CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.0 Background to the Study
According to Ude (1998) in his book, Introduction to Reporting and News Writing, he
defines news as “the timely report of facts or opinions that hold interests or importance or both
for a considerable number of people”. Ukozor (2003) sees news “as something new and unusual.
While Kamath (1980: 33), says news “is any event, ideas or opinions that is timely, interests, or
affects a large number of people in a community and that is capable of being understood by
them”. News moves through many different media, based on word of mouth, printing, postal
systems, broadcasting, and electronic communication. Having access to current events and up-todate information has value in the modern world because of the constantly changing nature of the
world. Without regular access to news, most people would be unaware of the various events
taking place, both locally and around the world that has an impact on their lives. The news media
plays an important role in society. It sets the stage for political news, manages their agenda,
sources, and controls the information. It functions as a window to the outside world, and
possesses the ability to shape public knowledge, attitudes, and voting behavior.
While not everything that happens has an impact on all people equally, news
organizations generally tailor their content to a specific individual. Events happening in a distant
location can impact economies and various commodities over the long term. This means that
having access to this information can help investors to better understand what is affecting their
investments and allow them react accordingly. A drought in a foreign country can cause grain
prices to rise in other regions as the afflicted population begins calling for aid from allies.
Finally, political tides turn far too quickly, and without being informed, it is difficult for people
who are affected by it to be prepared for the results. Further, this is why many of the stories that
are broadcast on nightly news programs are far-reaching and varied. A term which has entered
common parlance to differentiate cable news from traditional news broadcast is “Network
News”.
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The standardized criteria for judging news value as discussed by Ukozor (2003) are as
follows: consequences / impact, prominence, timeliness, novelty and Human interest.
1. Consequence: is the most important criterion in determining news value. It has to do with
news events that affect the lives of the largest number of people. It should be considered
at every level, both for good news and bad. It is the grater effects.
2. Prominence: deals on the well-known people (important personalities), institutions in the
society etc. proximity bothers on the events that happened within the locality of the
audience.
3. Timeliness: means that news should be reported to the public which it is fresh e as soon
as it unfolds lest it become stale news.
4. Novelty: means the unusual or odd issues that happened in the society (oddity).
5. Human interest has to do with stories that most often touch human feelings.
The term radio news is similar to television news but is transmitted through the medium
of radio; it is based on the audio aspect rather than the visual aspect. Sound bites are captured
through various reporters and played back through the radio. News updates occur more often on
the radio than on the television, usually about once or twice an hour. Newscasts, also known as
bulletins or news programs, differ in content, tone and presentation style depending on the
format of the channel on which they are broadcast, and their timeslot.
Radio news can range from as little as a minute to as much as the stations entire schedule,
such as the case of all news radio or talk radio. Radio news can be a mix of local, national and
international news, as well as entertainment, weather and traffic, or they may be incorporated
into separate bulletins. In view of this, the study would attempt to examine the perception of
Ibadan residents of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN) network news.
In 1951, the Nigerian Broadcasting Services (NBS) was established with the intention to
indigenizing broadcasting. Incidentally, the radio station established at Ibadan happened to be the
first broadcasting station to be established in any of the British controlled territories, while it runs
an independent station it got technical supports from the British Broadcasting Corporation
(B.B.C). The voice of Nigeria (VON) went on air January 1, 1962 as part of the NBC. The
corporation was a parastatal of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, the corporation
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later became the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN). The Federal Radio Corporation
of Nigeria (FRCN) was established by a decree on February 28, 1979. The corporation is
charged with the responsibility of radio broadcasting on short wave or powerful Medium Wave
for effective simultaneous reception in more than one state of the federation at any point in time.
Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area, by
population, in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of over 3 million Ibadan is also
the largest metropolitan geographical area. At Nigerian independence, Ibadan was the largest and
most populous city in the country and the third in Africa after Cairo and Johannesburg. Ibadan is
located in south-western Nigeria, 128 km inland northeast of Lagos and 530 km southwest of
Abuja, the federal capital, and is a prominent transit point between the coastal region and the
areas to the north. Ibadan had been the center of administration of the old Western Region since
the days of the British colonial rule, and parts of the city’s ancient protective walls still stand to
this day. The principal inhabitants of the city are the Yoruba‟s. Ibadan, surrounded by seven
hills, is the second largest city in Nigeria. It came into existence when bands of Yoruba
renegades following the collapse of the Yoruba Oyo Empire, began settling in the area towards
the end of the 18th century; attracted by its strategic location between the forests and the plains.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
FRCN is widely perceived as pro-government in its news delivery because there are national
burning issues that the station suppresses, manipulates or kills which some privately-owned
stations would freely report. As a result of this, people seem to have largely lost public trust and
confidence in the station‟s network news. Therefore, the study would try to examine critically
how the Ibadan residents perceive FRCN network news.
1.2 Objective of the Study
The following were the objectives of the study:
I. To find out how often the residents listen to FRCN network.
II. To ascertain whether the residents like listening to FRCN network news.
III. To determine the resident‟s perception of FRCN network news.
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1.3 Research Questions
The following were the research questions which guided the study:
I. How often do the residents listen to FRCN network news?
II. Do the residents like listening to FRCN network news?
III. How do the residents perceive FRCN network news?
1.4 Significance of the Study
The following were the significance of the study:
1. It would enable FRCN to know how effective its network news is and what the audience
think about it; the findings of the study would help the network station to adjust where
necessary and ultimately lead to effective news dissemination.
2. It would also add to the body of literature in the area of media audience.
1.5 Scope of the Study
The study was limited to the residents of Ibadan town, Oyo State.
1.6 Organization of the Study
The content of the research project was arranged thus: Chapter One gives an introduction of the
study, Chapter Two will attempt to review literature as regards this study, Chapter three will look
at methodology, and Chapter four will look to analyze data while Chapter five will deal with the
summary and conclusion.
1.7 Operational Definition of Terms
The following are the meanings of terms as used in the context of the study:
Audience: refers to the people who listen to the station‟s news broadcast.
Perception: refers to the way in which something is regarded, understood or interpreted.
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Network News: refers to news received simultaneously by the audience in the nooks and
crannies of the country.
News: refers to any event, idea, or opinion that is timely, that interests or affects a large number
of people in a community, and that is capable of being understood by them.
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REFERENCES
Areola, O. (1994), “The spatial growth of Ibadan city and its impact on the rural hinterland”
in M.O. Filani, F.O. Akintola and C.O. Ikporukpo edited Ibadan Region, Rex
Charles Publication, Ibadan, page 99.
Cassata, Mary B. and Asante, Molefi K. (1979), Mass communication: principles and
practices, New York: MacMillan Publishing Co. Inc.
Ike, Okere (2006). Newsletter of the federal radio corporation of nigeria, Radio House, Jan.
March, 2014.
Kakade, Onkargouda (2013). Credibility of radio programmes in the dissemination of
agricultural information: a case study of air dharwad karnataka, IOSR. Journal of
Humanities Social Science (10SR-JHSS) Vol.12, Issue 3 pp18-22.
Lu, L. & Standing, L. (1989). Communicator credibility: trustworthiness defeats expertness.
social behavior and personality, 17, 219-221.
Shaw, E. (1973). Media credibility: taking the measure of a measure. journalism quarterly,
50, 306-311.
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