A CASE FOR COMMUNITY RADIO IN INFORMATION BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL AREAS IN ENUGU STATE
ABSTRACT
The issue of information imbalance has generated a lot of controversy in international setting with accusations and counter accusations from both the North (developed countries) and the South (developing centrs).
This insidious phenomenon, in the name of information imbalance has crept. Into the information flow between my urban and rural areas. As an Igbo adage has it: “one should struggle for land before struggling for mat”. In the holy Bible also, there is an admonition that one should first remove the log in one’s eye to enable one see the speak in another’s.
I should first try to remedy my domestic information imbalance before joining others to condemn information imbalance at the international level.
This study “ A case for community Radio in information Balancing between the urban and Rural Areas in Enugu State” tends to support other research works done on information imbalance.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Bibliography 88
Questionnaires 93
CHAPTER ONE
Radio developed out of scientific advances made in the fields of electricity and magnetism. The first transmission of an electromagnetic message over wire was made in 1844 by Samuel F.B. Morso. By 1861 a transcontinental high-speed electric communication system was signaling across nations.
During the period (1860s) that the telegraph and the telephone were demonstrating and perfecting long-distance communication by wire, James Clerk Maxwell predicted (1864) and Heinrich Hertz demonstrated (1887) that variations in electric current produce waves; that such waves can be transmitted through space without wires, at the speed of light.
These theories stimulated much experimentation. The most successful being guglielmo Marconi’s work in the late 1890’s. Marcomi received a patent for his wireless telegraph in 1897. By 1901, he was sending wireless dot-dash transmission across the Atlantic. Through the work of such men as Reginald Fesseaden and Lee De Forest, high quality wire less voice communication carried by electromagnetic waves become possible. Thus the stage was set for radio broadcasting.
However, radio broadcasting came to Nigeria in stages. The first was the introduction of wire broadcasting; radio distribution or rediffusion – relay or distribution of programmes from abroad through a central receiver. This was achieved by means of wires connected to loud speakers. It was then handled by the P and T loud speakers.
Later in 1948, new local programmes were added such local programmes were news features, entertainments and local announcements. It now operated under the call sign “Radio Nigeria” the workers prepared the programmes, read the news and translated it to local languages.
An urgent need for an alternative means of broadcasting that would serve greater majority of the people came up. When the RDS was not meeting up with reaching the masses in the colonies with war propaganda. To achieve this, additional stations had to be establish first at Ibadan, then at other provincial levels.
The focus now was on wireless broadcastings to implement the recommended plan, two experts from the BBC arrived in Nigeria in 1950. Their activities resulted in drastic enhancement of the radio medium in Nigeria in terms scope, trained manpower, and infrastructure, they started first from regional levels.
Radio, a welcome development world wide, acts in three ways: in terms of functions, they are:
It is because of these and such qualities of radio like portability, availability, linguistic barriers breakage, instantaneous effect, massive out reach, sensitivity and minute technical process, that we make our case for radio to be user information balancing.
Previous studies revealed that the information flow between the urban and the rural areas are mostly one-sided. The privileged ones in the urban areas use their available mass media to over flood the rural ones. The rural populace, despite the fact that greater number of people dwell there, are under reported. Pertinent to state that too much crisis journalism can have a disturbing effect on the rationality and tranquility of a society. Digging into the cause discern a glaring fact that information imbalancing is always possible when two segments of the society do not have equal access to the mass media. Put in the other words, where a particular segment has superior equipment and better trained press men found almost everywhere. This calls to the mind that developed society with better and or conducive methodologies of gathering and disseminating information, will always inundate the less developed ones.
From the national scene, it is also the same story- the rural people are always fed with over doses of information from their urban counterparts. Looking at information imbalance from the international setting, it is today one of the major areas of concern; the developing nations are clamouring for New world information and communication order (NWICO) because of their under reportage by the developed nations: quite obvious to state that an average youth in Nigeria knows almost all the states in America, Europe etc, but knows very little about the thirty six states in Nigeria. The Nigeria Youth sees America, Britain, France and other developed countries as role models. We are not surprised because the media has made it so.
On the other hand an average American youth perceives Africa as jungle – a place where nothing good comes from. Infact to him we (Africans) live on top of trees, put succinctly to him Africa is another hell where peace never existed. The media equally made it so and such is imbalance in information sharing. One should expect the misconceptions since there exists an abyss of information imbalance between the developed nations and the developing ones.
Our research has revealed that we have information imbalance in different scales national and international. Journalists everywhere are faced with special problems that inhibit their maximum effectiveness as independent and well informed, commentators. In one sense, therefore, journalists are prisoners of the system within which they work. While the urban elite inundate the rural ones with their available ‘superior’ mass media, the rural counter parts cannot do anything since they are still in the rustic method of information dissemination oral media, the rural elite are receivers who never give.
The recommendation and or request for the establishment of community radios in our rural areas cropped up from the ever burning desire to balance the information flow and give a sense of belonging to our rural dwellers. The request for radio is also hinged on the fact that at present, radio is a mass medium with a highly fragmented audience and revenue base. Radio is a local rather than a national medium, interms of both its audience and its income.
If communication should be considered in its roadest sense, it is not only the exchange of messages, but individual and collective activity embracing all transmission and sharing of ideas, facts and data, while its main functions in any society will include among others information, socilalisation, motivation, debate and discussion, education, cultural promotion, entertainment and integration Nwogbuinyama 1997, (unpublished).
We want to achieve the above and more balance information. Having in mind that they will be a far fetched dream if the medium to be used is not at the disposal of the greater population in the rural areas. The rural elite will use community radios to either support or counter information from their urban counterparts.
They will use, such radios to reflect their culture and to create awareness of their mental and physical products. To see the realization of the above, is our goal, desire and objective.
Nature in its veracity has created diversity between
different societies. This is also found in communication where most of the media are situated in the urban leathers.
The problem is the acceptance of community radios that will bridge the gap of information flow imbalance between the urban and rural areas, as it concerns UNESCO initiative: seeking ways of evolving a two-way information channel that will “foster communal integration through localized media of communication”.
The bone of contention in this my project is the
balancing of information flow between the urban and the rural areas. Again I will bring to focus this medium that was once merely a theoretical vision of the late nineteenth century, now achieved a major impact throughout the world where it is situated or received.
Despite the enormous impact of television in the year 1950s radio has continued to grow and prosper. Since its early development in 1920, it has achieved and maintained growth rivaling that of all other media in his history of mass communication. Estimates in 1980s see radio growth in a penetration of more than one radio for every person; radio set sales continue to climb. Almost all automobile have radios.
Radio is an especially strong medium among both the general population and specialized audiences. For example, the overall radio listening audience is larger than the television and newspaper audience for a sizeable portion of the day. The highest audience measurement comes at approximately 8.00am to 9.00am, then it tapers off, climbing back up to a plateau between 3.00pm to 7.00pm, these “highs” are commonly called drive-time, when many people listen to radio while commuting to and from work.
My request for the establishment of radio station in the rural areas if met, will enhance the acceptance and participation of our people in decision making and help trained journalists to carryout the sociological believe of participant observation; achieve the aim of reporting (how to do it) aspect of news coverage and as well help the villagers to hear their voices on air, that of their relations and opinion leaders in the community.
Again we have it at the back of our minds that this our case if appropriately articulated and implemented will give the villagers access to information and sense of belonging in advertising their products easily and act a reduced rate, without the tedious task of traveling to the big cities and pay for air time.
The ever pressing need for employment will be achieved because opportunities will be created for the sons and daughters in the field of mass communication. The graduate when employed, will use the power of pen, microphone and electronic, media to develop his people, by educating informing, socializing, entertaining and mobilizing them. By so doing help to bridge the gap in information flow.
The rural elite will as well use these radios to either support or counter information flow from their urban counter parts. They will use radios to reflect their culture and create awareness of their mental and physical products.
1.5 HYPOTHESIS
From the literature review and introduction, the following hypothesis will be tested.
H1: Rural elite will tend to be more active in participating in activities of national issues when there is community radio at their reach.
Ho: Rural elite will tend to be less active in participating in activities of national issues when there is community radio at their reach.
H1: Our rural areas will tend to be more developed when community radios are used in information balancing.
Ho: Our rural areas will tend to be more undeveloped when community radios are used in information balancing.
H1: There will be a rapid growth in the number of radio audience among the rural people, when information and news from their local setting are regularly broadcast, in their local radio.
Ho: There will be a rapid growth in the number of radio audience among the rural people, when information and news from their local setting are regularly broadcast, in their local radio.
1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Obvious to state that some words have their connotative and
denotative meanings. In the light of this, therefore I have used some terms I feel their definitions will go a very long way in establishing my intended meanings and not to create ambiguous impression of any find.
Some terms are used technically while some others are use figuratively but I believe that a good study of this part of the entire work will help and guide me through.
A community is an aggregation of groups of people which vary in social class, economic status often in religious and political affiliation and also in outlook and opinion. Any community, large or small is held together by a nexus of communication. Note that community as I used in this project implies to only the rural people.
This is the sending of experience from one point to another through channel.
Creation of equality in the amount and nature of information flow from urban to rural areas and vice-versa.
Mass medium of information that uses electromagnetic waves, sent through a transmitter, received and decoded by the receivers at home.
In every research work, there must be some problems to be surmounted and a lot abounds in all human ramification, because of the ever dynamic nature of man and the hyper sensitive nature of some toward anything that touches on their intellectual.
This work is not in any way an exceptional one, in witnessing some of the problems to be encounted during data collection and collation of it, but it is an exception because it is a welcome innovation by the rural dwellers and those who feel that it is an honourable task to be embarked on.
Firstly, I must say that Nigerian Land mass, population and the nature of her people’s settlement, or keeping aboard posed some problems to this work. One cannot in all honesty carry out an unbiased, objective and fact based study of the entire population of Nigerians or even his case study i.e within UDI and her environs, within this stipulated space of time and come up with an inference that will represent the entire view of the population.
Although in all humility, I tried in seeing this through.
Again the time leg is another up-hill task to overcome because I am carrying out this research at the crucial point in my programmes, bearing in mind that I earnestly endeavour to cope up with my other academics activities and then see to this with vigour. Although I know from time that this project is inevitable due to inconsistency in information imbalance, which is an aberration.
The issue of the project being inevitable, but was not started when it supposed to be started in any programme, then give birth to another problem that face, i.e poor planning. In as students failed to plan before now on when to start writing this project, and now cut napping. While the other way round, those that plan our final year programmes, failed to give this project a well suited place in our academic calendar, this to a large extent failed to answer the big question “when” it supposed to be. On this juncture suggest that project should start from the first semester of the final year, so that there will be enough time to research and paste-up every material in one position.
Furthermore, to this myriad of problems, one will of necessity feel the boredom of our nations economy. Based on the poor state of our economy now, I cannot of truth cover a reasonable number of people; locations and those reached were phychologically indisposed to answer some of my question, because of fear and ignorance.
They are afraid because of the nation’s political condition and never wanted to be quoted outside to avoid arrest. They are equally ignorant of the usefulness research in “bettering” their condition.
Again the level of our people’s orientation and education that are at the ebb or simply low to our expectation, constituted another problem to the successful actualization of this work.
Materials to lay hold on, in beefing-up this research work were not easily seen in the library and when seen, will not be up to date in educating one.
Finally, I must say that a lot of problems abound, from not starting in time to not having enough money, to the point of not returning some of the questionnaires by my respondents and lots and lots of other problems.
But of all these, I am part of them all and emerged victoriously. I believe to have achieved my heart desire, which is advocating extensively for the establishment of radio houses in my communities to balance information flow and help check the upsurge of graduates and youths in any big cities.
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