CONSTRAINTS ON JOURNALISTIC PRACTICE IN GOVERNMENT-OWNED MEDIA ORGANISATIONS

1.1 Introduction

Journalism is the collection, preparation and distribution of News and related commentary and feature materials through such media as pamphlet, News letter, magazines, radio, motion pictures, television, Bill Boards the internet and Books. Journalistic practice is a new effort in reporting in which professional communicators use social research method together and vividly present information to the target audience. Media as one of mass communication areas is a device for delivering information thought, knowledge, ideas and attitudes of mass communication students towards Journalism, it is of great important to streamline students attitude in order to know if it is positive or negative. In recent year, Media houses in the Western countries lack trained journalist in the various communication activities.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitation of the study and Definition of technical terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

The Nigerian press right from its inception has been noted to exhibit a high level of vibrancy which has often pitched it against the governments of the day. The press could be said to have displayed its true stuff when it stood to fight the dictatorial tendencies of many Nigerian past leaders and politicians. The press was able to achieve these simply because it is mostly owned by private individuals. Though there were newspaper houses owned by the government; the likes of Daily Times and New Nigeria, they were unable to match the vibrancy associated with the private press as a result of their public or government status.

The historical review of the media in Nigeria is a very unique one. Pioneered by the efforts of private individuals, it enjoyed patronage and acceptance by many Nigerians, especially the educated ones. Right from the advent of Iwe Irohin in 1859, the Nigerian media emerged as a viable source which has often times stood as the voice of the voiceless Nigerians. The Nigerian press has indeed established itself as a strong force in the information sphere and this was maintained during the oppression days of the military juntas in the country, and was also instrumental in the enthronement of democratic governance in the country in 1999. Unlike the history of the press, the origin of the broadcast media in Nigeria took a different twist.

In the beginning was the word and the word was with communication without which community life will be meaningless Eyutchae (2002, p. 8) perhaps, that analogue to a passage in the Greek historical literature aptly expresses the characteristics of mass communication process. It illustrates the very genesis of what through technological advancement came to be known as the press. In the case of this a random survey of the student's attitude will also be discovered from this survey.

Tracing history, one can rightly discover the treatment being meted on journalists in Nigeria, particularly during military regimes when many journalists were either killed or locked up in the jail of unknown reasons. Media ownership will continue to be a major determinant in the affairs of the media in Nigeria. Unarguably, ownership is one of the major problems facing the media in Nigeria, be it State or Federal. In most cases, there is a stigma on journalists who work in these media houses as they are often seen as government's propagandists. Journalists are made to give the activities of their government owner more prominence at the expense of other important issues. When they fail to do so, regardless of their role or importance to the media organization, the reporters risk being sacked or demoted unless they are lucky. The issue is not different in the broadcast media.

According to Udeajah (2004:300), everything points to the fact that ownership has had some significant effect on the operations of broadcast organizations in Nigeria. The policy of the persons who pay the broadcasters salary determines the operation of the media station. The public or government owned media houses in Nigeria have been known to suffer a myriad of problems which have left them redundant and reduced them to mere government handouts. This is as a result of the overbearing influence of the government owners on the media houses.

In the same vein, it is an open fact that journalists in government owned media organizations are poorly paid or remunerated. They are treated as civil servants even though they are made to work round the clock and made to come to work even when other government staffs are off duties. Many state governments in the past often owe their media workers months of unpaid salaries and this made the media personnel to embark on industrial actions to demand for their salaries.

Therefore, in Nigerian Television Authority where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Constraints on Journalistic Practice in Government-Owned Media Organisations.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that journalistic practice is an important field of mass communication. It is one media that has evolved over the years especially with technological advancement in the communication industry. Journalism cannot be said to be encouraging. There is an indication showing that almost all mass communication students in the nation's institutions of higher learning want to specialize in public relations and advertising or electronic media.

An insignificant few want to specialize in Journalism; some of them are said to b leaving the profession in search for better pay, quiet and less controversial jobs. For instance, during the military regimes in Nigeria, many journalists were either killed or locked up in jail for unknown reasons.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to determine the Constraints on Journalistic Practice in Government-Owned Media Organisations using Nigerian Television Authority as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To investigate the factors that provide the constraints on journalistic practice in government owned media;
2. To determine whether media practitioners in government owned media derive gratification from their job;
3. To find out the constraints on journalistic practice in government owned media;
4. To determine how government influence affects media contents in Nigerian Television Authority; and
5. To determine whether government ownership of the media wields any influence on the practice of journalism.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Are there factors that provide the constraints on journalistic practice in government owned media?
• Do media practitioners in government owned media derive gratification from their job?
• Does government ownership of the media wields any influence on the practice of journalism?
• How does government influence affects media contents in Nigerian Television Authority?
• What are the constraints on journalistic practice in government owned media?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

Hypothesis One

• H0: The government has negatively influence media content in Nigerian Television Authority
• H1: The government has positively influence media content in Nigerian Television Authority

Hypothesis Two

• H0: There are no significant factors that provide the constraints on journalistic practice in government owned media
• H1: There are significant factors that provide the constraints on journalistic practice in government owned media

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1.7 Significance of Study

This study is useful to journalist, teachers and indeed to all who wishes to study or carryout research in mass communication, as it affects students' attitude. This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on the Constraints on Journalistic Practice in Government-Owned Media Organisations using Nigerian Television Authority as a case study.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Establishment Policies: Establishment policies posed a serious limitation as most staffs are not ready to release information needed for this research work. There were lots of information needed from the staffs of this establishment to enhance the study which took them time to release or they did not release at all for security purposes, hence the scope was reduced.
3. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
4. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Journalism

Conceptual Meaning: The work of collecting and writing news stories for news papers, magazines, radio or television.

Operational meaning: Journalism is gathering, processing, and dissemination of news and information related to the news to an audience.

Print

Conceptual Meaning: To provide letters pictures etc. on a paper using a machine that puts ink on the surface.

Operational Meaning: This is the use of newspaper, magazines and books in communicating message to its target audience.