Privatization and Commercialization of Electronic Media in Nigeria: Implications on the Broadcast Industry
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The study aims to investigate the impact of commercialization on media programming and whether with the adoption of the Privatization and commercialization act, Anambra broadcasting service still plays its role as a public service broadcaster.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
When broadcasting, originally in the form of radio, was invented, many leaders of the Western societies marveled at its promises and at what this extraordinary instrument could do for the culture, education and information of the people. Today, the will to make the proper use of these technologies has weakened. Policy makers in all countries have allowed radio and television to often become trivial and shallow and more of a marketing vehicle. Having started in the First World countries, this development has spread quickly and developing countries have not been spared, despite their need for a kind of broadcasting that pays attention to the cultural, social, educational and economic needs of the people. This literature review will start by trying to explicate the meaning of public service broadcasting after which I will look at its control structure, its principles, the public sphere, to mention but a few, in a bid to bring out the impact of commercialization on public service broadcasting.
What is Public Service Broadcasting?
The idea of public service broadcasting is partly rooted in the enlightenment notion of the public and the public space in which social and political life democratically unfolds (Habermas, 1989). There is no ideal definition of what public service broadcasting is, different scholars have attempted to define what it is. McQuail (1994:126), for instance points out that there has never been a generally acceptable version of the theory of public service broadcasting, and the diversity of form is now greater than ever before. He asserts that emphasis in describing the concept should be on the general notion of ‘the public interest’ which should also deploy some notion of diversity.
In view of the various debates in regarding the nature of the definition of public service broadcasting, Syvertsen (1992:18-19) writes, “To anyone who bothers to compare the different definitions present in the debate, it becomes apparent that these vary tremendously in shape and form.” Some use the concept in order to describe a national system as a whole, others to describe certain institutions and others again to describe a mixture of programs. There are substantial disagreements at which precise characteristics should be included in the definitions. From the above assertion, it is clear how problematic and inexplicit the description of public service broadcasting remains. However we can consider the definition of public service broadcasting from McQuail (2000) and McChesney (1997) who define it as a system of broadcasting that is publicly funded and operated in a non-profit way, and required by law to meet various informational needs of all citizens. The above definition nonetheless, shares the perception of public service radio as one aimed at providing a service to the public.
For the purpose of this study, public service broadcasting mandate is carried through by the state owned television and radio establishments, that are not only financed by the state through the tax payers funds and or partly by viewers and listeners through compulsory licence fee, but are also owned by the state (Opoku-Mensah, 1998). This is the most common form of public service broadcasting in most African nations. In the Nigerian context, public service broadcasting refers to television and radio stations owned, financed and controlled by the state. Both Nigeria’s public broadcasters, Anambra broadcasting service and Nigeria Television, fall under this category and have made a mandate to inform, educate, mobilize and entertain the populace.
The BBC was the first pre-eminent public service broadcasting institution to embrace the principles of public service broadcasting, under the guiding hand of its first director general John Reith (Tomaselli, 1994, Fourie, 1999). According to Reith, public service broadcasting should seek to inform and enlighten the people of the nation as well as entertaining them with programs of “high standards and good taste.” Traditional public service values under the Reithian model includes: programming for diversity, citizenship, minority and national identity. It is essential to note that the general idea of organizing broadcasting as a public service is not unique and particular to Britain. The public broadcasting service model has been transplanted with varying degrees of success from its originating country Britain, to numerous other social formations. At this point, I will critically review two cornerstones of public service broadcasting namely: principles and the control structure.
Principles of Public Service Broadcasting
As noted earlier the definition of the concept of public service broadcasting is a matter of controversy amongst different scholars and the same applies to the principles. Different scholars came up with different principles of public service broadcasting and there is no agreement about the number of the basic principles. However, according to a number of scholars, (Tomaselli, 1994; McQuail, 2000; Dahlgren, 1995; Murdock, 1994; Thompson, 1990; Curran, 1996 and Fourie, 1999), a number of principles and expectations are entrusted upon public service institutions. An attempt was made by the United Kingdom’s now defunct Broadcasting Research Unit to present those elements of public service broadcasting which should be retained within whatever systems are devised to provide broadcasting as new technologies come into use. These are: universal accessibility; universal appeal; particular attention to minorities; contribution to sense of national identity and community; distance from vested interests; direct funding and universality of payment; competition in good programming rather than for numbers; and guidelines that liberate rather than restrict program makers (Raboy, 1996: 29).
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
Introduction
As already indicated from the beginning, this study presents a case study of the impact of commercialization on public service broadcasting programming: the case of Anambra broadcasting service after the Privatization and commercialization act of 1999. This chapter discusses the research methods that will be used in this study. The study will rely on a combination of methods with the aim of providing deeper insight into the subject under investigation. The methods that will be used include document analysis, qualitative interviews and secondary research.
The Case Study Approach
Many scholars have come up with different explanations of what constitutes a case study. As Ragin (1992:3) noted, these varying definitions owe to the fact that “a case may be theoretical or empirical or both; it may be a relatively bounded object or a process; and it may be generic and universal or specific in some way.” However, the conventional understanding among comparative social scientists, according to Ragin (1992:5) is that cases are defined by “boundaries around places and time periods.” Creswell (1998:61) defines a case study as an exploration or in-depth analysis of a ‘bound system’ (bounded by time and/or place) or a single or multiple cases, over a period of time.
In Babbie’s (1999: 285) view, there is little consensus on what may constitute a case or ‘bounded system’ as explained by Creswell. The case being studied can refer to a process, activity, event, program or individual or multiple individuals. It might even refer to a period of time rather than a particular group of people. An almost similar explanation is given by Leedy (1993:149) who notes that in a case study, a particular individual, program, or event is studied in depth for a defined period of time. For example, a medical researcher might study the nature, course, and treatment of a rare illness for a particular patient. Sometimes researchers focus on a single case, perhaps because its unique or exceptional qualities can promote understanding or inform practice for similar situations. In other instances, researchers study two or more cases, often cases that are different in certain key ways: to make comparisons, build theory, or propose generalizations; such an approach is called a multiple or collective case study.
A case study may be especially suitable for learning more about a little known or poorly understood situation. It may also be useful for investigating how an individual or program changes over time, perhaps as the result of certain circumstances or interventions. Basing my research on these two definitions, this study is a case study in the sense that it seeks to investigate changes over time in radio programming as a result of certain changed circumstances or interventions. In this instance programming changes that have taken place at Anambra broadcasting service as a result of the adoption of the Privatization and commercialization act of 1999. The changes will be analyzed within the larger historical, political and economic conditions of the case. The boundaries between the reform process and the context within which it is taking place are not easily distinguishable, as the changes are determined to a great extent by the context.
CHAPTER FOUR
FINDINGS, INTERPRETATIONS AND DISCUSSION
Introduction
This study set out to investigate the impact of media commercialization on public service broadcasting: the case of Anambra broadcasting service after the adoption of the Commercialization Act of 1999. The study was based on the hypothesis that with the adoption of the Privatization and commercialization act Anambra broadcasting service will not effectively play the public service role. In this chapter I present and discuss the findings of the study. The interpretation and discussion are informed by the objectives of the study as stated in chapter one, and informed by the theoretical considerations and literature review in chapter two. The chapter combines findings from the interviews and documentary (primary and secondary) data. The findings are presented, illustrated and corroborated with quotations arising from the interviews and documents.
Perceptions of public service broadcasting
The mission of a public service broadcaster as defined by Reith (in Teer- Tomaselli et al., 1994) is to ‘educate, inform, and entertain.’ Respondents showed a general agreement with this theme. A public services broadcaster in this case has the role of entertaining, educating and informing the public for the organisation that establishes it. In this instance Anambra broadcasting service is owned by the government of Nigeria (Personal Interview with the Communications Officer at NBH, Simango, 02/07/2006). Thus, the fact that Anambra broadcasting service is owned by the state and was established to promote communication between the government and the people makes it a public service broadcaster (Jjuuko, 2003).
A public service broadcaster is supposed to be a station that caters for the interest of every member of the society. The ideal of impartiality ensures that the public service broadcaster as a common utility is available to everyone just as is other public infrastructure (Fourie, 2003). In support of the above statement, the key ideals of participation, public interest and cultural identity were emphasized in the Minister of Information’s presentation of the Broadcasting Services Bill in 1999. In that presentation Minister Chukwuemeka Chiyelo stated:
…broadcasting is a public service which utilises a scarce public resource and property called radio frequency and thus provide a service in the public interest. To that extent, it is thus vital to ensure that the service itself is universally accessible and non-exclusionary while providing and ensuring diversity. Indeed access is a sine qua non of democratic media participation. Which communities should be given access to the airwaves and which voices speak for those communities are critical to broadcasting as it serves our democracy. Legislation must strive to ensure access to broadcasting services so communities can speak to themselves and to other communities…
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
This chapter presents a summary of the study and some recommendations. In it, I give the concluding reflections on how media commercialization has impacted on Anambra broadcasting service as a public service broadcaster. Issues arising from Anambra broadcasting service’s shift from public service broadcasting to broadcasting that is commercially oriented are discussed and I conclude the study by suggesting reform possibilities for the future of public service for Anambra broadcasting service to enhance its public service values.
Anambra broadcasting service in a crisis
This study has confirmed the study’s hypothesis that with the adoption of the Privatization and commercialization act of 1999 Anambra broadcasting service will not play its public service role effectively. Amongst the most paramount threat that the station is facing is the problem of financing. This has reduced programming decisions to the whims of advertisers and sponsors. The problem of funding facing Anambra broadcasting service shows that it is not enough to have public service obligations as outlined in chapters 2 and 4 of this study, without putting in place financial resources necessary for achieving them. The study has demonstrated that the public interest in programming, that is, mixed programmes that educate, inform and entertain from the society’s point of view, is compromised by Anambra broadcasting service’s over emphasis on programming that is advertisement and sponsor friendly. Public service broadcasting institutions are supposed to function as public service channels, tasked with public service aims such as mobilizing the populace on issues of public concern. Covering issues of public concern, for instance, issues of health and education, requires considerable funding. With the adoption of the Privatization and commercialization act, the funds have to be raised from commercial activities like advertising. The situation where advertising is the main means of funding public service broadcasting comes with a set of difficulties. Advertisers may not like public service programmes, but rather prefer popular programmes such as entertainment. The result is likely to be an indeterminate institution largely commercial in funding but not really public service or commercial in programme outlook.
Summary and Conclusion
The study set out to investigate the impact of media commercialization on public service broadcasting: the case of Anambra broadcasting service after the adoption of the Privatization and commercialization act of 1999. This study has demonstrated that though Anambra broadcasting service still maintains certain public services principles and values, it is headed for broadcasting that is commercially oriented. This is shown by the rise of commercialized programming and a reduction of time allocated to educational and developmental programmes. Moreover the limitations of finance and other resources have compromised the roles and character of public service programming. The majority of programmes currently on Anambra broadcasting service are evidently geared to attract advertisers rather than serve the public interest.
In connection with the public sphere theoretical point of view discussed in chapter two and four, it is difficult to dismiss Dahlgren’s (1995:8) observation that the increasing prevalence of the mass media, especially where the commercial logic transforms much of public communication into public relations, advertising and entertainment erodes the critical function of public broadcasting institutions. In addition to the above discourse, government interference and the influence of sponsors on programme production, narrow the scope of Anambra broadcasting service’s performance in as far as public service principles and values are concerned. Sponsors of programmes whether, educational, informational and entertainment dictate their content and design. This compromises numerous aspects such as goals and objectives of those particular programmes, hence barring them from reaching the target audiences. The above discussion confirms the study’s hypothesis that with the adoption of the Privatization and commercialization act, Anambra broadcasting service is drifting away from public service broadcasting to broadcasting that is commercially oriented and as a result cannot play its public service role effectively.
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