Media Gate Keeping Process as a Catalyst for Promoting Good Governance in Nigeria
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The objectives of the study;
- To ascertain the relationship between media gate keeping and good governance in Nigeria
- To ascertain if government influence media to promote good governance
- To ascertain the important of media gate keeping in government
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
This work subscribes to Gate keeping theory which holds that media “gatekeepers” regulate the flow of information being channeled to receivers. Coined by Kurt Lewin, “gate keeping” refers to the process whereby a vast array of potential news messages are winnowed, shaped, and prodded into those few that are actually transmitted by the news media” (Shoemaker, 2001), and more broadly, the process of ‘‘selecting, writing, editing, positioning, scheduling, repeating and otherwise massaging information to become news’’ (Shoemaker, Vox & Reese, 2008, p. 73). Gate keeping activities, may therefore engross the selection, disregard, or outright deletion of information which scholars have acknowledged to be highly subjective given that stories selection is chiefly guided by the gate keepers’ individual tastes, gender and preferences, with minimal attention on the professional, organizational, technological, and cultural influences. As gatekeepers act as the mediators, determining which information is deemed important and worthy of transforming into a public message, they invariably contribute to the audience constructions of social reality and their personal world view (Shoemaker & Vos, 2009, p. 1). Little wonder, Bittner (1992, p. 12) aptly captures the gate keeper as any person or formerly organized group, directly involved in relaying, and transferring information from one individual to another through a mass medium. Although gate keeping earlier studies presume news selection to be chiefly guided by an expert assessment of what would interest the audiences (McQuails, 2010, p. 311), it has been observed over time, that journalists’ personal ethical judgments predominate their selections and decisions of news salience, thereby subjecting receivers to attach relevance to and converse the issues granted access to pass through their gates. Lewin held that items have “forces” which either facilitate or constrain their passage through the process (Lewin 1950). These forces (newsworthiness, trustworthiness, etc.) can be positive or negative and may vary in intensity two major concepts appear dominant in the process; the “gate keepers” and the “media”. This is because the media directly or indirectly using the gate keepers, communicate messages of both sexes with varied supportive unrealistic and limiting perceptions…. (Wood, 1994, p. 1) Hence, among the major influences on the level of importance and recognitions societies attach to both men and women, the media has been identified as the most pervasive and one of the most powerful because they insinuate their messages into people’s consciousness throughout their daily lives (Hermes, 2007, p. 191). Perhaps, “we need to understand how the media represent gender because construction of femininity and masculinity is part of a dominant ideology” (p. 191) Traditionally in UNIZIK Comet productions, while student journalists file in reports, student editors, elected by the graduating class, alongside the head of department with some other academic staff editors, act as the gate keepers who filter and decide what is finally deemed newsworthy and gets published. In the process, while certain issues get admitted into the production, some others are constrained. Hence, the Gate keeping theory succinctly provides the suitable framework for examining the level of prominence, visibility and representations given to female related issues in ‘UNIZIK Comet’, – which qualifies as a fully fledged community media, where ‘popular and active audience participation’ should be the catchword towards encouraging the voice of the minority and the voiceless in every community.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought Media gate keeping process as a catalyst for promoting good governance in Nigeria
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information Media gate keeping process as a catalyst for promoting good governance in Nigeria. 200 staff of selected media in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires. The result of this exercise will be summarized in tabular forms for easy references and analysis. It will also show answers to questions relating to the research questions for this research study. The researcher employed simple percentage in the analysis.
DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected from the respondents were analyzed in tabular form with simple percentage for easy understanding.
A total of 133(one hundred and thirty three) questionnaires were distributed and 133 questionnaires were returned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain Media gate keeping process as a catalyst for promoting good governance in Nigeria. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of Media gate keeping process as a catalyst for promoting good governance in Nigeria
Summary
This study was on Media gate keeping process as a catalyst for promoting good governance in Nigeria. Three objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the relationship between media gate keeping and good governance in Nigeria, to ascertain if government influence media to promote good governance and to ascertain the important of media gate keeping in government. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff of selected media in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made editors, production manager, broadcaster and junior officers were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
In spite of these challenges however, gatekeeping is a normal part of any communication process. With the communication chains organized as they are, however, gatekeepers assume importance because they have the power to alter, delete or stop media content. Although gatekeepers may be invisible to most people, they are making important decisions affecting the lives of millions of people. There is little question that gatekeeping represents enormous power and control. Nevertheless, gatekeepers retain that power only by exercising within the shared value system of the media system in which they work. In whatever action which they take in the working process, the issue of consumers satisfaction, social responsibility, fairness and balance, objectivity, national stability and utmost decorum should be at the back of their minds.
Recommendation
The Nigerian media need to diversify their information sources on development stories they report regarding the power sector in order to make more information available to citizens since such information are used to make significant decisions. Observing this entails realization of the assumptions postulated by the development media theory for developing countries.
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