THE ROLE OF RADIO IN NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

1.1 Background of the Study

The electronic media which is the focus this study comprises the radio and television. The sophistication of these media of communication distinguished them as the wonders of modern communication.

Just as the twentieth century dawned, a system was perfected which electromagnetic impulse could be sent through the air without wires carrying voice transmission over long distance.

Electronic media like radio are the machinery or an institution used for simultaneous transmission of information to a wide and divergent audience. Although the electronic media are channel for which information is transmitted to the audience through the different types of media, yet they represent the attempt of man to relate to and interact with other men. It is clear to note that communication has been enhanced nationally and internationally with the use of technology. Mr. E.n. Aniabona in his contribution to the impact of broadcasting in a developing context has this to say about electronic media” electronic media are powerful and effective instruments for achieving national goals such as widespread education for both children and adults in other to realize the set down objective in economic growth, healthcare, political and social awareness, political stability self reliance and national identify among other things”.

Electronic media are aimed at presenting programmes like news, drama, interview, health and family planning religious programmes and agricultural programmes.

The electronic media include the radio, the television and the cinema. Our focus is on the radio, as the first source to which people tune to for the latest development in time of war or crises. We look on radio during announcement of annual budget by the head of the state governor, according to gulgleime marconic “radio a potential means of supplementing telegraphy, the most important long distance communication medium of the late nineteenth century”. Radio was the most popular entertainment and news medium. To a degree, the radio receiver was the center of the home and family activities frequently revolved around the broadcast schedule. The average station schedule had something for everyone from news and commentary through variety and comedy, to religious discussion, sports and children's programme.

The enugu state broadcasting service (esbs) radio, enugu, shares in the responsibility of educating informing, entertain, persuading and advertising. The esbs radio operate on both amplitude modulation (am) and frequency modulation (fm) and rated high by listeners for its request and information packaged including education programmes-ESBS/IMT on air. The station strives hard in various ways to assert themselves. Some concentrate on music while other can discussion on special political economic education, social cultural and religious issues ESBS goes for the audience, which has the purchasing power. ESBS radio in its impact in economic development undertake advertisement, sponsored programme, public service announcement to enhance its finished based and educational programmes are devised in its impact to promote products and enhance the training of professionals and thereby contributes effectively in the economic development of Nigeria.

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1.2 Statement of the Problem

As stated earlier, the role of radio is enormous despite, the problem facing them in discharging their responsibility. One thing certain is that radio helps in economic development due to its easy reach and penetration to diverse and scattered listening audience, the literacy level not withstanding.

But of all these impact and contribution to the economic development of Nigeria, there are still cases of poor funding and poor management of the radio stations to effectively carry out these roles of national and economic development.

The ESBS radio as an agent of news information, education, entertainment and advertising organ of electronic media has been affected due to poor obsolete equipment and poor management.

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1.3 Objectives /Purpose of the Study

Radio as a medium of information has been recognized as the most useful medium that communicate messages across the banner of literacy, “in her assessment about radio, stella okunna had this to say, “radio is the rune of mass medium in third countries because it really reaches the masses. In nigeria, for example, the use of radio as a source of information is truly widespread even among rural dwellers who make up the majority of the country's population.

Radio as an electronic media have been known in recent decades as key mode of mass communication, an audio dimension or channel which is capable of providing, a great deal of details, description that are not communicable through written and visual communication. The impact of radio in education which help to foster national unity and understanding cannot be waved without contradiction.

It also goes that radio helps in advertisement public service announcement, its enlightenment and educational programmes are diverse in its impacts to promote product and enhance the training of professionals-since radio has these impact above other electronic media in the economic development of nigeria it should be studied. The focus of this study based on terms and parameters defined by the researcher was to find out how esbs radio has faired in the economic development of nigeria, through its duty of information dissemination.

It would also be pertinent to point out that this study was undertaken to explore this area so as to contribute to the whole of a mere stream of knowledge it was also hope that data generated in this study could be used to solve other problem in other studies.

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1.4 Scope / Limitation of the Study

The scope of study is on the role of radio in national development using to enugu state broadcasting service as a case study area. Although the study will be extended to radio nigeria.

There are so many limitations that are bound in the course of this study.

Time within which to obtain adequate information is quite limited as a student studying other courses; the time frame allocated to the study is therefore divided for other courses.

Inadequate fund was also one of the major problems for this reason, movement to other television stations where restricted.

Information from television stations where restricted due to protocol in the television station but despite all these limitations, this research work finally became a success.

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1.5 Research QuestionsIn order to carry out this study the researcher wishes to ask the following questions as a guide to the research.

Has the esbs radio helped in creating impact towards the economic development of nigeria through it advertisement programme?

Has the esbs helped to create awareness on the economic development of nigeria through some of its education programmes.

Does the esbs radio assist in the development of socio-economic development of nigeria through its variety of entertainment programmes like the rise and shine early morning show, ndu enu uwa and other social, agricultural, health and political programmes?

Has the esbs radio contributed in the economic development of nigeria in form of training and promoting of musicians and other allied professionals?

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1.6 Significance / Rational of the StudyRadio as a medium of information has been recognized as the most useful media, which its message cut across the barriers of literacy.

Radio is the true mass media in the third world because it really reaches the masses. In nigeria for example, the use of radio as a source of information is truly widespread even among rural dwellers who make up the majority of the country's population.

Radio an electronic media have been known in recent decades as the key mode of mass communication audio dimension or channel which is capable of providing a great deal of detail, description that are not communicable through written and visual communication.

The impact of radio in education, which helps to foster national unity and understanding, cannot be waved without contradiction.

It also goes that radio helps in advertisement as well as the public services announcement. Its enlightenment and informative programmes are diverse in its impacts to promot product and enhance the training of professional since radio has these impacts above other electronic media in the economic development of nigeria.

The focus of this study based on term and parameters defined by the researcher was to fiend out how esbs radio has faired in the economic development of nigeria through its duty of information dissemination.

It would also be pertinent to point out that this study was undertaken to explore this area so as to contribute to the whole games of stream of knowledge.

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1.7 Research Hypothesis

A hypothesis are defined as a preposition put forward as a basis for reasoning a formulated from proved data and presented as a temporary explanation of occurrence as in sciences in order to establish a basis for future research. It means that the proved data is acceptable while the other one is rejected after a statistical analysis of the data.

In this study, the research worked with the following hypothesis;

• H1 enugu state broadcasting service (esbs) has an impact on the economic development of the people.
• H0 enugu state broadcasting service has not any impact on the economic development.
• H2 The electronic media such as ESBS has a role to play on the economic development of nigeria.
• H0 The electronic media such as Esbs has no role to play on the economic development of nigeria.
• H3 The radio advantage over other mass medium in terms of its impact on economic development.
• H0 The radio does not have advantage over other mass medium in terms of its impact on economic development.
• H4 The Esbs radio has helped in creating impact towards the national development of nigeria through its programmes.
• H0 The esbs radio has not helped in creating impact towards the national development of nigeria through its programmes.

1.9 Theoretical Frame Work

Development media theory: this theory propounds that media should be involved in development of agenda setting for the media, government and society in general.

It helps to showcase areas that need development by the government through its programmes and messages.

Development media theory owes its origin to the unesco's mcbride committee set up in 1979. This theory is opposed to dependency and foreign domination and arbitrary authoritarianism. It accepts economic development and nation building as over binding objectives. Press freedom should be open to restriction according to economic priorities and development need of society.

The linear transmission models provided the framework with in which many studies in the first half of the twentieth century were conducted. The models assumed that sources designed messages that influenced passive recipients of importance to researcher during this period was the need to understand how people could get messages across to others clearly and efficiently so that such messages would have the desired effects.

In this research, theoretical framework focused on the agenda setting theory. According to Dr. Dede Eleme J. Konkwo 1997 on the agenda-setting theory-opinion focused mainly on how much, it at all, the news media were able to influence the views and opinions of the general public especially voters.

Quite in contrast to earlier beliefs about the omnipotence of the media, later studies, as we have seen and having tested the persuasiveness of news stories found that the media did indeed have “minimal consequences” or “limited effects” credited the user of news with a certain degree of reluctance to change his or her opinion and values.

It was also of interest to researchers to know what types of information news consumer liked and understood. Apart from the facts of the news stories, they were also interested to know what other messages were being conveyed through connotations, presentations or style. Research has shown that one effect of the news media is that we learn the importance of the topics in the news from the emphasis the news media place on them thus as Maswell MC Combs (1954) has noted that “journalists play a vital role in shaping our pictures of the world as they go about their daily task of selecting and reporting news”.

By shifting through potential news items ranking and deleting stories according to time and space limitations and news criteria (editing) journalists (ie editors and news directors) should exercise a lot of influence over what people get exposed to and think about, limiting what the public can have knowledge of as well as bestowing a certain degree of importance on each topic (in newspapers, magazine or broadcast media).

The notion of agenda setting is the importance journalists attach to their stories by what they say and how they say it helps determine how important the public think the topic is. This is especially critical with regard to political campaigns, on which some candidates base their performance.

It is in this regard that Bernard Cohen (1963) made the following statement “the press may not be successful in telling us what to think but is stunningly successful in telling us what to think about”

However, agenda-setting may be more effective in a situation where the audience have lessen needs for orientations about a topic, an issue or an event.

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1.10 Definition of terms

Opinion Formation: can be defined as that which a person or people think about something “or a judgments done by professionals.

Radio Commentary: this has to do with the detailed and analytical interpretation of news events which have taken place or are about to take place.

Broadcast Media: the transmitting of information entertainment, education programmes, news and others through radio and television.

Audience Reaction: it is how the people who listen to radio programmes react to them.

Development: The act or process of bringing to a more advanced or more highly organized state.

Communication: The field of information dissemination both intra-personal and inter-personal and mass level.

Electronic media: this include television, radio, film and cinema which are used to pass information to a large audience. Television and radio media pass information from the studio which goes through the transmitter then to the television or radio of the audience.

Economic development: is a wholistic all embracing and on going phenomenon, the manifestation of which is measured by the level of positive socio-cultural, geo-political, economic, educational and religious transformation of a people or nation.

ESBS: enugu state broadcasting service is a state owned radio station in enugu state, which broadcast to enugu state as a whole and other neigbouring states. Esbs is on the am (amplitude modulation) band.

National development: National development is the ability of a county or countries to improve the social welfare of the people e.g by providing social amenities like quality education, potable water, transportation infrastructure, medical care, etc.