there was a lot of debate and protest against the government’s monopoly in the broadcasting business. As a result, there have been unequivocal calls for the deregulation and decentralization of broadcast media establishment and ownership. As a result, it was the people’s contention that a media system free of undue restrictions and interference from the government would undoubtedly be the best for the development of democracy in the country (Nwosu 1990:22).
It wasn’t until August 24, 1992, that the federal military government under Babangida’s administration issued Decree No. 38, establishing the privatization of electronic media. In light of this, Dr. Raymond Dopkesi established Raypower, which began broadcasting in Lagos and later established Enugu station, which is one of my research interests.
It is the evolution that has given rise to the debate over which system of ownership is preferable, hence the importance of the study at hand.
1.2 Research Problem Statement
Because the owners of the media house usually determine the aforementioned factor, ownership of the media house, control of the media house, and recruitment of its principal staff have formed influential factors resulting in the media house’s program quality. Media ownership has influenced media programs in some ways, posing challenges to journalism as a profession.
In this case, the broadcast media must function in accordance with the owner’s whims and caprices (s). Nothing depresses broadcast media practitioners more than the prospect of either following the dictates of the owners or facing the painful music of dismissal.
Ownership influence on program content has caused many broadcasting media companies to go bankrupt and lose their audience grip. This is especially true of state-owned broadcast media. Following the liberation of the media, new stations sprouted up from all over, one of which is Ray Power FM radio station.
As a result of these new privately owned media stations producing standard programs that outbid those of government owned media stations, many people abandoned government owned broadcast media.
1.3 The Study’s Objectives
The following will be the study’s objectives:
I To determine whether the rise of private broadcasting media in Nigeria has improved broadcasting in general.
To determine whether the entry of private broadcasting poses a threat to Nigeria’s government-owned broadcast media.
iii. Determine whether or not source credibility influences broadcast media listenership.
To determine whether Enugu radio listeners prefer private radio programs over government radio programs.
To determine whether radio listeners use what they hear on the radio.
1.4 Research Issues
In what ways does the emergence of private broadcasting media in Nigeria benefit broadcasting in general?
To what extent does the entry of private broadcasting pose a threat to Nigeria’s state-owned broadcast media?
iii. What effect does source credibility have on broadcast media listenership?
How much do Enugu Radio listeners prefer private radio programs over government radio programs?
To what extent do radio listeners put what they hear on the air to use?
1.5 Hypotheses for Research
The following research hypothesis follows logically from the research questions’ problem.
Hi: In Nigeria, the emergence of private broadcasting improves broadcasting in general.
Ho: The rise of private broadcasting in Nigeria does not bode well for broadcasting in general.
Hi: To a large extent, the entry of private broadcasting poses a challenge to Nigeria’s government-owned broadcast media.
Ho: The entry of private broadcasting does not pose a significant threat to Nigeria’s government-owned broadcast media.
1.6 Importance of the Research
The findings of this study “The comparative study of the performances of government owned and privately owned broadcasting media organizations” (A study of FRCN and Raypower Radio station Enugu) will be useful to other researchers conducting similar research.
It will contribute to the mass communication literature as well as the body of knowledge on media performance in Nigeria. The study will aid in the analysis of media ownership patterns and their impact on Nigerian development. Finally, it will serve as a foundation for individuals and stakeholders to decide which form of media ownership is better and more necessary in Nigeria.
1.7 The Study’s Scope
The researcher’s focus will be on comparing government ownership of media to privately owned media. The study will concentrate on the FRCN and Ray power radio stations in Enugu.
The populace
The population chosen is comprised of everyone who listens to FRCN and Ray power radio stations.
The case study
The sample size will be limited to those in the Enugu metropolis. Due to time and financial constraints, as well as the researcher’s belief that because FRCN and Raypower FM are both located in Enugu, they will provide a good sample for the study.
1.8 Term Definitions in Operational Context
Comparative study: According to the study, the researcher will examine two media houses, one government-owned (FRCN) and one privately owned (Raypower), to determine how similar or dissimilar they are.
Government-owned media organizations include: This is represented by the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), which is a study focus of the researcher. The federal government of Nigeria owns it.
Privately owned broadcasting media include: Raypower FM, which is also part of the researcher’s research focus, represents it. Raymond Dokpesi owns it under the corporate name DAAR Communications.
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COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PERFORMANCE OF GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATELY OWNED BROADCASTING MEDIA ORGANIZATION IN NIGERIA
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