Media, Mood and Movement: How Media Energise Social Movements in Nigeria (1986 – 2006)
Media, Mood and
Movement: How Media Energise Social Movements in
Túndé Àrèmú
05-9H-02A-043
Master
in Communications Studies (MCS)
THESIS
submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
MASTER IN COMMUNICATIONS STUDIES
in the
at the
NOVEMBER 2008
Certification
I certify that this work was carried out under my
supervision by Aremu, Tunde for the
award of Masters in Communications Studies (MCS) in the
Signature................................................ Date.......................................
Jimi Kayode
Dedication
This work is dedicated to the memory of Victor Adebamigbe and
Bagauda Khalto, comrade and friend who saw journalism as part of the elements
of the battle; and other Nigerians who died in the many struggles to wrest the
soul of
Acknowledgement
I doubt if there is anyone
more indebted to people for a degree than I.
To Professor Lai Oso, a
father figure who insists on addressing us as his friends, and Mr. Tunde
Akanni, friend and teacher, both of whom made sure I did not find any excuse to
fail to register for my second admission to the School of Communications, I am
eternally grateful.
I will always be indebted to
Dr. Rotimi Olatunji, who never tired of spending his hard-earned money to call
and ensure that my nomadic life does not become a ready excuse for dropping out
of the programme. To Ms. Joke Oyeweso, faculty officer at the Communications
School, who abandoned officialdom and showed keen interest in ensuring that I
do not limit myself or commit self-damnation with an almost obsolete two-decade
old degree.
I sincerely appreciate the
encouragement of the review panel of the school that spoke with so much encouragement
on the preliminary presentation of the thesis and also spoke of the topic
beyond meeting requirement for the award of a degree.
To my supervisor, Mr. Jimi
kayode, who took the risk of taking on a nomadic student and chases him with,
messages that only a best friend could give to an unhurried student.
I acknowledge the immense
contribution of my colleagues and comrades, Dr. Hussaini Abdu and Ayodeji
Ajayeoba (Jaye Gaskia) who allowed me to take rare books in their possession
for this work. And to my other colleagues who never stopped asking me “how far?”
urging me to go on and breast the tape, I am grateful. And to Tony Iyare, who
never tiring of being the big brother comrade, sourced for materials, I knew
exist but could not easily locate, I am grateful. I also acknowledge the response
of Prof. Ayo Olukotun who allowed me access to his recent writings through
Iyare and whose words added to the push.
To a friend, brother and
colleague, Dr. Wale Adebanwi, there is no measure of appreciation that will be
commensurate to the favour of exposing me to literatures on Social Movements
that I never knew existed.
To Kole Ade-Odutola and Edetaen
Ojo, two people who have worked rigorously around the issues of media influence
in Nigeria, as scholars and development workers, both of whom asked hard
questions in response to my inquiries, and saved me from reaching conclusions
without raising critical questions about the yet to be verified notion of the
mass media as the new public sphere, I am forever grateful.
I am grateful to three course
mates, Bidemi Banjo, Yemi Ajayi and Leye Ajayi who made themselves the
substitute to frequent two-hour flights in suspect aircrafts.
And to Olamide, who was not
afraid of getting tied for a lifetime to a man who views life from the mirror
of political movements. Thanks for understanding why he could have made you a
widow at many times and yet refuses to seek reward of public acknowledgement in
his contemptuous view of making public show of a concern for the world herein.
And to Adesekonge-Ire, Eyimofe and Akinwale who in spite of age understand why
their father is a different daddy, I am grateful for your growing up faster
than your age. My brothers, Ademola, egghead of the house, and Dele, the one
that God beckons on stronger than the gown, I thank you for being loyal in
spite of my failings. I am grateful to Funso and Olusayo Aremu, who understood
why a teachers’ son would insist being the best in school is not reflected in
the results sheets. I am appreciative of you as unusual parents of your age, for
allowing me to grow in the direction that suits my peculiar temperament.
Content
1.4. Significance of the study
2.3. Perspectives on Social Movements
2.4. Media and Social Movements Theories: Dilemma in
application to secondary source account
3.3. Population and Sampling Technique
3.4. Movement/Idea study Approach and Ethical Considerations
Other
Activists/Civil Society Organisations Workers
Character of Interview respondents
Summary, Observations, Conclusion and recommendations
Abstract
Assessment of media in
Historical analysis of the
emergence of social movements and the trends in the media in
Emerging facts from
respondents’ views indicate that the media in
Understanding the media in
Media, Mood and Movement: How Media Create and
Energise Social Movements in
Chapter 1
1. Introduction
1.2.
Background
Social movements and Media in
There is no social movement
that has evolved in
The near celebrity status of
the rights activists of the 1980s through to 1990s could be attributed to a
conscious effort by some radical elements that had decided on some form of
entrism in the newsrooms who through these projected rights crusaders voiced
their own perspectives on prevalent social issues.
That media in
The next set of newspapers of
note after Iwe Irohin that also had
some semblance of patronage from the people of the colony started emerging from
1880. These numbered over 50 newspapers. Though the owners of these papers may
be limited in education, and had no professional training in journalism, they
were by no means men of limited stature. As recorded by Omu, they “exuded
self-confidence as they were men of stature active in politics and social
life”. Outstanding of this generation was John Payne Jackson who with his son,
Thomas Horatio Jackson, was described as “an uncompromising tribune of the
people” (Omu 1996: 4). The older Jackson
whose careers was described as exemplifying the militant and crusading zeal of
the pioneer journalists was further described thus by Omu
Convinced
that the purpose of the opposition nationalist press was to correct the errors
and blunders to which official ignorance and misconception invariably lead by a
systematic plan of rigorous scrutiny of government policy and programmes, he
fostered a new temper of journalism which intensified the spirit of criticism
and unrest in the society. He became the chief spokesman of the early
nationalism which started with the struggle for self-government and independence.
Lagos
Weekly Record,
their paper was the dominant newspaper in
Though the media in Nigeria
at all times had had to play key roles in the political and socio-economic
agitations of the peoples of Nigeria, the leading role of the media in social
struggles was to become more manifest again in the period between 1986 and 2006.
According to Olukotun (Olukotun 2005: 9)
The documentation of these
aspects of the
1.1.
Statement
of the problem
Many commentators have acknowledged
the role of the media in the many socio-political cum economic struggles in
The
press, and let me seize this very opportunity to stress this, the press has
been magnificent, heroic and one of these days, when there is more pleasure, we
are going to erect a statute, I am going to see personally to this, that a
statute for heroism of the press is erected at a prominent place in this
country, we must never ever forget.[1]
Encomiums like this are not
in want. However, outside generalised studies of the press, there is hardly any
significant attention paid to the role of the media in popular struggles in
In conservative works that
are based on ideology of the ruling class, it is also not unusual to come
across vilification of the media.
Media scholars have not faired
better in situating the media properly within the context of
With exception of Adigun Agbaje’s
work[2], most scholarly works on the
political history of Nigeria have tended to ignore the relationship between
state, media and democratisation (Olukotun 2005: 12)
Ayo Olukotun’s recent work
while bringing some fresh insight into the way in which the press fought back
and took its place in the fight against tyranny in the period 1983 to 1998 did
not see media as playing triggering role in the politics of that period. Though
the most focused so far in situating media right at the middle of the intense
activity of the aroused civil society, it also presents the media as a critical
element in the firmament, rather than the igniting element.
Media workers themselves have
not done much in term of documentation of their experience as other social
actors have done. The lacuna so far in media studies is that such works have
not indicated succinctly how media do not merely reflect the level of conflict
in
1.2.
Objective
of the study
One of the approaches to media
study is the media effect model. This model has been made relevant due to the
observation that the entire study of mass communication is based on the fact
that the mass media have significant effect. Though “there is little agreement
on the nature and extent of these effects”[3], almost all studies and
phases in the studies in media effect are of agreement, even if of varying
degree, that the media impact on how people react to events and the
environments they find themselves.
This study will place
emphasis on tracing the real impact of the mass media, especially the print media,
on the relevance of the socio-political events in Nigeria with the aim of
finding out if the have had significant effect to justify both the encomium and
opprobrium they have drawn in recent years.
In establishing the types of
impact and the extent of impact that the media has had on the emergence of
social movements in Nigeria, significant steps would also have been taken in
understanding what factors are responsible for the observed impacts, the
significant roles that certain media models may have played and validity and or
relevance of previous assumptions about the media and society.
The way “politics of anxiety”
that characterised Nigerian ruling elites struggle for power is reflected in
the press according to Oso. It will however be necessary to juxtapose this with
other claims by political actors that the media has been responsible for heating
up the political environment.
The stimuli-response theory
is significant here though it deals primarily with individual’s short term response
and reaction to stimulus. Its significance is in the fact that it makes for
understanding on how the individual elements in any environment react to
messages received based on age, class and orientation. It is relevant in our
quest to know the extent to which media messages have triggered off such
reactions that have led to the formations of groups, campaign groups, interest/stakeholders
forums and other social formations. It will also be of interest, applying the
agenda setting theory how the media has consciously set out to trigger of
certain reactions, what elements in the media are responsible for and as the
triggering factors. How these elements made their way into or infiltrate the media
is also of significant interest. Also of interest in this study is the place of
ideas and ideology in the role media has played in the emergence of social
movements.
1.3.
Research
methodology
The research work will utilise
the historical research method. The study of interpretation of events by
different chroniclers and tendencies or more succinctly, Historical Movement/Idea
study analysis is decided as suitable research method for this study due to the
need to understand issues around the place of the media in group identity in
Of interest in this study
will be the motivation of the media in energising various movements. What ideas
and ideologies were predominant?
Of more interest in the study
will be the major actors in the media, the age and class character of these
elements; also of interest is their motivation
The research will also raise
the issue of ownership of media organisations of this period. To what extent
did ownership influence or did not influence the direction in which the media
was moving?
1.4.
Significance
of the study
This study is relevant now
more than ever in extending studies in the media on the way media determine
trends in social thinkings and alignments.
It is also determined to add
to the quest for the emergence of media theories that addresses succinctly the
reality of the South rather than rely on the theories based on paradigms set in
the North that at some times do not tally with the realities of our
environment; or at times academics, practitioners and students have to make
tenuous .arguments to relate to the realities of the Nigeria nay South
environment.
The study based on lived
reality of the Nigerian people and their media at a point in their
socio-political life will also no doubt help in understanding the impact and
potentials of the media far beyond generalised statements that had characterised
statements on the media impact in
It may also be critical to
pose the questions that probe the veracity of the claims of media being of
progressive and change element, i.e. ask if Nigerian media have in the recent years accommodated the journalism of
conversation as opposed to the narrow journalism of information that had existed
for several years. This is necessary as it also helps in having an insight into
how much of public opinion is in the media.
The
While such media scholars and
analysts such as Oso, Olukotun and Ayedun Aluma had in several writings
highlighted the crisis of ideological direction in the media and the gaps in
radical credentials of media organisation due to the acquiesce of the
organisations to the hegemony tendencies of the state, their submissions tend
to ignore the important, if not heroic roles of individuals within these media
organisations.
If there is lack of
ideological clarity in the media organisations, same can not be said of the
individual journalists who had made some entrism into the organisations with
the sole aim of using the media strength to trigger a revolution.
In some other sections of
this work, the possibility of the media in
The spirit of advocacy and
adversarial campaigns that was endemic in the progressive wing of the media is
captured in the mission statement of one of the organisations that embodies the
spirit of struggle in the
"Our
age has found its own sensibility in The NEWS. We are an independent medium dedicated
to the development of man and society through a balanced reporting and analysis
of people, place, and events. We shall be dedicated to the promotion of the
principles of civilized nationalism, democracy, political and economic
pluralism, liberty and the equality of the various ethnic groups of the
Nigerian federation.”[4]
1.5.
Scope
of the study
The
scale of this study will be limited to the period spanning 1986 to 2006 when
the media role in the political, economic and environmental contexts of
post-colonial
Due
to paucity of materials on this era and the area of attention, a historical
research method will be used. Conscious of the fact that every step of
producing history presumes theoretical models of man and society, which in turn
seem to change in terms of the shifting conception of man and society, this
study sought information from people of diverse background. It is with the consciousness
of the fact that individual’s perception of history often change with changes
in attitude, reorientation and social status that the respondents are picked
from varying locations and .socio-political background so as to have several
perceptions of the media.
Some
of the theories of the media that are relevant to a study of media impact weigh
heavily on agenda setting theory. No doubt, such other media effect theories
that can not be ignored include stimulus response theory, priming effect, media
use and gratifications, and the propaganda model. This study will rely heavily
on the media effect theories with emphasis on Agenda Setting in examining the
role the media has played in the emergence and sustenance of social movements
in
1.6. Conceptual definitions
1.6.1.
Social Movements
Social Movements will refer to
political organisations with mass orientation and have mass base. It will also
refer to Coalitions that were formed around social and political campaigns. At
some other times, Social Movement will also refer to popular protests that were
either spread all over the country or are popular in certain part of the
country. It will also refer to contestation of views and opinions as well as
propagation of ideas and views in the public domain and enjoyed attention in
public discourse.
1.6.2.
Media
Media
will refer in general to all types of media, print,
broadcast and online. It will also refer specifically to the print media on
which there will be much emphasis in the study.
1.6.3.
Popular Media
Popular
Media will refer to the creative arts media and
culture based media such as music, theatre arts, literary art, poetry,
indigenous performing arts and the films/home video.
1.6.4.
Activists
Activists will
be used as a generic term for human rights campaigners, social commentators
either from the left or liberal perspectives, students activists, development
workers with special emphasis on Rights-Based approach
1.6.5.
The Left
The
Left will refer to the organisations and individuals
of the Marxist orientations, Socialists, Marxists, Leninists, Stalinist, Trotskyites
and Maoists leaning
1.6.6.
Neo Liberal
Neo
Liberal will talk specifically of people will
capitalist orientation and propagators and to those that subscribe to the new concept
of globalisation as well as what is now known as market eceonomy.
1.7.
Delimitations
This work will avoid
obfuscations that often characterise many works that seek to address
theoretical issues.
This study will also not make
pretence at creating new theories but add to the step at advancing studies in
the area of Media Effect.
There exist paucity of
literatures in this area of study; therefore, efforts will be concentrated in
using interviews with participants in some of the events that will be used to
illustrate some of the issues raised herein.
- Attahiru
Jega (2000) Identity Transformation
and Identity Politics under Structural Adjustment Programme in Nigeria Nordiska Afrika Institute
and Centre for Research and Documentation
- Ayo
Olukotun (2005)
- Charles C. Umeh (1989) “The Advent
and Growth of Television Broadcasting in
- Claude
Ake (2001) Democracy and Development
in Africa, Ibadan, Spectrum Books Limited.
- Clement
Nwankwo, Frank Aigbogun, Eluem Emeka Izeze and Dulue Mbachu (1993) The Crisis of Press Freedom in
- Curran, James, Michael Gurevitch & Janet Woollacott (1982): 'The study of the media: theoretical approaches'. In Gurevitch, Michael, Tony Bennett, James Curran & Janet Woollacott (ed.) (1982): Culture, Society and the Media. London: Methuen (Part 1, 'Class, Ideology and the Media')
- Daramola,
Ifedayo (2006), History and Development of Mass Media in
- Denis
McQuail (2005) McQuail’s Mass
Communication Theory,
- Ismail
Ibrahim & Tunde Akanni (ed.) (1996) The Mass Media and Democracy;
- Karl
Marx and Engel German Ideology
- Olatunji Dare, Adidi Uyo (ed.) Journalism in
- Wale
Adebanwi (2008) Trials & Triumphs: The Story of The News, Lagos, West
African Book Publishers Limited
- Abiodun
Salawu, Ed(2006) Indigenous Language Media in Africa, Lagos, Concept
Publications Limited
- Sunday
Dare (2007) Guerrilla Journalism: Dispatches from the Underground, Ibadan
Nigeria, Kraft Books Limited
Chapter 2
Literature review
2.1.
Introduction
In this section the basic
concepts of Mass Movements will be explored and relevant studies and theories
of mass communication will be applied. The objective here is to establish the
nature of mass movement which allowed media intervention in such way as was
experienced in
While the emphasis is not on
the study of the theories of Social Movements, but on the nature of the media
that assisted in the emergence of the movements that existed in
2.2. Social Movements
Some of the existing literature
considered here are reflections on Social Movement Theory and on relevant
theories of Mass Communications. While emphasis will be placed on Media Effect
Theory, the counter-hegemonic nature of the media under scrutiny in this study
will also necessitate application of both neo-Marxian and classical Marxian
perspectives. Remarkable feature of the manner in which Social Movements emerged
in
Some works have been done in
2.3. Perspectives on Social Movements
In the mid twentieth century,
according to Aldon Morris, “collective behaviour and related theories constituted
the dominant paradigm that guided research of social movements”. The assumption
of these theories is that social movements are spontaneous, unorganised and
unstructured (Morris 1999: 531). It is taken by these collective
behaviouralists that movements were driven by emotions and irrationality, i.e.
that there is direct link between the emergence of movements and mass
excitement, mass hysteria, irrational behaviour and social contagious.
The weakness of this theory
is exemplified in the study of social movements in
The Collective Consciousness that
was the dominant feature of the students’ movements of the 1980s in
While Collective Behaviour
Theorists may be right in the notion that movements could evolve out of mass
enthusiasm and spontaneous reaction to events, the Collective Identity
Theorists and Political process Theorists seem to have better grasp of the
evolution, form and other characteristics of social movements.
The assumption of the Social
Behaviour Theorists is that there is too close a link between emotions and
nonrationality. Morris in his treatise on Social Movement Theory (Morris 2000)
citing Tuner and Killian 1957 stated that the Social Behaviour Theorists
believe that “Human agency operated indirectly …because participants were viewed
as reacting to external forces beyond their control”.
For this theorists
“agency-producing mechanism – social organisation, strategising, reasoning,
analyses, and rationality – were argued to be absent in movements, especially
in their formative stages. When agency entered the picture, it was as a weak
reactive force that played a minor role in the causation of movement”.
However human agency is a
currency that Morris intensely establishes as “important in current political
mobilisation and political process models”. Citing Resource Mobilisation and
Political Process Theorists such as McCarthy and Zald 1977; Gamson 1975; Tilly
1978; McAdams 1982; and Obeschall 1973, he argues that the early theories
“misspecify the central role that human agency plays in social movements.”
Political Process Theory
which has absorbed major insights of the Resource Mobilisation Theory is
relevant in understanding the evolution of movements in Nigeria “as it accounts
for movement origins, the power generated by movements, the emerging cultural
content of movements, and movement outcomes” (Morris 2000:446).
Formulators of the Political
Process models such as McAdam 1982; Tarrow 1994; McAdam et al 1996 among
others, according to Morris are agreed on the theory’s basic theoretical
components which include the concept of mobilising structures, political
opportunity structure, and cultural framing.
How the elements of cultural
dynamics are central to the origins and development of social movements will
also be established. Just as the collective of mobilising structure concept,
political opportunity structure concept and political process concept account
for the origin of movements will be shown further down. The limitations of
these concepts will also be established.
Mobilising structures are
those “collective vehicles, informal as well as formal, through which people
mobilise and engage in collective action”[5]. This concept as Morris
points out “rejects the proposition that movements emerge from fluid,
spontaneous, unstructured contexts that thrust marginal individuals into
collective action” (Morris 2000: 446).
On the impact of cultural
dynamics on the evolution of movements, the Cultural framing concept, the
proponents of the cultural framing process have argued that the mediating
factors between opportunity for action, organisation and the actual occurrence
of action are the “shared meanings and definitions that people bring to their
situation”. McAdam et al (1996) quoted further by Morris reiterates that “At a
minimum, people need to feel both aggrieved about some aspects of their lives
and optimistic, that, acting collectively, they can redress the problem”.
Political opportunity
structure and political process concept have close affinity in their views on
the capacity of challenging groups to, on their own, generate and sustain collective
actions.
According to Tarrow,
Political opportunity structure refers to the “consistent – but not necessarily
formal or permanent – dimensions of the political environment that provides
incentive for people to undertake collective action by affecting their
expectation for success of failure.” [6] The Political opportunity
theory which stresses the weakness of challenging groups and assigned some
weight to elite external actors, as Morris notes, states that “potential
challengers are unlikely to generate and sustain movements because of their
weak social position. Movements are likely to emerge only when favourable
changes occur in the external political system. These opportunities emerge when
divisions develop among political elites, when new external allies emerge, when
states weaken, and when new space in the political system opens. In short, for
groups to engage successfully in collective action, they must first be the
beneficiaries of new external political opportunities that they must exploit.”
For a casual observer of the
The Political Process theorists
whose thoughts encompass a lot of the elements of the concept of mobilising
structures, political opportunity structure, and cultural framing are of the
thinking that “movement mobilisation occurs through informal networks,
pre-existing institutional structures and formal organisations”. Morris citing drawing
on empirical research by such scolars as Oberschall 1973; McAdam 1982; Morris
1981, 1984; Snow, Zurcher, and Ekland-Olson 1980 states that, “the centrality
of mobilising structures is crucial because it is through them that rational
actors figure prominently in the origins of movements”.
The drawback in the political
process theorists’ codification of social movement is in their assumption that
there has to be external political opportunity before challenging groups can
generate collective action. As noted by Roscigno and Danaher 2001, the
“political opportunity theorists focus on the political context in which groups
are embedded and the shifting levels of opportunity that emerge across time and
place. The likelihood of mobilisation and the degree of leverage exerted by
insurgents, it is argued, will be heightened in situations in which elites are
divided in their defence of the existing order.”
Some of the accounts of the
June 12 1993 movement in
However, the political process
concept here ignores completely the place of collective identity which could
combine with opportunity to see to the emergence of a movement. The place of an
alternative belief structure and collective identity has always been prominent
in the risings against injustice and other varieties of struggle against
anti-people struggles in
More relevant here is the
perspective of the Collective identity theorists who emphasised “ideological,
normative, and cultural processes that induce individual participation in
collective action and ensure social solidarity, even in the face of
countermobilisation.” These thinkers, exemplified in Epstein 1990; J. Gamson
1995; W. Gamson 1992a; Melucci 1995;
The reward sought by
proponents and drivers of movement and the reason why the reward is not
necessarily tied to the movement success finds its rationale in the explanation
of the collective identity theorists that resonates with classical and
contemporary theoretical ideas pertaining to class consciousness (Roscigno;
Danaher 2001).
The manifestation of the character
of movement as the collective identity theorists understand it and the possibility
of manifestation of solidarity across geographically dispersed people, how such
solidarity is maintained, the function of the media in setting agenda of that
movement as well as its energising is explained by Roscigno and Danaher in
their works on insurgency of the Radio and Southern Textile Workers in the USA
between 1929 and 1934[8].
Though collective identity
according to some scholars could have some drawback in the way movement
members’ common interest and solidarity manifest, (Taylor: 2000) it essentially
establishes better how “the collective identities people deploy in protest fall
somewhere along a continuum between embedded identities that correspond to identifications
that informs peoples’ routine social lives --- and detached identities that
invoke associational memberships, nationalities---and other self defining
experiences”[9].
2.4. Media and Social Movements Theories: Dilemma in application to
secondary source account
Media role in emergence of
movements can also be understood from the observation made by Roscigno and
Danaher (2001 that “Media may influence collective action by altering actors’
perception of political opportunity.” Adebanwi (2008) noted severally the role
of the media in the evolution of the movements against military dictatorship in
In the Adebanwi’s account of
the media role in the
The
Contrary to the Gramscian
conception of the state taking hold of the mass media to support established
power order and exclude opposition and contending ideologies through a dominant
consensus that works in a concealed way rather than direct coercion, the
The Obasanjo led military
administration made no pretension in its move to stifle opposition voices and
blocking out opinions and ideologies that did not flow from its own notion of
social relations. There was apparent attempt too at ensuring that the most
potent wing of the media serving as agent of diffusion was incapacitated
through coercive control.
The broadcast media coming
under the jackboot of the Obasanjo led military government could also be understood
from the perception of the radio and television as having the capacity to
spread ideas that can bring about change in the social structure and culture.[13]
The
excuse given by the government then was anchored
on the reality that though the regional television stations in the
The view that the regional television stations had
deviated from their original purpose of improving the lots of their people
through provision of informal education for the
adult populace and provision of information that could improve their
social cum cultural status,[15]
and regressed to serving partisan purpose was corroborated by Egbon
Although
all the Nigerian Regional Television Stations in the
In 1977, the Obasanjo
military administration promulgated the Decree 24 with retroactive power taking
effect from April 1976, establishing the Nigeria Television Authority and
taking over existing regional stations.
Decree
24 of 1977 gave the NTA the exclusive right for television broadcasting in
This monopoly was to continue
till the end of Obasanjo military rule and until the emergence of the second
democratic republic. While no doubt the hegemonic crusade of the Obasanjo
administration worked to the extent of the efforts at projecting the
administration’s interests and biases as being for universal good, in national
interest and the dominant views, there emerged a contradiction.
The power and functions
assigned the national network was sweeping and made it a big monopoly over
television broadcast and production in the country. The functions listed in the
decree establishing NTA stated that it was established:
- to erect, maintain
and operate television transmitting and receiving stations;
- ensure the
establishment and maintenance of standards and promote the efficient
operation of the entire system in accordance with national policy;
- establish and operate
a formula for sharing funds among stations;
- act as liaison
between Federal Government and the zonal operations;
- plan and co-ordinate
the activities of the entire television network;
- establish such number
of production centres as it may consider necessary from time to time;
- specify the type of
programmes which should be transmitted by the whole network and the
quantity, type and contents of foreign materials;
- enter into
arrangements with any person or any authority for the purpose of obtaining
concessions, licenses, privileges and other rights;
- manufacture, produce,
purchase, or otherwise acquire films, gramophone, and other mechanical
records and materials and apparatus for use in connection with the
broadcasting services;
- provide other persons
with, and receive from them, matters to be broadcast;
- organize, provide and
subsidize for the purpose of broadcasting, educational activities and
public entertainment;
- collect in any part
of the world and in a manner that may be thought fit both news and
information and to subscribe to news agencies;
- acquire copyright;
- acquire public printed
matter that may be conducive to advancing skills of persons employed in
the broadcasting services, or the efficiency of the equipment used in the
broadcasting services or the manner in which that equipment is operated,
including the providing of the Authority or the others on its behalf of
facilities for training, education and research.
Whoever it was that owned the
original idea of the take over and creation of a monopoly in the broadcast media,
especially the television must have done so on the infallibility of the notion
of an all powerful media. This probably coupled with the impression that the media
do not necessarily “act non-purposively to support the values dominant in a
community or nation…”[18], but tends toward the
confirmation of the status quo made the move more politically expedient. They
though may not be progressive in their view definitely must have agreed with
the Marx view that the class that owns or controls the means of production also
owns or control the means of mental production.[19] The situation in
There actually wasn’t a
productive ruling class in the classical sense. Even the parasitic ruling class
that existed had been supplanted by the military due to what Claude Ake described
as lack of cohesiveness within the Nigeria upper class, reason being that
Nigeria was and is still a “a terrain of conflicting identities”[20]
The national television that
emerged from this exercise obviously conformed to the dream of the initiators
of the take-over. It became uncritical in its support of the government and
never made any pretence at critical or objective assessment of its new owners.
Though the NTA that emerged
had in its employ some of the finest journalists, producers, presenters and
other media workers that the continent could boast of, the network by the time
Obasanjo was handing over to a new civilian regime in 1999 had become had
become synonymous with sycophancy and government propaganda.
As
some Marxist analysts would probably have put it, NTA then had gotten 'locked
into the power structure,” and consequently act “largely in tandem with the
dominant institutions in society.” The network thus “reproduced the viewpoints
of dominant institutions not as one among a number of alternative perspectives,
but as the central and ‘obvious’ or ‘natural’ perspective”[21]
Whatever trust people had in
the television stations had been eroded and very few people will swear by
whatever is broadcast on the television.
The notion of priming and
agenda setting theorists that the media not only tell us what to think about,
but what to think was made irrelevant by the attitude of people to NTA.
Cynicism was rife and a government controlled media that started news with the
“Head of State had announced”, had an interlude on “The Chief of Staff Supreme
Headquarter had warned...”, resumed on The Chief Press Secretary to the
Commander-in-Chief…” and ends the news on “And the Attorney General…” will
definitely soon lose viewership.
The same fate, if not worse,
befell radio broadcasts. As a veteran broadcaster, Patrick Obazele would
recall, the radio was of particular interest to people in power.
“…not
forgetting the impact of the radio during the Nigerian Civil War, each
government of the day took steps to ensure that its activity were aired as they
wanted. The situation was always aggravated by professional sycophants”[22]
The print however gave a different
scenario. Despite various attempts at extending the hegemony to the print by a
take-over of the Daily Times, the independent section of the print media became
the alternate view through which people were able to gauge the state and
mobilise for resistance against policies unacceptable to the populace. As
Olukotun (2005) would note in his study of the
Studies of media effects have
shown certain contentious dimensions to how individuals respond to information.
Though too presumptuous to conclude, it is nonetheless not too far fetched to
assume that the challenges in reaching a consensus on the likelihood of
measuring media effects on people probably accounts for the limited works on
the ways in which the media effects studies in Africa. This paucity of studies
is noted by Olukotun (2005:11) who states that “within the discipline of mass
communication, emphasis tended to be laid in the African context on news
gathering, the status and role-conception of media workers, as well as changing
communication policies”.
This focus on the traditional
conception of the role of media in earlier studies of the media in Africa and
in Nigeria especially was responsible for the ill-preparedness of the political
scientists and mass communication scholars to “theorise, explain or predict the
ways in which media catalyse or slow democratisation or, indeed, political
change and social movements in general.
Olukotun’s
Olukotun’s work avoids the
pitfalls of earlier studies of the media in
The dependence on Hegemony
theory by Olukotun means that he views the resistance against tyranny by the media
against the background of Gramsci’s description of media tendency to support
the established power system and exclude opposition and competing values. He
then goes ahead to establish how the progressive wing of the media broke away
from the notion of a dominant consensus on the relation of the state and the media.
He however in his treatment of the historic role of the progressive media did
not succinctly establish the ideological consciousness that ran through that
section of the mass media. The roles played by individual journalists who were
in the trenches almost appear instinctive rather than ideological.
Adebanwi (2008) fills this
gap in bringing to the fore the ideological dimension of the resistance to the
hegemony that Olukotun has identified. The limit placed on his works due to its
primary focus on the story of The News
magazine does not allow him to treat this ideological perspective beyond the
political orientation of the owners of the magazine. He however provides
windows to further studies of the philosophies and ideologies prevalent in some
section of the media in
Adebanwi’s profiling of The News publications, is summed up in
his assertion on TEMPO a one of the
titles in The News stable that “It
was a veritable insurgent organ” (Adebanwi 2008:75). The organisation right
from inception had defined its role and place as chronicled by Adebanwi “The NEWS was conceived as a reaction to
the ascendant ethos of tyranny and oppression and as a monument to the
fundamentality of human liberty and human expression” (Adebanwi 2008: 41). He
also establishes the principles that defined the orientation of the magazine in
the expose on the world views of its owners. Writing about one of the original
owners of the magazine Dapsy, as Dapo Olorunyomi is known, Adebanwi states that
Dapsy
was an intellectual insurgent or insurgent intellectual. Together with Obasa,
he had been involved in the innermost of the inner cells of the Marxist
movement while at the
He gives further insight into
the orientation of the publication and the central role it will play in the movements
that emerged in the period 1993 to 1998 in his description of another of the
owners, Idowu Obasa
“---
also an insurgent intellectual. But his own history of involvement in social
subversion that was unknown to most people except those who knew him in
Obasa, though not a
journalist already had antecedents that prepared him for running an insurgent medium
Obasa
was --- no stranger to struggle, nor was he to communicating the struggle to a
wider audience. He was in the cell of 15 people which met monthly and published
the journal of the Marxist movement in
Adebanwi reveals further that
this communist inclination of some of the members of The NEWS group in respect of the role of mass communication in a
society became reflective in the era. The owners of the magazine right from the
time they were stepping out had been unpretentious about their mission:
Every age seeks
a forum to give true identity to its spirit and prospect. Our age has found its
own sensibility in The NEWS. The NEWS is an independent medium dedicated to the
development of man and society through a balanced reporting and analysis of
people, place, and events. The NEWS is the product of a popular thirst for
courageous and vibrant journalism in
Within this praxis that The NEWS defined for itself and similar
orientation of another radical publication TELL
magazine we find the relevance of the various forms of media effect theories. The
need to examine the impact of the media with the aid of media effect theories becomes
important as is against the background of general assumption that media are
more likely to stand on the side of the state and owners of source of
production and delegitimise social struggles rather than promote it. This
notion is exemplified in Barker’s essay[26] who citing several scholars
held that “Research in the US has shown that protests or social movements that
challenge the legitimacy of the governments foreign policies, are less likely
to be covered by the mass media (Smith et al., 2001; Shaw 2004) or more likely
to be heavily 'denigrated and delegitimised' (Carragee, 1991).” This conclusion
is often reached based on the tendency to see the media generally with the
lenses of Northern scholars and reach conclusions that the media experience is
necessarily representational of media experience world wide.
Accounts given by Olukotun
(2005); Dare (2007); Adebanwi (2008) point at the prospect of media affecting
people and determining response to social issues, political developments and
states policies is far higher in such environment where there are media workers
with certain levels and types of politically consciousness as in Nigeria.
Though early communications
studies had not been precise about the ability of media to influence opinions
on a given issue, Cohen (1963) and others showed that the media had much
greater capacity to influence which issues were perceived as important. Folarin
(2005) also highlights the perception of Agenda setting theorists that “mass media
pre-determine what issues are regarded as important at a given time in a given
society”. He explains further that even when Agenda setting theorists held that
media do not necessarily have the power to determine power determine what
people think, the theorists agreed that the media determine what people think
about.
Dare (2005) though makes no
pretence at academic work, nonetheless is a detailed accounts of the incidents
of the dark days of military dictatorship and media repression in
Both Adebanwi and Dare in
their narration of the story of the underground press and the guerrilla media from
the stables of The NEWS group and TELL stables that evolved acknowledge the
heroic roles of some section of the mainstream media who though are owned by a
section of the ruling class also played historic roles in mobilising the
energies on the streets of major cities in Nigeria towards what evolved into
the most vibrant social movement in the history of the nation. Their accounts
of the role of these media houses and the elaboration of the impact of the critical
role of such media organisations as The
Punch, The Guardian, National Concord, Vanguard, Sentinel and Hotline magazine justify earlier
assertion that not only one theory of social movement could explain the
phenomenon experienced in Nigeria.
The conscious mobilisation of
the people through provision of space to critical voices and news bents that geared
people into action showed a deliberate effort to galvanise the evolution of
movements against certain state policies and later military dictatorship
justify the claims of Collective identity theorists that social movements
evolve through informal networks, pre-existing institutional structures and
formal organisations. At the same time, the consent of the owners of the major
news organisations at that time who themselves are members of the Nigeria elite
to allow their more progressive workers use their organisations for social
mobilisation also justify to certain extent the claim by the political
opportunity theorists that for movements to occur, there has to be such
situation where elites are divided in their defence of the existing order.
Flowing from the analysis of
the Nigeria media role in the evolution of mass response to social issues and
the character of social movements above, the validity of the perspectives of
the Agenda setting theorists that the media do not merely reflect reality; they
filter and shape it.
McCombs and Shaw (1972; 1973)
who coined the term “agenda setting” (McQuail 2005) held that what people
perceive as main issue at different stages were actually indicated by what the
media indicate to the public. In understanding the impact of media on the way
in which social movements emerge in
Framing is a related concept
that also explains the character of the media that triggered the anti-SAP riot,
protests against withdrawal of fuels subsidy, June 12 rallies and the
anti-third term movement in
1.
Morris
Aldon. 2000, “Reflections on Social Movement Theory: Criticisms and Proposal”
in Contemporary Sociology, Vol 29, No. 3 (May 2000)
2.
McAdam
et al. 1963: 3 quoted by Morris Aldon. 2000, “Reflections on Social Movement
Theory: Criticisms and Proposal” in Contemporary Sociology, Vol 29, No. 3 (May
2000)
3.
Tarrow
Sidney. 1994, Power in Movement: Social
Movements, Collective Action and Politics
4. Vincent J. Roscigno and
William F. Danaher in “Media and Mobilisation: The case of Radio and Southern
Worker Insurgency, 1929 to 1934”, American
Sociological Review, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Feb., 2001), 21 - 48
5.
How Social Movements Matter, edited by Marco Giugni, Dough
McAdam, and Charles Tilly.
6.
Michael Barker, “Conform or Reform?
Social Movements and the Mass Media” Fifth-Estate-Online - International
Journal of Radical Mass Media Criticism
7.
http://www.fifth-estate-line.co.uk/criticsm/conformorreformsocialmovements.html
8.
Philo,
G., and Glasgow University Media Group (1982) Really bad news,
9.
FAIR (1990) 'Lost in the margins: Labor
and the media, A special issue of Extra!' 3 (Summer 1990),
10. Adidi
Uyo “The Electronic Media and Social Change” in Ismail Ibrahim & Tunde
Akanni (ed.) (1996) The Mass Media and Democracy;
11. Egbon,
M.I. (1982). "Origin and Development of Television Broadcasting in
12. Denis McQuail (2005) McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory,
13. Karl Marx and Engel in the German Ideology
14. Claude Ake (2001) Democracy and Development in Africa, Ibadan,
Spectrum Books Limited.
Curran, James, Michael Gurevitch & Janet Woollacott (1982): 'The study of the media: theoretical approaches'. In Gurevitch, Michael, Tony Bennett, James Curran & Janet Woollacott (ed.) (1982): Culture, Society and the Media. London: Methuen (Part 1, 'Class, Ideology and the Media')
16. Patrick Obazele “Challenges
of Radio Journalism and Management of Broadcasting in
17. Ayo Olukotun (2005)
18. Wale Adebanwi (2008) Trials
& Triumphs: The Story of The News, Lagos, West African Book Publishers
Limited
19. Sunday Dare (2007) Guerrilla
Journalism: Dispatches from the Underground, Ibadan Nigeria, Kraft Books Limited
Chapter 3
Methodology
3.1. Introduction
As
has been indicated in preceding chapters, the research objective is to study
how media in
This study hopes to be able
to situate the media role and effect in proper perspective within the
3.2. Research
methodology
This
research identifies the study of interpretation of events by different
chroniclers and tendencies or more succinctly, Historical Movement/Idea study
analysis as a suitable research method for this research. Historiography which
is the representation of history in verbal images and written discourse is
adopted as it allows for reconstruction of the current interest and helps in
sustaining focus on specific issues of interest in the study. This methodology involves
reconstructing past events as it relates to specific conceptual framework.
However, the study will dwell more on the interpretation of historiography as
representation of history in verbal images rather than representation of
history or past events with illustrations or other types of visuals. The choice
of discursive representation is also relevant due to the need to use
triangulation method, combining interviews and literature reviews.
3.3. Population and Sampling Technique
The population for this study
is made up of publications on issues relevant to the study. These include books
on media in
3.3. Data
Collection Method
Data for the research are
sought through literature review. Publications that chronicled media
involvement in politics and movements are consulted and articles both in news
publications and on the net were also consulted.
Some individuals who have
played critical roles in movements’ formation and some media workers who have
at different times stood at different intersections between media and movements
are interviewed. Some of the interviews were conducted one on one while others
were consulted via the net, i.e. through e-mail. The data collection approach
therefore can be analysed as follows:
Isolate
the problem
Problem is identified and
brought into proper perspective for study
Collect
source materials
The researcher gathers
relevant literatures and conduct interviews to interrogate assumption reached
in the problem identification process
Evaluate
source materials
The researcher evaluates
materials gathered in line with the focus of the study and also pays detailed
attention to ancillary issues that may have evolved from the data collection
and evaluation processes.
Formulate
hypothesis
The researcher moves on to
formulate hypothesis around the issues in contention.
Report
and interpret findings
The researcher interprets
findings and goes on to determine the role of the media in Nigeria in evolution
of social movements in Nigeria and how they have faired in sustaining such
movements or accelerated the death of same.
3.4. Movement/Idea
study Approach and Ethical Considerations
The
choice of Movement/Idea study in this research is motivated by Yin (1988)
definition of case study as “an
empirical study that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real
life context; when the boundaries between the phenomenon and context are not
clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used”.
Since social sciences are not precise science and
thus give room for multi perspective analyses, the researcher’s inclusion of Movement/Idea
study and case study in the triangulation approach fits in as it allows several
perspectives not necessarily in agreement. This approach also becomes ethically
important given the involvement of the researcher in some of the occurrence that gave rise to
movement cases studied.
3.5. Limitations
The political history of the
The various attempts at
increasing pump price of petroleum has also met with resistance by a
collaboration of students groups, labours formation, civil society
organisations and other interest groups. The great movement for the actualisation
of the June 12, 1993 presidential election was perhaps the greatest movement so
far in the country. The anti-third term grouping in the country is another political
formation that arose and had large following. This however was not a movement
on the street but what Odia Ofeimu, poet, essayist and political scientist will
refer to as “a daily riot, a daily plebiscite” that the state cannot crush
(Adebanwi 2008:91).
However, most of the
experiences of this period are not yet documented. Where they are, it is either
that they are part of a larger account that surpass area of focus here as in Great Nigerian Students: Movement Politics
and Radical Nationalism (Beckman; Ya’u 2005); or are publications that
though give impression of account of the period but are written by people who
were actively involved from outside the centre, as demonstrated in Out of the Shadows: Exile and the Struggle
for Freedom and Democracy in Nigeria (Fayemi 2005); there are also those
that are mere attempts at personal documentation put in the public domain but
do not qualify for “… academic interrogation of the subject, and so there is no
attempt at a comprehensive analysis of a phenomenon that involved so many media
houses and other personalities, but in terms of the narrow focus that the
author chooses”[28]
Apart from availability of
literature, previous research on the political history of the nation, the
relationship between media democratisation, political and social movement has
not been properly studied or theorised (Olukotun 2005: 12)
Most of the resources that
are considered relevant are also hard to access. Many of the publications are
not available in the country.
Response from interviewees is
also a challenge. Most of the active participants are either not available, or
too busy and either made responses to questions in such haste to give as much
information as required or are totally preoccupied with other urgent matters to
be pinned down for an interview.
- Claude
Ake (2001) Democracy and Development
in Africa, Ibadan, Spectrum Books Limited.
- Ayo
Olukotun (2005)
- Wale
Adebanwi (2008) Trials & Triumphs: The Story of The News, Lagos, West
African Book Publishers Limited
- Sunday
Dare (2007) Guerrilla Journalism: Dispatches from the Underground, Ibadan
Nigeria, Kraft Books Limited
- Bjorn
Beckman; Y.Z. Ya’u. eds (2005)Great
Nigerian Students: Movement Politics and Radical Nationalism. Centre
for Research and Documentation (CRD),
- Reuben Abati A Guerrilla Journalist Writes Back Review of Sunday Dare (2007)
Guerrilla Journalism: Dispatches from the Underground, Ibadan Nigeria,
Kraft Books Limited
- Yin, Robert K. Case Study
Research: Design and Methods. 3rd ed.
- Kayode Fayemi (2005)Out
of the Shadows: Exile and the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in
Chapter 4
Data Analysis
General Observations
In analysing the data collected,
the materials fall into two broad categories i.e. interviews and literature
reviews.
In both instances, there is a
consensus that the media organisations in
There as also the consensus
by all interviewees and literatures studied that the ownership factor has
affected the media role in energising the people and facilitating the role of
catalysts in the emergence of social movements in
There however is an acknowledgement
of the historic roles of some section of the media in the struggle for
democracy in the country. The media role in the June 12 movement was critical
in the momentum of the progress recorded by the mass demonstrations.
Most of the critical essays
that examined the role of the media at the time however are of the opinion that
ethics took a back seat at the instances where the media made intervention on
the side of the people. Objectivity at that time was recorded to be suspect.
Now, there is general acknowledgement
(though grudging in some cases) in the literature - even if from different and
differing perspectives - that the media can enable and constrain the politics
of society (Crowley and Mitchell, 1994), particularly if acting in concert with
other social forces.[30]
Tendencies
and perspectives
Analysis of responses and
available literature indicates different perspectives on media and social
movements. These perspectives differ according to political orientation of
individual respondent or writer; role perspective of the respondent or writer,
and the type of work people do.
Academia
Views of the academia
interviewed and those represented by their writings suggest a belief that the media
have generally upheld the hegemonic tendencies of the state. The strength of
their argument is anchored on the ownership character of the media
organisations. Except in such work as Adebanwi’s work on The NEWS magazine (2008) and Olukotun (2005) where though he also
pay lots of attention to the hegemonic nature of the state relations with the media
but documented the heroic role of a section of the media he termed resurgent media
in the fight against dictatorship in Nigeria.
Some of the academia agree to
certain extent that a major issue with the media is that the media in
These nonetheless, acknowledge
that the media play historic role in the various stages of the evolution of the
Media
workers
The media workers interviewed
are of the opinion that the media in spite of limitations has been responsible
for the mobilisation of Nigerians towards some progressive course.
View of many of the
journalist respondents is that the movements into journalism of some ex student
activists impacted on the transformation of the newsroom into activists’
territory.
The Marxist orientation of
some of the reporter influenced their attitude towards news. For many of them,
news is not mere information, but a new outlet for spreading their ideas
The significance of the entry of the ex-students
activists should not be measured in quantitative, but in qualitative terms.
Since they did not control the managerial arm of the media, they could only
agitate for a more critical and activist approach to journalism. But
essentially, their interpretative approach to news reporting and critical
analysis of issues helped to promote liberal orientation in the media. It is
not an exaggeration to say that the media support for most social issues during
the period derived substantially from the agitation for socially responsive
journalism by these student activists within the industry.
Some of them brought their ideological orientation to bear on the media in
The former students’ unions
leaders/activists turned journalists, initially formed a group known as the
Progressive Journalists Association (PJA), which at its inaugural meeting in
the headquarters of the NLC in
The socialist agenda was however dropped
when other elements that did not have the same activist background joined the
group because they too felt that the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) needed
a new orientation. A new platform called ‘The New trend’ subsequently
crystallized carrying the banner of ‘journalism with social relevance’
Activist Journalists helped to facilitate the emergence of such
movements as described above. This confirms the view that movement mobilisation is not
spontaneous, unstructured or unorganised but evolve through informal networks,
pre-existing institutional structures, and formal organisations
The fact that Lagos NUJ was part of the Campaign for Democracy (CD) and
later Joint Action Committee on Nigeria (JACON) also influenced attitude of
many journalists towards the coalitions and their activities
Fact emerged that the Nigerian media traditionally gives robust coverage
to anti-military and pro-democracy movements. These continued coverage of
issues of concern to the movements as articulated by the spokespersons helped
to register them on public consciousness
Other Activists/Civil Society Organisations
Workers
Civil society organisations workers and activists are of the opinion
that the media played critical roles in the emergence of the movements around
issues such as SAP, petroleum subsidy, June 12 and Third term agenda.
They believe that progressive elements deliberately guided their
audience towards reaching certain conclusions that aided the popularity of the
movements.
Some of the civil society activists who had their antecedents in the
radical students’ movements and are of the left orientation identified some
elements in the media as their compatriot in the Progressive Youth Movements of
the 1980s and other left formations. These they believe regarded the media
environment as a battle front.
That the mainstream media is not populated by progressive elements or
owned by people with progressive inclinations is not lost on these, but view
the impact of the left elements as overwhelming at the time.
The activists however believe that the media in recent times has lost
the bite and the capacity to mobilise people for collective action due to mass
migration from the media of the left cadre that influenced opinions in the
period under study.
Character
of Interview respondents
Ten people were targeted for
interview. Of these, four were face-to-face interview, while the others were
contacted by e-mail. Of these, three are activists without media background,
three are media workers and the rest are persons in the academia who have also
had newsroom experience.
Chapter 5
Summary, Observations, Conclusion
and recommendations
The study, How Media Created and Energised Social
Movements in
Many scholars, media
commentators, media workers and media development workers have expressed
disparate views on the role the media played in the
Certain schools of thought
have expressed the believe that lack of ideological clarity and weak economic
base have made it impossible for the media to articulate the group interest of
the post-independence
Ade-Odutola mentioned further
that the economic climate of the period, hostile political crisis deepened the
contradictions in the media. This he claimed play
out in the media role as facilitators of social change and their primitive
motivation for profit. He claimed further that this confusion of identity is
best constructed and illustrated it by quoting a review of how eight Nigerian newspapers
reported the abortive presidential elections of June 12
in the July 1993
edition of The Media Review, which described
the publications with six adjectives ranging from private, elitist, independent,
populist, state government owned, partly-owned federal government and fully owned
federal government press.
However, this view pales
against the documentation of the media role in the democratic process as recorded
by Olukotun (2005), Adebanwi (2008) and other writers who have written about
the media role in the movements for democracy in
The study observed that the
notion of a media in state of confusion and lack progressive credential is
borne out of an over generalised perception of a collaborative media. This view
of the media also did not rely on a scientific audit of the media in
The study also ascertained
that the major mainstream newspapers in the country, at the period under study,
such as The Punch, The Guardian, National Concord, and
Vanguard, though owned by business men whose major interest is in profit at
some stage had their editorial orientation shaped by some of the reporters
there who already had linkages in progressive movements outside the newsrooms.
The entry into journalism and
other media works of ex students activists from about 1984 started impacting on
the editorial content of major newspapers. This impact was such that even an
elite publication such as The Guardian
became one of the outlets for these young revolutionaries to seek to prosecute
their own agenda of mobilising people for certain causes.
The new “revolutionaries”
gaining entry into the media from mid 1980s consciously primed their audience for
the purpose of arousing their consciousness towards acting on government policies.
Interviews were conducted with questions targeted at obtaining already conceived
answers, opinion pages, columns and letter pages became the new plebiscites.
Former students’ union
leaders that had made their ways into the journalism profession did not
restrict it to mere entrism in the newsroom, but sought to further their agenda
by initially forming a group known as the
Progressive Journalists Association (PJA), which at its inaugural meeting in
the headquarters of the NLC in Lagos sometime between 1987 and 1988 adopted the
socialist ideology as its guiding philosophy. The socialist agenda was however
dropped when other elements that did not have the same activist background joined
the group because they too felt that the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) needed
a new orientation. A new platform called ‘The New trend’ subsequently
crystallized carrying the banner of ‘journalism with social relevance’
These set of journalists helped
to facilitate the emergence of social movements, first
by facilitating the Nigerian media robust coverage of anti-military and pro-democracy
movements. Second through their continued coverage of issues of concern to the
movements as articulated by the spokespersons, registering such in public
consciousness
Some media organisations, in
spite of the closeness of their owners
gave
generous coverage to the movements whose materials were sometimes published
verbatim. Some sections of the media provided newsprint for the printing of
pro-democracy campaign materials
It is true that among media
owners and editors, rank greed has set in; however, this situation became a
real problem in the period after 2000. by this time as most interviewees noted,
vast majority of the ex students activists have left
the media to pursue carriers in the civil society, the NGOs, donor bodies, the
Labour movement etc
The significance of the support given to the emergence of social
movements should not be measured in quantitative, but in qualitative terms.
Since the responsible journalists did not control the managerial arm of the media,
they could only agitate for a more critical and activist approach to
journalism. But essentially, their interpretative approach to news reporting
and critical analysis of issues helped to promote liberal orientation in the media.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the media support for most social issues
during the period derived substantially from the agitation for socially
responsive journalism by the student activists within the industry.
From available literature about media in Nigeria, including unsparing
critical essays, and active participants account, it is obvious that the movements
that evolved in the period under study could not have evolved on their own
without the active involvement of media or some elements in the media who
actively primed people towards acting and themselves becoming collaborators in
the street actions.
The study has also brought to fore the need for scholars to find a new
lens through which they could view correctly the African media as against the
prescriptions of the North.
Bibliography
Abiodun Salawu, Ed(2006) Indigenous
Language Media in Africa, Lagos, Concept Publications Limited
Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, Osaro Odemwingie
eds (2008) Gender Audit of 2007 Elections and Issues in Women’s Political
Participation in Nigeria; Lagos, Women Advocates Research and Documentation
Centre.
Abubakar Momoh. 1994, “Interest Groups,
Kilitarism and the Transition to Civil Rule in Nigeria (1987 - 1993)” in Indian Journal of Politics Vol XXVIII: 3
- 4
Adidi
Uyo “The Electronic Media and Social Change” in Ismail Ibrahim & Tunde
Akanni (Ed.) (1996) The Mass Media and Democracy;
Attahiru Jega (2000) Identity Transformation and Identity
Politics under Structural Adjustment Programme in Nigeria Nordiska Afrika
Institute and Centre for Research and Documentation Kano
Attahiru M. Jega, Haruna Wakili,
Mustapha Ahmad (eds) (2002) Democracy and
Democratisation in
Ayo Olukotun (2005)
Ayo Olukotun “The Media and Democracy in Contemporary Nigeria”, being paper delivered as the second D.S Adegbenro memorial
lecture held on September 27, 2008 at
the Gateway Broadcasting Corporation, Ogun State
Ayo Olukotun; Dele Sheteolu “The Media and Democratic Rule” DPMF
Publications
Ayo
Olukotun “State funded media: Addressing the rot” article published in Compass
Newspaper
Bjorn Beckman; Y.Z. Ya’u. eds (2005)Great Nigerian Students: Movement Politics
and Radical Nationalism. Centre for Research and Documentation (CRD),
Charles C. Umeh (1989) “The
Advent and Growth of Television Broadcasting in
Claude Ake (2001) Democracy and Development in Africa, Ibadan, Spectrum Books Limited.
Clement Nwankwo, Frank Aigbogun, Eluem
Emeka Izeze and Dulue Mbachu (1993) The
Crisis of Press Freedom in
Curran, James, Michael Gurevitch & Janet Woollacott (1982): 'The
study of the media: theoretical approaches'. In Gurevitch, Michael, Tony
Bennett, James Curran & Janet Woollacott (Ed.) (1982): Culture, Society and
the Media. London: Methuen (Part 1, 'Class, Ideology and the Media')
Daramola, Ifedayo (2006), History and
Development of Mass Media in
Denis McQuail (2005) McQuail’s Mass Communication Theory,
Egbon, M.I. (1982).
"Origin and Development of Television Broadcasting in
FAIR
(1990) 'Lost in the margins: Labor and the media, A special issue of Extra!' 3
(Summer 1990),
How Social
Movements Matter, edited
by Marco Giugni, Dough McAdam, and Charles Tilly.
http://www.fifth-estate-line.co.uk/criticsm/conformorreformsocialmovements.html
Ismail Ibrahim & Tunde Akanni (Ed.)
(1996) The Mass Media and Democracy;
Jubril Bala Mohammed 2003. The Nigerian press and the Ibrahim Babangida
Military Administration 1985 – 1993 Ibadan, BookBuilders
Karl Marx and Engel German Ideology
Kayode Fayemi (2005) Out of the Shadows: Exile and the Struggle
for Freedom and Democracy in
Matthew Hassan Kukah (1999) Democracy
and Civil Society in
McAdam et al. 1963: 3 quoted by Morris
Aldon. 2000, “Reflections on Social Movement Theory: Criticisms and Proposal”
in Contemporary Sociology, Vol 29, No. 3 (May 2000)
Michael
Barker, “Conform or Reform? Social Movements and the Mass Media”
Fifth-Estate-Online - International Journal of Radical Mass Media Criticism
Morris Aldon. 2000, “Reflections on
Social Movement Theory: Criticisms and Proposal” in Contemporary Sociology, Vol
29, No. 3 (May 2000)
Olatunji Dare, Adidi Uyo (Ed.) 1996, Journalism
in
Olawale Oshun. 2000, Clapping with One Hand: The Story of June 12,
Olu Oguibe (Ed). 1993, Democracy in
Patrick Obazele “Challenges of Radio
Journalism and Management of Broadcasting in
Philo,
G., and Glasgow University Media Group (1982) Really bad news,
Reuben Abati A Guerrilla Journalist
Writes Back Review of Sunday
Dare (2007) Guerrilla Journalism: Dispatches from the Underground, Ibadan
Nigeria, Kraft Books Limited
Saheed Adejumobi. 2000, “Structural
Adjustment, Students’ Movement and Popular Struggles in
Saheed Adejumobi and Abubakar Momoh. 1999, The Nigerian Military and the risis of
Democratic Transition: A Study in the Monopoly of Power
Sunday Dare (2007) Guerrilla Journalism:
Dispatches from the Underground, Ibadan Nigeria, Kraft Books Limited
Tarrow Sidney. 1994, Power in Movement: Social Movements,
Collective Action and Politics
Vincent J. Roscigno and William F.
Danaher in “Media and Mobilisation: The case of Radio and Southern Worker
Insurgency, 1929 to 1934”, American
Sociological Review, Vol. 66, No. 1 (Feb., 2001), 21 – 48
Wale Adebanwi (2008) Trials &
Triumphs: The Story of The News, Lagos, West African Book Publishers Limited
Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research: Design and
Methods. 3rd ed.
Yussuf A. A. 1992, “From the Citadel of
Learning to Battlrground: An Exploration of Students Unrest in
[1] The Guardian, October 17, 1998 quoted in Ayo Olukotun (2005)
[2] Adigun Agbaje, The Nigerian
Press, Hegemony, and the Social construct of Legitimacy 1960 – 83 (New York:
Edwin Mellen, 1992). Unfortunately this book is hardly available in
[3] Denis McQuail (2005) McQuail’s
Mass Communication Theory,
[4] The Mission Statement of The
News weekly magazine
[5] McAdam et al. 1963: 3 quoted by Morris Aldon. 2000, “Reflections on
Social Movement Theory: Criticisms and Proposal” in Contemporary Sociology, Vol
29, No. 3 (May 2000)
[6] Tarrow Sidney. 1994, Power in
Movement: Social Movements, Collective Action and Politics
[7] These were cited by Vincent J. Roscigno and William F. Danaher in
“Media and Mobilisation: The case of Radio and Southern Worker Insurgency, 1929
to 1934”, American Sociological Review,
Vol. 66, No. 1 (Feb., 2001), 21 - 48
[8] Vincent J. Roscigno and William F. Danaher in their work, “Media
and Mobilisation: The case of Radio and Southern Worker Insurgency, 1929 to
1934” examine perspectives of social movement theories on group identity and
political opportunity and how media can enable and constrain social struggles
[9] Tilly, Charles. 1999. “From Interactions to Outcomes in Social
Movements” pp 253-70 in How Social
Movements Matter, edited by Marco Giugni, Dough McAdam, and Charles Tilly.
[10] Michael Barker, “Conform or Reform? Social Movements and the Mass
Media” Fifth-Estate-Online - International
Journal of Radical Mass Media Criticism
http://www.fifth-estate-online.co.uk/criticsm/conformorreformsocialmovements.html
[11] Philo, G., and Glasgow University Media Group (1982) Really bad news,
[12] FAIR (1990) 'Lost in the margins: labor and the media, A special
issue of Extra!' 3 (Summer 1990),
[13] Adidi Uyo “The Electronic Media and Social Change” in Ismail
Ibrahim & Tunde Akanni (Ed.) (1996) The
Mass Media and Democracy;
[14] Egbon, M.I. (1982). "Origin and
Development of Television Broadcasting in
[15] The DailyTimes (November
2, 1959), as quoted by Charles
C. Umeh (op cit), carried a
front page report of the inauguration of the new Western Nigerian Television
service in
Television
venture took off successfully and became the pride of the entire Region and the
nation.
[16] Egbon M.I op cit pg 7
[17] Adegbokun, D. (1983). 'Nigerian Television Authority'.
Television Journal 2nd Quarter. April-June, OD. 3-5.as quoted in Charles Umeh
op cite
[18] Denis McQuail (2005) McQuail’s
Mass Communication Theory,
[19] Karl Marx and Engel in the German
Ideology
[20] Claude Ake (2001) Democracy
and Development in Africa, Ibadan, Spectrum Books Limited. Pg 67
[21]Curran, James, Michael Gurevitch & Janet Woollacott (1982): 'The study of the media: theoretical approaches'. In Gurevitch, Michael, Tony Bennett, James Curran & Janet Woollacott (Ed.) (1982): Culture, Society and the Media. London: Methuen (Part 1, 'Class, Ideology and the Media')
[22] Patrick Obazele “Challenges of Radio Journalism and Management of
Broadcasting in
[23] Emphasis mine
[24] Ayo Olukotun (2005)
[25] Emphasis mine
[26] Michael Barker. Op cit
[27] Excerpt from Reuben Abati’s review of Sunday Dare’s Guerrilla Journalism: Dispatches from the
Underground.
[28] Reuben Abati op cit
[29] Kole Ade-Odutola, of the Department of African and Asian Languages
and Literature, University of Florida, USA in a paper titled “Influencing
Public Opinion in Nigeria: Locating Effective Social Institutions”
[30] Adebanwi cited by Ade-Odutola
[31] Ade-Odutola op cit
[32] Kole Ade-Odutola is of the Department of African and Asian
Languages and Literature,
Comments
Post a Comment