MASS MEDIA AND THE MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

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MASS MEDIA AND THE MANAGEMENT OF HUMAN RIGHTS

Chapter one

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Nigeria has existed in one form or another since its independence. Especially with military dictators that have resorted to rule by decree, suspending the constitution that guarantees citizens’ fundamental human rights, Ellinas, A. (2010). It is clear that the foundation of government, which is for the ultimate interest of the people, is undermined when their rights are not safeguarded. And, fact, authoritarian leadership has not aided human rights issues, since abuse has been documented time and again, even in weird ways by the mass media.

This is where the mass media comes into play, as it allows the government and the governed to be better informed about their various privileges and limitations, which are enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, albeit only under a democratically elected government. A society cannot be claimed to be truly free if its members are not guaranteed the protection of their fundamental human rights. Cohen-Almagor R. (2001).

The mass media has always served as a vehicle for exposing human rights violations to the public. However, there are times when human rights violations have been particularly difficult for the mass media to control, either due to tribal or religious sentiment or direct ownership intervention. Henny L. (2012).

In such circumstances, persons whose rights have been violated are unhappily on the losing end of the stick. The mass media should be able to effectively manage the issues of human rights violations when they occur in society. Henny L. (2012).

Considering that they often set the agenda for public discourse. During the process, they should be able to discriminate between what should and should not be disclosed.

In such situation, they wish to leave the duty of agenda setting to the government, which means that the people are lazy and, as Plato emphasised, “they look up to the leaders of the state to say what goes”.

Despite the mass media’s incapacity to at times control human rights violations in Nigeria, they have at times pre-empted the activities of human rights groups in the past, leading to a clampdown on members of the groups. Henny L. (2012).

1.2 Statement of the Research Problems.

Deliberate infringement of human rights is unnatural and animalistic, whereas their protection must be upheld out of kindness of heart. Unfortunately, despite the efforts of human rights activists and organisations, there is hardly no leader or place on the planet where human rights are not being horribly violated with impunity.

In truth, the world is experiencing a regime of human rights violations. Such violations include social insecurity, racial discrimination, extrajudicial killing, prejudice, forced sterility, child and women trafficking, sexual harassment, genocide, war crimes, and so on. As previously said, hardly no nation or leader is left out.

1.3 GOALS OF THE STUDY

1. The purpose of this study is to determine how well the mass media has managed human rights abuses in Nigeria.

ii. Its goal is to put in proper perspective the sequence of handling of human rights violations by the media.

iii. The purpose of this study is to determine whether religious and ethical considerations influence how the Nigerian mass media handles cases of human rights abuses.

iv. Finally, it seeks to determine whether the ownership aspect has any role in the management of human rights violations in Nigeria.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS.

The different questions that this research aims to answer are as follows:

i. Has the media been able to manage human rights violations in Nigeria?

ii. Has human rights abuse been reported without censorship?

iii. How have government policies influenced the reporting of human rights abuses?

iv. Are religious and ethnic issues influencing the administration of mass media organisations in Nigeria?

v. Is the Nigerian media free in its coverage?

If these questions are answered without prejudice, we can confidently state that professionalism will improve. It would have been one of the several problems that have beset the profession. Resolved, so contributing to objective and unbiased reporting of human rights breaches in Nigeria.

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study aims to raise awareness of the benefits of effective human rights management by Nigeria’s mass media. Furthermore, it will increase the awareness of various mass media players about their roles in the effective and efficient reporting of human rights violations in Nigeria. It will also inform the mass media proprietors of the limitations on their intervention in news reporting.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will analyse Nigeria’s mass media and human rights management practices.

1.7 Limitations of the Study

This research was free of limitations. Notable among these was the issue of acquiring materials for the project. It was a time-consuming process that was hampered by the nonchalant, or should I say uncooperative, attitude of some of the media houses visited.

Another issue was time. Due to time constraints, I was unable to obtain adequate material because I had other classwork and tasks to do.

Financial constraints did not assist the situation. Finance severely limited my scope of convergence because I could not move around much. As a result, I had little choice but to reduce the rage or scope in order to accommodate other timetables.

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