The Effectiveness of the Mass Media as an Instrument for National Development
Chapter One
THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
It is acknowledged that adequate information dissemination is the basis of an informed and rational citizen. The objective of this study includes:
- To find out how Mass Media could help in improving the lives of rural dwellers by influencing their attitudes, opinions, ideas, conditions etc.
- This research will also study how rural dwellers receive and utilize information available to them;
- Finally, this project is aimed at finding solutions or recommendations towards the development of the rural area of Nsukka local Government.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theoretical Foundation
Social responsibility theory by Siebert Paterson and Schraum to the social responsibility theorist, freedom carries concomitant obligations, and the press which enjoys a privileged position under our government is obliged to be responsible to society for carrying out certain essential function of Mass Communication in contemporary society.
Normative theory by Dennis McQuails (1994) explain how ideal media ought to operate within a specific system of social values.
According to Nnanyelugo Okoro and Ben Agbo (2003) the social responsibility theory owes its growth to the realization that the much-trumpeted free press did not exist anywhere. Concerned with the definition of appropriate place of the media in society, a commission on the freedom of the press was set in 1947.
Social responsibility theory by Sicbert Paterson and Schram stated that social responsibility freedom carries concomitant obligations, and the press which enjoys a privilege position under our government is obliged to be responsible to society for carrying out certain essential functions of Mass communication in contemporary society.
However, Mass Communication has four traditional cardinal functions to the society such as, information Education, Entertaining and Persuasion so, this four points are the primary functions of mass communication.
(i) An innovation
(ii) Communicated through certain channels
(iii) Over time and
(iv) Among members of a social system.
To appreciate how this theory applies to the study, let us take a brief look at the above-stated elements, one by one.
An Innovation is an idea, object or practice perceived as new by an individual or members of a social system. Innovations are known to have the attributes of: relative advantage (superiority), compatibility or consistency with socio-cultural values; complexity or difficulty in understanding; trialability and observability. In this research, the development idea, project or message to be communicated to or executed in the rural area is the innovation.
To ensure that communication takes place, a channel must be used. It could be interpersonal or mass-mediated. It may also be from local or cosmopolite sources. The assessment of an innovation by individuals is not on the grounds of scientific deductions. Through a subjective near-peer evaluation, they reach conclusions and imitate the role models who have adopted the innovations.
Time is another factor in the diffusion process. It is involved in the innovation-decision process, innovativeness and the innovation’s rate of adoption. The innovation-decision process which is the mental process through which an individual passes from first knowledge of an innovation to its confirmation, has five stages. They are the awareness or knowledge stage; interest or persuasion stage; evaluation or decision stage; trial or implementation stage and confirmation stage. Concerning innovativeness which is the degree to which a person or group adopts an innovation relatively earlier, there are five adopter categories namely; innovators; early adopters; early majority; late majority and laggards. The truth is that in all communities rural or urban, these adopter categories exist. There are venturesome and highly connected opinion leaders just as there are traditional and isolate laggards.
When individuals live in a set of interrelated units and are involved in joint problem-solving to achieve some goals, they are said to be a social system. Social systems have a structure and are heterophilous (i.e they are exposed to new ideas, interact with people from different backgrounds and are desirous of innovation). Social systems are also characterized by homophily (i.e not very innovative and averse to innovation). Again, Nike and Umundu are social systems. They unarguably contain opinion leaders, laggards, heterophilous and homophilous elements. It is to communities such as these that change agents (individuals who attempt to influence other people’s innovation-decisions in a direction deemed desirable) operate. These change agents face two main problems in their work. The first is their social marginality based on their stepping in between their agency and the people; and information overload borne out of the excessive information already dumped on the people. Their work involves grappling with these challenges until they see the project through.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
In this chapter, we would describe how the study was carried out.
Research design
Survey research method was used in the execution of this study in view of its appropriateness for investigating problems in natural rather than artificial settings (Wimmer and Dominick, 2006).
Research settings
This study was carried out in NSUKKA Enugu state.
Sources of Data
The data for this study were generated from two main sources; Primary sources and secondary sources. The primary sources include questionnaire, interviews and observation. The secondary sources include journals, bulletins, textbooks and the internet.
Population of the study
A study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitute of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description (Prince Udoyen: 2019). The study population involved residents of nsukka towns aged 18 and above, with a total population of 38,312. These communities are rural in nature and are inhabited by people who use the mass media and have records of information overload and bombardment leading to resistance or steeling.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION OF DATA AND ANALYSIS
Demographics
Out of 397 copies of the questionnaire distributed, 310 copies were returned. This gave a questionnaire return rate of 86.8% and a mortality rate of 13.2%.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
This study revisited the impact of mass media on rural development. This research direction was borne out of the fact that despite how useful mass media are and continue to be in rural development, some forms of resistance to the messages do occur, often without the knowledge of message disseminators. The question is therefore: Why do rural dwellers resist some messages and what kinds of messages are resisted?
Respondents generally accept that radio, television and newspapers are their sources of information with radio being the most acceptable. Based on available media channels in the State, the Federal Government–owned stations (Radio Nigeria and NTA) are preferred for information on rural development issues. This study has attributed this to the wide reach of the stations, clarity of their broadcasts and perhaps their culture-sensitive programming patterns. A clear preference for mass media is made by respondents for the provision of their information needs. This must be based on their wide, simultaneous reach but does not mean that traditional forms of communication do not matter. In fact, they rate very highly among respondents and should therefore count in any rural development communication plan.
This study also shows that in the process of developing rural areas, some messages are resisted by the people. Respondents point particularly at health messages which are more prevalent in the study environment and require widespread lifestyle changes. These health-related messages have been affected by this resistance or hardening of positions, regarded as steeling in this study. Messages about payment of taxes and various bills count a close second on the list followed by political promises and outright government-sponsored propaganda. The initiators and developers of rural development messages ought to know this reality and make adjustments where necessary and possible to achieve their goals. It is important to know however, that bombarding the rural people with information that works against their cultural values or seeking to change the way people live, will naturally be resisted.
Concerning the best way to use mass media for rural development, a majority of the respondents chose a method in which the designing and dissemination of the development messages was done with the participation of the benefitting community. Doing so will ensure that words and images that have other meanings or represent taboos, for instance, and are not admissible in the local areas are not used. When images are involved, the things that are abhorred by the rural people are not highlighted, even if they are accepted in other cultures. These are some of the benefits of participation including the fact that the benefitting community can hear their own language and see clearly that they own the development project.
Conclusion
This study concludes that mass media are indispensable, where there is access, to rural development. Radio is particularly good for reaching a mass audience; print media re-enforce broadcasts; but interpersonal communication adds credibility by providing the opportunity for face to face discussions thereby prompting behavior change. With surveillance, correlation, entertainment, education, cultural transmission, status conferral and enforcement of norms being the functions of mass communication, it is expected that mass media would play the same role, even if it is in a different form, in rural development.
But communication can also be dysfunctional. It can produce undesired results. People can also resist communication either because they are feeling bothered or because they know that lies are involved. This leads to communication producing the opposite or undesired effect. This study highlights the fact that despite all the beautiful functions of mass media, the presentation of some information in some ways, may elicit steeling or the dysfunction of making the audience to harden themselves to the message. This often leads to their continuing in their old ways, doing nothing, or doing the opposite of what the message is promoting.
Respondents in this study say that they prefer mass media particularly radio for the purpose of receiving development–related messages. They also claim to rely on mass media for information on infrastructural development believing that mass media can cause behavior change.
Concerning issues or practices that attract the hardening of positions, health messages, taxation and payment of bills, political promises and government-sponsored propaganda are messages that have been resisted by some members of the study area. Respondents also say that the participation of rural dwellers in initiating, designing and disseminating rural messages in simple language is the best way to use mass media for rural development. The rural beneficiaries of development projects, they say, are the best people to originate information on rural development needs and not anyone else.
Recommendations
In view of the findings of this study, the following recommendations are made.
- Because rural development messages meet resistance in some climes, message designers have an obligation to engage in far-reaching pre-project research for the gathering of necessary baseline data on preferred message types, message tone, cultural values and taboos, as well as other sensitive local matters in the concerned communities. The data so gathered will assist in decision-making about the community’s preferences
- Rural forms of communication should not be neglected in the rural development process. Even though most rural dwellers prefer radio, it may be for the additional reason of prestige. They want to be modern. Despite this, a reasonable proportion of them still want traditional means of information. After all, to carry out a road project, for instance, rural dwellers do not go to announce it on radio. Therefore, message designers need to incorporate many traditional forms of communication in their multi-media rural development strategy.
- The choice of rural development projects should be that of the rural dweller. Development agencies and governments should no longer allocate projects to rural areas without the people saying that it is what they want.
- Development-message designing should involve the rural beneficiaries of development projects. The era of urban-based officials developing messages for rural areas is far gone. But because the practice still continues, it needs to stop so that rural people can take control of their affairs, develop messages that suit them in the language they want, control its dissemination and take responsibility for problems that may arise.
- Radio is the preferred source of rural-development-information. Its use should therefore be enhanced by improving participation, reach, message content and clarity and cultural relevance.
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