THE STUDY OF COVERAGE OF URBAN AND RURAL NEWS BY NIGERIA NEWS PAPERS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

This in balance of news flow  is a complex and varied phenomenon  which can occur in different forms and   a exists  in all media the news paper, radio film and television.

Communication is a part of the general development process that  provides the needed  between planners and  their goals. No nation can survive  without  workable information channels that allows in and out passage of adequate flow of information  to the   various part of the    effectiveness  of information lies in its getting to the  recipients  in  proper from.

Knowing if there is the existence of any information imbalance between our rural and urban population is of great importance for it depends on the trend of our study.

Communication facilities are often inadequate within developing countries due to lack of finance and other resources and the few that are readily available concentrates more on the urban areas at the expense or detriment of the  rural areas.  The distribution of communication facilities does not provide the information needs of the people in Nigeria as well as most third world  countries and a few developed countries.

The unbalance of information flow between the  urban areas and the rural areas seems like an information flow between the rural majority and the  urban majority in the sense that new flow from the development urban area to the undeveloped rural areas.

According to Humphrey Nwosu; “people living in  urban areas  have more dependable  infrastructure   facilities  than their counter parts  in the rural areas.

Until recently the circulation of newspapers  was  an obligation fulfilled  only in the township”.

Never the less, rural poverty regrettably frustrates what should other wise  have been  a land able achievement of modern technology.

Illiteracy completed the vicious circle started  poverty and lack of infrastructure facilities as a  large proportion of our rural population are prevented from information flow by illiteracy  and this has reduced the  rural people to a state of passive receivers of information put out by a few people.

As we pointed out earlier the unbalance of news flow exists at all levels in all countries.  At the transnational level news flow from the industrialized countries to the third world countries.  The western news agencies collect the over whelming bulk of world news to impose western attitudes on the development countries.

Opubor and Nwuuneli quoted that the managing director     of this day News paper once complained that;

“while he has detailed  knowledge of foreign  place and people such as minister, other personalities and even crooks through  flowing information gotten from international news agencies he knows  very little  about his own neighbors and neighbor hood     in Africa and other third world countries.

Apart from the one way flow of information the little news on the third world is often distorted and  centered on crisis.  The third world countries always complain that the bulk of information  they receive don’t serve  their actual  information needs because the  information are neither irrelevant or destructive to  their culture, besides  news on famines wars, crisis ridicules them as being primitive.  In other w worlds, it is only the odd  events from the third world countries that qualified as new events to western media.

A foreign correspondent said  of all when he said or rather asked;

“why the hell should anyone but a specialist be interested in the Congo when there is no crisis there ?”

The developing countries are not happy with this unbalance.  The accumulated anger surface during the oil boom of the 1970’s when they found a strong economic bargaining power in oil and they advocated for  a  balance  in the flow of information based on population distribution  and national  aspiration of cultural independence.

This call generated debates conference and symposium under the auspices of the UNESCO and the non-aligned countries.  These resulted in the setting up of the international commission  for the study of communication problem in 1977 under the chairmanship of the late Mr. Sean  Mac Bride and this commission recommended  that the movement for a new world information and communication (NWICO) should replace  the old order characterized by unbalance and distortion.

From the foregoing, it is clear that there is the existence of the unbalance flow of information in the urban and rural area in Nigeria.

It is against this background out lined above that this study becomes imperative.  For the purpose of the study, two Nigeria New papers THIS DAY and CHAMPION were chosen.

 

1.2     STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

          Wilbour Schramm has said that even in the most highly  developed countries information is more readily  available  in the great cities because of the concentration of information  materials in such cities.  But this is not what  it should be especially now that a new information  order has been called for one that would have the potential to remove unbalance in new coverage are all levels.

The constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria  guaranties freedom of information and expression of  opinion. It is therefore expected that the pattern of  information flow in Nigeria  will reflect  an equitable coverage of all parts of the country.

In Nigeria communication generally between the rural man and its urban counter part is still at  its lowest ebbs. The  research problem for this study focuses on communication imbalance because  the Nigeria press does not  focus adequately  on the lives and activities of the rural people despite the fact that they constitutes the  greatest part of the population. Instead when such events are reported they are either given small spaces or squeezed into the inside pages sometimes those news event reported on are “half truth”

While undergoing a research work on the study of coverage of urban and rural news by Nigeria News papers the following problems will be tackled.

1. That Nigerian News papers are depreciating in important News contents.
2. That the new content of Nigeria newspapers on some regions in Nigeria dominated other regions.
3. That there is inadequacy in the news coverage of rural areas by Nigeria news papers.

 

1.3     OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study centers on how Nigeria news papers  ration out their news contents and its understanding therefore the aims of this research are ;

1. To find out if there is news flow unbalance in Nigeria as it is in the case of international new flow
2. To find out if the urban areas receive more coverage than the rural areas.
3. To find out if the bulk of new events reported about rural areas are relevant to them or if they are negative news
4. To know if the Nigeria press and other third world countries are guilty of news flow unbalance of which the western mass media are accused.

 

1.4     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Contemporary empirical research tradition in the area of mass communication are usually centered on three main headings

Firstly is research on the effectiveness or persuasive power of the  mass media.  Secondly is the  research concerned with general social effects of the media   and lastly is researcher concerned with the contents of the mass media (publications).

Social scientists and some communication experts two area. The third  areas which deals with content analysis of mass media have been slightly neglected and it is in this area that this research work fails.

Communication in balance in Nigeria is sufficiently important to be studies because communication as mentioned earlier constitutes a greater part of the general development process without which no  country can survive.  Imbalance in communication is a great factor that hinders progress wherever A exists.

For any nation to remain united adequate attention must be paid to the rural area as it is done to other parts of the country.  Imbalance in news flow between urban and rural dwellers is detrimental to national understanding and co-operation.

If we are to realize the fact that the rural areas are the food production sector of the Nigeria economy and also the cradle of civilization and the home of a majority should be accorded to it.

 

 

 

1.5     RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Do Nigeria newspaper contain more news on personalities and social activities to news  that is more important to its consumers

Is there imbalance in the flow of information in Nigeria newspapers.

How adequate is the news coverage of rural areas by Nigeria newspapers.

 

• RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

1.6.1  HYPOTHESIS

H1 little spaces only are being mapped out by Nigerian new paper for news about rural areas.

H0 little spaces only are not being mapped out by Nigeria news papers for news about rural areas.

H2 Nigerian news do not give rural news front page cover

H0 Nigeria news papers tend to give rural news front page coverage

H3 Nigeria newspapers report news event from rural areas

H0 Nigerian newspapers do not report news events  from urban areas more than they report news events from rural areas.

H4 news reports from rural areas are generated by high government officials on visit to rural residents themselves

H0 news report from areas are not generated by high government official on visit to rural communities but the rural residents themselves.

 

1.7     DEFINITION OF TERMS

It is necessary to give an appropriate definition of all terms used in this research work as to remove dept and misunderstanding of all elements contained

 

1.7.1  CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION

HIGH GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL; persons governing a state RURAL RESIDENTS;                   Person who live in the rural non-urban areas.

NEGATIVE EVENTS;  Those items that report social conflict disorganization and political economic instability.

FRONT PAGE COVERAGE; Placement of news events on the first page of a new paper

NIGERIA NEWS PAPERS;    The printed publication in Nigeria that report
information on events usually on daily basis.

RURAL AREAS;           The county side on the grassroots of a nation.

URBAN AREAS;          The developed part of the nation

DIRECTION;                 The quality of the news

1.7.2  OPERATIONAL DEFINITION

HIGH GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS;        Persons like ministers, commissioners
who take part in decision making and administration
of a State and who can represent the head of state
or government  at a meeting or  conference.

RURAL RESIDENTS;  Those peoples who live permanently in  the village
and are usually farmers and  fishermen

FRONT RESIDENTS;   this refers to those news events that are considered important enough to be published on the first page of the newspaper.

NEGATIVE EVENTS;  Reports on crisis diseases crimes etc which indicate

The people concerned rather than boosting their morals.

NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS;  The two news papers being analysed THIS

DAY and CHAMPION

RURAL AREA;             The less developed communities where farming

Is usually the major occupation where more of the countries population lives and  where a large number of illiterates are usually found.

URBAN AREAS;          The developed towns where government  ministries

And establishment are concentrated and where the professionals are usually found

DIRECTION;                 This pertains to be favourability, unfavourability .or

Neutrality  of a news story.

 

1.8   LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Apart from time and financial constraints other limitations is based upon

Social Political and economical changes that will take place during the period

of the study.

 

 

1.9     DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study is limited to the coverage of urban and rural news in Nigeria.  It is also limited to the content of two newspapers,

THIS DAY and CHAMPION whose contents were analysed and the items also analysed specifically on report of events within Nigeria

 

REFERENCES

1        Sean Mac bride etal:  many voice one world Nigeria Ibandan

university press 1981 p.36.

2. Humphrey Nwosu “Bridging the urban –rural information imbalance
   for even development A government perspective in

Ikechukwu E Nwosu ed. Mass communication and

national  development  Aba Nigeria printer

publishers 1990 p.106

3. Alfred Opubor and onuorah Nwamelu; “ political culture and

information flow in Nigeria in Onuorah E.Nwamelu;

“political culture and information flow in Nigeria”
in Onuorah  E. Nwamelu ed mass  communication
in Nigeria  Enugu Nigeria fourth dimension
publishers 985, p.47

4.William A Hatchen;    muffled Drums. The news made in African Annes
Lowa a  state university press 1971 p.83

5. Wilbur Schramn, mass media and nation development Sanford

University press 1964 p.69- 70

6. The constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria 1976 section 36,p.25

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