THE ROLES OF RADIO AND TELEVISION IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT

THE ROLES OF RADIO AND TELEVISION IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT

ABSTRACT

The foundation of all human endeavors is communication. Scholars applaud the assertion that humans cannot converse with one another. Yet, as we started talking about communication and information flow, there were some persons who seemed to be overlooked. To the detriment of the ruralities, those in major centres are almost usually more informed. Ironically, despite the fast expansion of radio facilities still being motivated by the desire to connect with the general public and effectively highlight the issues that face people’s development, the format has long been criticized for its overly urbanized programming and coverage.

According to Moemaka (1981:34), the influence of radio decreases as one moves from urban areas into rural areas, with rural residents primarily serving as an audience that is eave-dropping.
Thankfully, one of the recommendations made by the Seem Mac Bride Commission of Enquiry (1980) on information flow was to provide immediate attention to rural people, who produce the majority of the food and so help the economy flourish. Izuora (1993) points out that initiatives have been developed and put into action to enhance agricultural productivity, non-formal education, cultural promotion, and civic education. He claims that program directors and decision-makers acknowledge how well radio is employed through single, drama, documentaries, news, and conversation shows to get to the people’s level. In our minds, a rural man is someone who lives in a small town and is unaware of events taking place in the outside world.

According to the researcher, a typical rural man in Anambra West L.G.A., Anambra State, is a Nzam Man.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

This research aims to examine how rural residents use radio in comparison to television to promote social change.

Newspapers and magazines are not as effective a form of communication as radio and television, particularly in the much-desired rural development, which Frank Ugboajab referred to as “Oramedia,” or traditional communication. Due to their poor persuading and coverage abilities, many who criticized face-to-face contact and traditional media did so. The high percentage of illiteracy in rural areas is a barrier to the newspaper and magazine’s messaging since illiterate rural residents cannot read anything, even if it is written in code or their own language.

Ikechukwu E. Nwosu (1990) stated in his article “An overview of the Relationship Between Communication and Rural/National Development” in mass communication and National Development (ed) that “the problem in employing these media of traditional communication as potent instrument of development communication lies more in the area of changing the attitude of the communicators, policy makers, and researchers toward them.” This further demonstrates the inadequacies of the oramedia. Also, we must raise the bar for massage storage, retrieval, and replication across all of various oramedia types. It mostly entails deepening our comprehension of their purposes, characteristics, contents, and applications; it may also entail developing a common technical jargon for defining their varied manifestations in our diverse societies.

In this regard, radio and television are the most efficient means of reaching rural residents and bringing about social and development reforms in these underdeveloped or completely forgotten rural areas. Radios may be found in most homes in the Nzam Community of Anambra West Local Government Area, Anambra State, because they are more readily available and more affordable. An Nzam man can be observed with his transistor radio, aware that his favorite radio station is always prepared to transmit in his language of comprehension, even in the yam farm, the rice farm, or when fishing in the river.

On the other hand, some wealthy people, whether they are literate or not, buy television sets.

Though Nzam community is characterized by non-availability of electricity those that own the television sets, make use of the electric generating plants, and chargeable batteries to operate the sets.

Therefore, to this community, television ownership is not confined to literate class, as illiterate but well-to-do villagers own television as luxury, capable of providing relaxation from the stresses of the daily life.

No doubt, in his “mass media organisation and management” lecture, Nnamdi Okewa of the development of mass communication E.S.U.T. Enugu, maintain that:

Most Yoruba purchase television sets not just for the luxury of it, but for the sake of Babasala’s drama, which provides an excellent comic relief to the Yoruba man after his activities during the day”.

This study compares radio and television messages as agent of rural development of Nzam community in Anambra.

Previous researchers in this field, confined themselves to the study of urban and rural dwellers in terms of media exposure. But this research aims at specifically finding out which of the two mass media of communication – radio or television is mostly used by the Nzam Community in Anambra, in obtaining development information. We also intend to study the two media in the daily life of this rural people. We also, will find out whether the community embarked on any rural development project, and what roles the radio played as against the audio – visional – television.

In mobilization, this study found out the role played by radio based on the ban placed on importation of foreign products eg Textile, Can Foods, Flour, Sugar, Foreign Shoes etc as it affected the unabilitants of Nzam as compared to television.

Indeed, despite what the current emphasis on it suggests, rural development as a socioeconomic reality is not a recent one. It has existed for as long as rural communities have. These villages have undoubtedly experienced some kind of development in the past, but how much and how?

Because of how slowly things have been changing, they have either gone overlooked or have been ignored for years. Lack of appropriate mess media could be the root cause of this awful condition, which continues unabated.

Rural communities, especially the Nzam community, are now singing to a different tune of music, which is rural development, thanks to the availability of more sophisticated and strategically targeted mass media, like radio and television.

1.2 THEORETICAL FRAME WORK

Rural communities, particularly in Nigeria, nearly always lack basic infrastructure like adequate roads, power, pipe-born water, hospitals, and schools, among others.

These factors make life in rural areas challenging, which accounts for the current urban migration. Yet, with the advent of radio and television, it has become necessary for the government to provide these facilities to the rural populations in order to help them develop. The call is received every day.

People question “why” because there are many intricacies in the world, and this leads to development. The researcher employed two appropriate ideas to that effect in the study “The Role of Radio and Television in Rural Development”.

As follows:

THE AGENDA SETTING THEORY AND THE DEVELOPMENT THEORY.

The scientist gave developmental theory some thought because, in the developing world, we depend on communication and knowledge to bring about change and promote rural development.

On the other hand, agenda-setting occurs when the mass media (Radio and Television) instructs the rural population on what to do, how to do it, and why it is crucial to do so in order to promote development.

1.3       STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

Communities in traditional African societies carried out many types of development projects, such as building village halls, access roads to farm-settlements, nearby villages and towns, and other customary projects.

The provision of clean drinking water, the construction of modern schools, cottage hospitals, and health centers, post offices, and even modern markets and electrification project are added to the aforementioned initiatives.

More often than not, the success of such projects depends on the village and town chiefs’ (chiefs’) good leadership, the community’s resources, and their level of knowledge.

Nonetheless, given the current situation, communities are starting to be exposed to various development-related influences. Government projects are not present in every rural community’s nook and cranny. This means that our government has treated these hard-working people as being alone or completely forgotten, especially as it deals with severe or austere economic realities.

Although there is no electricity supply in the Nzam community, those who are well off employ electric generating plants to power their televisions, while others use rechargeable motor batteries to the same end. In this town, owning a television is not restricted to the literate class; wealthy but illiterate locals own televisions as luxury items. As a result, the community has gone beyond the UNESCO’s 2-television threshold.

In the usual village life, children and adults visit the homes of television owners to watch the latest in the days program. This helps them to relax their nerves after the days farming activities and other jobs. To those who cannot go to the homes of the well-to-do individuals or that of their relatives that has the television sets, the story of each days comes to them on second hand basis. To them, the much desired satisfaction and influenced in not there.

On the other hand, the radio transistor is relatively low in cost, appears in various sizes and broadcasts in the language under-stand able to the community. Radio transistor is found in 1 of every 5 inhabitants of Nzam community. Therefore, the radio has become to a great number of Nzam people, a household property and companion. Companion in the sense that while the rice farmer does his tilling and planting, he has a transistor radio by his side providing him with information, jokes and important government announcements. He is also doing that in expectation that one of his relatives or friend could send a request programme to him through the Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) radio AM or FM.  Farmers bring a transistor radio with them to the farm because they don’t want to miss any of the countless entertainment programs like “Ogeolu Ugbo” or “Oge Omen an ani” Igbo on ABS or Minaj Radio, respectively.

The following queries could then surface or emerge:
1. Are radio broadcasts more effective at promoting rural development for those who live there?
2. Are rural groups more likely to listen to radio than watch television?
3. Do the radio and television stations focus on rural development in their programming?
4. How do people in rural areas feel about the radio and television programming?
5. To what extent are rural populations involved in radio and television programming?

1.4       OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 

Due to advanced technology advancements like radio and television sets, communication is essential to every human’s existence and activities. Thus, eminent communication researchers were correct to describe the globe as a global village.
The two remarkable and eminent broadcasting media are radio and television. When it comes to grassroots broadcasting, radio has the biggest impact. The radio (transistor) is available in a variety of sizes, making it considerably more affordable. The village wine tappers who can afford the small size radio may now easily tie it to his waist and enjoy his favorite program while carrying out the day’s business on the palm tree as a result.

The language barrier usually associated with some other mass media, does not show its ugly head.

This is to say that the radio stations broadcast in the language of the audience (listeners), making it possible for them to understand.

The rural man in this case, does not need to be literate in order to hear his own language. Even with about 250 languages scattered across Nigeria, the radio has solutions to them.

It is the broadcasting media that can reach the widest number of listeners (audience), on the maintain, in river-line areas, and even the most remote areas. Added to this is the instantaneous nature of the radio. It has the power to broadcast an event direct, is at the same time the event is taking place.

On the other hand, the television combines the audio and visual effect to make it an interesting can effective medium of communication. Because of the mentioned characteristics, it could be more effective, in appealing and persuading to the public, however, the cost of the gadget now lives one in doubt especially the ruralities as to how many of them can afford it. Rural development as a socio-economic phenomenon, is not as new as the current emphasis on it portray. It is as old as the rural communities themselves. These communities have no doubt, recorded some degrees of development in the past. But to what extent? However, the rate of these developments have been so slow that they have either been unnoticed or neglected for many decades now. If rural development has in the past been that slow and so produced little results, then the rural machinery or agent for development must be faulty.

Researches in the area of rural development has shown that government in the past has been looked upon as the sole agent of rural development or transformation. Suffice it to say that community contributions, towards such development as a result of this negative attitude, have been rare and minimal, if at all the exist.

The answer to the cause of this situation is not far, it has been largely because of ignorance or lack of sufficient awareness on the ruralities. This promoted Akin Mabogunje, in his unpublished article “community organisation, and collective action” to state that “a verile community organisation cannot be sustained unless the members consciousness or awareness as to why the need the organisation is raised”.

In the same vein community participation in 8 rural project on programme is guided by the same ideology. Jerry Gana quoting the United vations committee on Rural Development (UNCRD 1985) pointed out that the capacity of a rural community to respond to a specific local development plant and/or market force differs dramatically, depending on the socio-economic and cultural foundation of the community.

What is being pointed out here is that rural communities need to be properly mobilized in order to create the awareness basic for appreciation and participation in any development process. In other words, they need to be educated, not in school, but to change the attitudes toward development in the society.

Consequently, it follows that every rural development program or project must be people-centered in order to function and have value (ruralities in this case). The rural residents must actively participate in the project program’s decision-making process.

Given that the focus of this research is “development,” different people may have varied interpretations of what development means.

For those living in the first world, development refers to a process of enhancing or creating new structures. The United States administration said that development of other countries should be a priority. It involves employing organization to help other countries develop in their (the US’s) eyes. The United States Information Agency (U.S.I.A) is utilized for development communication in developing nations like Nigeria. Development is viewed by the second world (Maxist) as a vehicle of ideological or geopolitical expansion.

For the third-world nations, which have the following characteristics:

High rates of illiteracy, an agricultural economy, a short life expectancy, little social mobility, a strong loyalty to customs, and a long history of colorization all contribute to a relatively low per capita income.

For some authors, the area of international communication is where development is most crucial. They make this assessment because practically all government initiatives in the developing countries are somehow related to development. Also, they view mass media as a tool for development regardless of the medium’s owner (private or government).

It becomes important to note that development depends on the political framework of a given nation. The degree of freedom enjoyed by the mass media is related to the political structure of the particular nation. Because these writers see the mass media as an instrument of development, they try to use the mass media to achieve developmental goal.

International bodies like UNESCO look at development as helping the third world countries to develop. An organisation like UNESCO seems to be supports the third world demand for the New World Information and communication order (NWICO) as its perception of the concept of communication. In other words, UNESCO seems to accept the view that communication as well as other things form part of development in the third world especially when it comes to the rural areas:

Thus, such definitions as a process of structural change in the technical, economic, political, and social arrangements by which resources attributed in a society, towards the end of providing the mass of the populations with the means of living a reasonably secure, healthy and satisfying life,

Would seem to be much more acceptable because they showed the constructive measures that certain authors and scholars in the development field are currently making to free development studies from the shackles of conventionalism and obvious shortsightedness.

Regardless of how development is defined, there is surprising consensus that many countries throughout the world urgently need to acquire all or at least most of the traits of development in almost every element of people’s life, notably ruralities – ergo rural development.

In light of this, it becomes most suited and proper to use radio and television to promote or actualize rural development. One socioeconomic group needs to be recognized and given attention in this process. The majority of them are illiterate rural residents subsistent/peasant farmers.