The Influence of ICTS on Modern Day Practice of Broadcast Journalism in Ogun State
Chapter One
Objectives of the Study
The purpose of the study is to:
- To find out if practicing journalists in Ogun stateare aware of ICTs.
- To ascertain the proportion of practicing journalists in Ogun statethat have received formal training in the ICTs.
- To find out if the use of ICTs have positive impact on news and information reportage.
- To find out if practicing journalists in Ogun statehave access to ICTs.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Sources of Literature
The study adopts used sources that provided relevant and useable materials that direct bearings on the premises. The sources consulted are books, journals, magazines, newspapers and internet materials. These sources deal on contents related to information technology.
Theoretical framework:
Uses and gratification theory
Uses and gratification theory (UGT) is an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs. This theory is an audience centered approach to understanding mass communication diverging from other media effect theories that question “what does media do to people?” uses and gratification theory focuses on “what do people do with media?.”
The communication theory is positivist in its approach based in the socio-psychological communication tradition, and focuses on communication at the mass media scale. The driving question of this theory is; why do people use media and what do they use them for? Uses and gratification theory discusses how users deliberately choose media that will satisfy given needs and allow one to enhance knowledge relaxation, social interactions/ companion, diversion or escape
It assumes that audience members are not passive consumers of media. Rather, the audience has power over the media consumption and assumes an active role in interpreting media into their own lives. Unlike other theoretical perspective, uses and gratification theory holds that audience are responsible for choosing media to meet their desires and needs to achieve gratification. This theory would then imply that the media complete against other information sources for viewers gratification. The theory was put forward by Jay Blumler and Elihu Katz (1974).
Uses and gratification theory was developed from a number of prior communications theory and research conducted by fellow theorists.
Stage 1
In 1944, Herta Herzog began to look at the earliest forms of uses and gratifications with her work classifying the reasons why people choose specific types of media. For her study, Herzog interviewed soap opera fans and was able to Identify three types of gratification categories based on why people listened to soap operas, were emotional, wishful thinking and learning.
In 1970 Abraham Maslow suggested that uses and gratification theory was an extension to the needs and motivation theory. The basic for this argument was that people actively looked at satisfying their need based on a hierarchy. These needs are organized as Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs n form of a pyramid with the largest, most fundamental needs at the base and the need for self-actualization at the top. From the bottom-up the pyramid contains biological/ physical, security/safety, belonging/social, Ego/self-respect and self-actualization at the top.
In 1954, Wilbur Schramm developed the fraction of selection a formula for determining which form of mass media an individual would select. The formula helped to decide the amount of gratification an individual would expect to gain from the medium over how much effort they had to make to achieve gratification.
Stage 2
In 1969, Jay Blumler and Denis Mc Quail studied the 1964 election in the United Kingdom by examining people’s motives for watching certain political programs on television. By categorizing the audience’s motives for viewing a certain program, they aimed to classify viewers according to their need in order to understand any potential mass media effects. The audience motivations they were able to identify help lay the ground work for their research in 1972 and eventually uses and gratification theory.
In 1972, Denis Mc Quail, Jay Blumler and joseph and Brown suggested that the uses of different types of media could be grouped into 4 categories which are: Diversion, personal relationships, personal identity and surveillance.
In1973-1974, Mc Quail, Blumler and Brown were joined by Elihu Katz, Micheal Guravitch and Hadassah Haas, in their media exploration. The collaborative research began to indicate how people saw the mass media.
Stage 3
The most recent and interest surrounding uses and gratification theory is the link between the reason why media is used and the achieved gratification.
Uses and gratification theory researchers are developing the theory to be more predictive and explanatory by connecting the needs, goals, benefits and consequences of media consumption and use along with individual factors.
Work in uses and gratification theory was trial blazing because the research of Katz, Blumler and Gurevitch built on Herzog’s research and caused a paradigm shift from how media influences people to how audiences use media, diminishing the dominance of the limited effects approaches to mass media studies.
The theory discovers two types of TV viewers or users; they are;
A.Time-consuming (habitual): Information seekers who watch TV for ritualize uses such people due to TV screen to avoid doing other things. So, TV become a source of diversion for them escapism.
B.Non-time consuming (Non-habitual): They are the entertainment seekers who also seek information, but mainly attend to TV entertainment (musical instrumental use and film watching) these TV seekers use the medium content for information/ entertainment, by selecting station (channel) for their choice.
Practicing journalists has found out the usefulness of information and communication technology very useful and essential in gathering news material and therefore they are gratified. ICT has made news gathering easier and faster.
The driving question of this theory which is;
- Why do people use media? Or we could say why do practicing journalist use ICT? They use these technologies (internet, G.S.M, fax machine, telegraph etc.) to make the work easier, faster and stress free and are satisfied and gratified using these technologies.
- What do they use them for? Practicing journalists uses ICT in gathering news, communicating to one another (reporters) in their various beat where they are sourcing for news.
- Practicing Journalists uses ICT for solving problem or difficulty and shows gratification for it.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter is a description of the methods that was used in collection and analysis of data. It discussed the research design, population of the study, sampling techniques, sample size, instrument for data collection, validation of research instrument, reliability of research instrument and method of analysis and presentation of data.
Research design
Ohaja (2003:11) sees research design on the structuring of investigation timed at identifying variable and the relationship to one another. This is useful in research work because it helps the researcher to build and develop what is known as mutual image and the relationship of ICT in journalism practice in Abeokuta.
The research will adopt survey research method which will be based on a personally administered questionnaire. The researcher chose this method because survey research works on the premises that help the researcher to select sampling techniques, instrument or data collected and allows the researcher to go into the field and select a sample size which is used conclusively on the entire population. In addition Sobowale (2001:45), describes the survey design method as the most flexible means of obtaining infraction. Wilbur and Dominick (2003:103) enumerated the advantages of the survey method to include, reduce cost, case of collection of data from a variety of people and recourse to already existing data. It is accepted that the obtained responses can provide answer to the research question necessary for addressing the journalists’ perception of ICTs influence in the media practice.
Population of the study
The population define the scope within which the research findings are applicable. Nworgu (1991-68) posits that, the population is designed to expose the result if the investigation, which can be generated to achieve a common phenomenon. The population of practicing journalists in Abeokuta obtained from the office of the chairman of Nigeria Union of journalists at press center, Abeokuta was one hundred and seventy-six (176). It is the population of journalists that is essential for this study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
Data presentation and analysis
In this study, the researcher distributed a total of 122 copies of a 13 items questionnaire to the respondent, our of 122copies of the questionnaire, 116 copies representing 95% of the total number were returned and found useable, while the remaining 6 copies were either badly filled or unreturned, which is 5% of the total number of distributed questionnaire copies. The study therefore, made use of the valid 116 copies of questionnaire, to represent 100 percent.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Technology advancement in information and communication has great influence on the gathering processing and dissemination of news and information. Thus, the global trend has revolutionized the media industry and every media correspondent striving hard to meet up with the pace at which it is moving.
This is why media establishments are now discarding the old system of giving out news and information, thereby paving way for the news invention that has affected the operation of the media houses positively.
However, the study has investigated influences of ICTs on journalism (a study of Abeokuta based practicing journalists) a sample of 122 was selected for the study based on purposive sampling; for journalists in the mass media establishment in Abeokuta (ogun TV, vanguard newspaper, Rockcity FM radio etc.). The journalists were purposefully sampled based on their availability. Other of the 122 copies of their questionnaire distributed, 116 copies were found useable for data analysis, having analyzed the general data, the overall findings revealed that significant proportion of Abeokuta based practicing journalist were aware of ICTs. Also the study reveals that 52.5% of journalists in Abeokuta have access to ICTs.
Other findings indicated that 48.3% respondents (journalist) lacked formal training in the use of ICTs which 43.9% of the journalism have been trained formally. The implication is that mass media owners may not have considered it wise to send their staff to special workshops, seminars and conferences regarding that they lacked the necessary technological tools, Nwodu (2004:81).
Another finding indicated that ICTs used has positive impact on news and communication or information reportage, this was supported statistically, where 69.8% of journalists affirmed that ICTs have positive impact on news and information reportage, 22.4% answer no while 7.8% could not say anything.
Conclusion
In accordance with the test conducted in chapter four the following conclusion were reached;
That Abeokuta based practicing journalists are aware of information and communication technologies. A good number of practicing journalists in Abeokuta have access to ICTs. Noticeable number of practicing journalists have not received formal training on the use of ICTs. Information and communication technologies have positive impact on news and information reportage. Media owners barely expose their newsmen to information and communication technologies.
Recommendations
Considering the findings made from the study, it was discovered that there were short comings on the part of the media practitioners, owners and the media industries. To this end, the following recommendations are made;
- The media organization should provide their staff with adequate and state of the art tools for gathering and reporting news, such provision would enable them meet the requirements of the news taste, brought about by science, technology, education and development in the world culturally, politically and socially.
- Workshops, seminars and conference should also be organized by the media organization to the use of ICTs. This capacity building strategy will help to improve the efficiency and capacity the journalists in the ICTs era.
- Various governments should encourage media establishments for staff training. This will help to check mate the control of the production and utilization of these information processing and telecommunication systems which are at the present, in the hands of industrialized nations and in some instances of few trans-national companies (Mac Bride et al 1980-95).
- The various governments in developing countries should assist their journalisst to obtain proper training in the ICTs as well as make the technologies easily accessible to the journalists. This remains the only way to project the cultural values of developing nations and by extensions, save such values from total domination by alien cultures via ICTs.
- Finally, undergraduates in the mass communication and other disciplines should be encouraged, as part of their information, to engage themselves in the use and manipulation of the new information and communication technologies, to get the acquainted with the tools for the purpose of familiarity and efficiency.
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