Comparative Study Of The Performance Of Government Owned And Privately Owned Media Organization

Comparative Study Of The Performance Of Government Owned And Privately Owned Media Organization

First Chapter Introduction

1.0 Background of the study:

Experts and decision-makers today widely acknowledge and accept the role of broadcasters and the broadcast media as agents of rural and national development, particularly at the level of information distribution. How to best utilize the capabilities of the broadcasters and their medium to accomplish developmental goals appears to be a problem in many developing nations (Nwosu, 1990:119). Government ownership, private ownership, and partnership are the three main types of media ownership in Nigeria. In the case of government ownership, the government establishes, controls, and finances the media outfit. In the case of private ownership, an individual or group of individuals establish, control, and finance the media outfit. As for the establishment, financing, and controlling of the media house, both the government and private individuals are involved in some form of co-ownership.

The media and society are mutually supportive of one another. It is in the best interest of the media to preserve the values and safeguard the interests of the society from which they receive their inspiration, support, and patronage, hence it is in the interest of the society to have strong and robust mass media. If a media organization is thought to be acting against its own society, it cannot survive (Onukaba 2005:3).

Any media organization has a responsibility to inform the public in a timely, accurate, and relevant manner about what is happening in the world around them. Additionally, the media must interpret events, inform the public of information needed to make daily decisions that will encourage them to actively participate in political, economic, and social activities within a community, and help the public identify current trends.

Additionally, media organizations are supposed to use their content to inform, amuse, shape public opinion, uphold values, and create social agendas. People rely on the media in many societies to learn where to find jobs, where to shop, where to dine, where to sit down, who to note for, etc. Therefore, it is acceptable to claim that the media has an impact on every sphere of society and human existence.

However, in order for media organizations to fulfill these duties to the best of their abilities, they must uphold the principles of objectivity, fairness, justice, accuracy, balance, moderation, and decency. Governments frequently cite the incapability of the private media to uphold these professional standards as justification for their own engagement in the media. They are accused of inciting the public’s expectations to be unrealistic, escalating concerns about the state of the nation, scaremongering, etc. Of course, these are generic criticisms directed at all media organizations, public or private. In order to solve these shortcomings of the private media, as well as to make government programs and policies more accessible to the public and encourage peaceful coexistence among the many groups in the society in which they operate, state media organizations were established. However, they are typically constrained by how they operate (Onukaba, 2005:5).

The “battle cone” appears to be drawn between those who adamantly contend that having the government own and control the broadcast is the best way to use it as a facilitator of development in the third world and those who think the best outcome will be obtained by making the electronic media predominately a private sector affair. The comparative analysis of the effectiveness of publicly owned and privately owned broadcasting media organizations (a study of FRCN and Ray Power Radio) is based on this fact, and is the basis for the researcher’s topic.

People who adhere to what appears to be a more pragmatic position on coexisting government ownership and control of the media with private media ownership and the coexistence of commercial broadcasting with private media to facilitate the work of broadcasters in the area of socioeconomic development of their nations fall somewhere between the two extremes.

The history, function, and nature of colonial broadcasting services can be used to identify the roots of the current government ownership and control of the broadcast media in Nigeria. It was primarily employed to meet the informational and recreational demands of colonial Nigeria’s predominately educated and political elites as well as those of the nation’s relatively few educated elites (Nwosu 1990: 120–121).

Since Nigeria gained independence in 1960, it has seen a great deal of change, necessitating a shift in the broadcast media’s operations and organizational structure to match the new circumstances. Despite the fact that Nigeria’s broadcasting system has expanded or changed its goals, objectives, and manner of operation, the ownership and control structures or pattern have not changed.

Many Nigerian experts and decision-makers have offered numerous justifications for the maintenance of the ownership and control status quo. One of these is that the government should regulate the airwaves because they are scarce and need to be in order to maintain justice, equity, and order. Additionally, it has been suggested that broadcasting should not be under the control of private individuals or organizations because it plays such a significant part in nation-building and development.

It has also been feared that since radio and television are effective tools for politicking, some dishonest politicians or political organizations may abuse them to gain and maintain political power unfairly or to spread localized political ideologies or ideas. There is the issue of finance; proponents of government control and ownership say that Nigerian broadcasting will never be able to make a profit if it does not have financial support from the government.

Many people think that the sole government ownership and control of broadcasting in Nigeria, which was stated above, is what kept the system the same until 1992. As a result, many Nigerians have offered numerous arguments in favor of privatizing broadcasting.

The prevailing opinion among those who support privatizing broadcasting in Nigeria appears to be that practitioners of electronic media would provide the finest service if such media were run as privately held businesses or commercial enterprises. This conclusion was reached for a number of reasons, one of which being that the electronic media will be able to escape inappropriate government interference as broadcast news and current events in modern Nigeria tend to be politically biased.

Some argue that private ownership of broadcast media promotes healthy competition, which could result in better services for Nigeria’s general populace. The claim that privately owned broadcast media promotes diversity in production, programming, and other aspects of broadcasting is related to this notion of serving the general public.

By 1992, there was a lot of discussion and opposition to the government’s monopoly in the broadcasting industry. Deregulation and decentralization of broadcast media organization and ownership were so strongly advocated. Therefore, it was believed by the populace that a media system free from excessive governmental interference and restrictions would prove to be the greatest for the growth of democracy in the nation (Nwosu 1990:22).

The federal military government under Babangida’s rule did not issue Decree Number 38, which established the privatization of electronic media, until August 24th, 1992. In light of this, Dr. Raymond Dopkesi founded Raypower, which began broadcasting in Lagos before establishing the Enugu station, which is the subject of one of my study areas.

The debate about whether ownership arrangement is best was sparked by a development, which is why the current study is important.

The problem is stated in 1.1 Statement Of The Problem.

Since the owners of the media house typically govern the aforementioned factor, the ownership of the media house, its control, and the hiring of its key personnel have formed the influencing factors as a result upon the program quality of the media house. The ownership of the media has, in certain ways, impacted media initiatives, which has caused issues for journalism as a profession.

In this situation, the broadcast media must conform to the fancies and whims of the owner(s). Nothing lowers the broadcast media professionals as much as having to choose between abiding by the owners’ rules and getting fired. Many broadcasting media outlets have collapsed in operation and lost their audience grasp as a result of ownership influence on program content. Most government-owned broadcast media fit this description. Ray Power FM radio station is one of the media outlets that emerged during the freedom.

Many consumers stopped using government-controlled broadcast media as a result of the new privately held media outlets’ production of standard programs that outperformed those of the government-owned media outlets.

1.2 THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVE

The following will be included in the study’s goal:

I wanted to know if broadcasting in Nigeria has become better overall since private broadcasting media have emerged.

ii. To determine whether the emergence of private broadcasting poses a threat to Nigeria’s state-owned broadcast media.

To determine whether listenership for broadcast media is impacted by source reliability.

iv. To determine whether Enugu radio listeners favor commercial radio programs over public radio programs.

v. To determine whether radio listeners actually use the information they receive.

1.3.1 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH

In this study project, the researcher’s concentration will be on how to respond to the following questions;

i. In what ways has Nigeria’s emergence of private broadcasting medium improved broadcasting in general?

ii. How much of a threat does Nigeria’s government-owned broadcast media face from the emergence of private broadcasting?

iii. How does listenership in broadcast media relate to source credibility?

How much do listeners of Enugu Radio favor privately produced radio shows over publicly funded ones?

v. How much do radio listeners actually use what they hear on the radio?

1.4 THE STUDY’S SIGNIFICANCE

The results of this study, “The Comparative Study of the Performances of Government Owned and Privately Owned Broadcasting Media Organization” (A Study of FRCN and Raypower Radio station Enugu), will aid future researchers in doing a similar investigation. It will contribute to the body of knowledge on media performance in Nigeria as well as the literature on mass communication. The study will aid in the analysis of media ownership trends and their impact on Nigerian development. Finally, it would offer a foundation on which people and stakeholders can decide which type of media ownership is more beneficial and necessary in Nigeria.

1.5 The study’s scope and limitations

The focus of the researcher’s work will be on a side-by-side comparison of privately and publicly owned media. The FRCN and Ray power radio stations, both in Enugu, will be the subject of the investigation.

The people

The total audience of FRCN and Ray power radio stations makes up the population that was chosen.

The instance

The population of the sample will be residents of Enugu city. Due to time and resource limitations, as well as the researcher’s conviction that FRCN and Raypower FM’s shared Enugu location will provide a representative sample for the study.

Definition of terms, section 1.6

Time when a radio or television program first airs.

An independent author, photographer, cameraman, artist, or other professional who is accessible for projects or contracts.

Internal communication is communication between individuals or group members within a business or organization.

Documentary: an informational movie or television program having a single theme or goal.

A periodical that is distributed by a company to audiences beyond than its own workforce or membership, such as clients, the local community, the financial world, etc.