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ABSTRACT

Suffice it to say that a lot  of research  has been made in the  area  of  the role of Mass Commutation / media in national development as well as rural development.

The incontrovertible  point has  been that there can be no meaningful national development without rural development . as an off shoot  and most integral part of a country, the need  for priority in rural  transformation cannot be over   emphasized.

The mass media as a vehicle for information gathering and  dissemination has  a  major  role to play in the area of rural development.

In the  light of the  above, the researcher  close the topic mass media coverage of   Rural Development   News; A content Analysis of The Champion, Guardian, Pointer and daily Star Newspapers.

This is  in view  that the  finding and conclusions derived from this study will go a long way to determine the contributions and impact of the nations mass  media (particularly  Newspapers) in the area of rural development and at the same time make useful suggestions for the attainment of desirable  results in this aspect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENT

TITLE PAGE                                                                           II

APPROVAL PAGE                                                                           III

DEDICATION                                                                        IV

ACKNOWLEDGMENT                                                          V

ABSTRACT                                                                                     VII

TABLE OF CONTENT                                                           IX

CHAPTER ONE

  • BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY 1
  • STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM                    3
  • THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 5
  • OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY 7
  • SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY 9
  • RESEARCH QUESTIONS 11
  • RESEARCH HYPOTHESES 12
  • CONCEPTUAL AND OPERATIONAL DEFINITION—

OF TERMS                                                                    13

  • LIMITATION OF STUDY 17

CHAPTER TWO

 

  • INTRODUCTION 18
  • REVIEW OF EXISTING LITERATURE 19
  • THEORETICAL BACKGROUND /ASPECT 24
  • EMPIRICAL ASPECTS 26
  • SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW 29

CHAPTER THREE

  • RESEARCH METHOD 32
  • UNIVERSE AND TARGET POPULATION 33
  • RESEARCH SAMPLE SIZE 35
  • SAMPLING TECHNIQUE 36
  • SOURCES OF DATA 37
  • INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION 37
  • METHOD OF ANALYSIS DATA 38
  • MEASURES TO ENSURE VALIDITY 38

 

 

CHAPTER FOUR

  • INTRODUCTION 40
  • DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION 41

CHAPTER FIVE

  • SUMMARY 52
  • CONCLUSION 54
  • RECOMMENDATION 56
  • AREAS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 59

BIBLIOGRAPHY                                                                    61

APPENDIX                                                                             64

CODE CATEGORIES                                                             65

CODING INSTRUCTIONS                                                     65

CODING SHEET                                                                    67

 

CHAPTER   ONE

 

INTRODUCTION

 

  • BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

 

To achieve National development, rural development is a Sine- quanon that  can not be  jettisoned. The hope of developing  Nigeria and all other  developing countries lie in the development of our rural areas.

The mass media stands out as “filler” of the communication gab between the  government and the rural dwellers on one  end and the urban and  rural populace  on the  other end.  By this, the mass media (especially community Oriented  ones) succeeds in making the  rural citizens active participants of  the government of the  day as they become aware of polices and programmes of the government and equally work towards being  benefactors of these policies and programmes. By and large, wide publication of rural  development news will undoubtedly serve  as a catalyst in bringing about meaningful development to rural communities, which will in turn boost or improve on the  standard of living .

With improved living  standard   for the  rural populace, the age-long  problem of  rural-urban migration would be drastically abated. When this is done, there will be a rational development  in the country, a situation that gives room for a  comfortable harnessing of both mineral as well as  human resources in their places of    existence.

A careful observation of the quality  of life of rural dwellers vis-à-vis that of urban dwellers in the country shows that not much has been done by the government to improve on the lot of the rural masses. The emphasis has been on urban development.

The mass media  has a role to play in rural   development through the level, quantity as well as quality of rural development news it disseminates.

The fact that our rural communities stand out as the  food basket of the nation can not  be  thrown aside and for this, it becomes imperative that these  rural arrears be given important  place in the  scheme of information.

Besides, development of  rural areas is an inevitable and  indispensable condition for diversification of the indispensable condition for diversification  of the economy. And  equitable  distribution  of wealth and social  amenities  is the only  panacea  for urban- rural migration with  it’s alternant problems of over population, hunger, moral decadence, pollution, out break of epidemics, insecurity;  unhealthy  living, inadequate accommodation and high cost of living.

It is against this background that the  researcher embarked on this study mass media coverage  of rural Development news A content   Analysis     of the champion Guardian, pointer & Daily star newspapers.

 

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

This study  is geared towards the Nigerian  mass media and the extent to which they cover rural development news, with a view of determining the level  of commitment of the  nation’s press towards rural transformation  and emancipation from the   doldrums  and shackles of poverty, low standard of living, illiteracy, Unemployment,  epidemic and diseases.

In the  absence of community Newspaper like the  “community concord” purely devoted to the coverage of rural activities, this  research work is  pre-occupied with the task of  ascertaining whether the amount and quality of rural news carried by urban mass media (with special concentration on the newspaper) are sufficient and capable enough to bring the much desirable development in the rural communities .

Using  four newspaper as a point of reference, the study in set to find out  the  reasons for the low coverage of rural news by Nigerian Newspapers with reference to such factors ass the location of the newspaper and ownership.

The problems brought about by the extremely  small coverage of rural development news by the  Nigerian Mass media is also a major concern of this research work. This study is also out to  determine the development undertone of the rural news carried by private and government controlled mass media as well as national and state based mass media.

 

1.3     THEORETICAL FRAME WORK

This  project work is  predicated on two  major theories the development media theory and the Democratic participant “media theory. Both theories  emerged out  of the  realization that the four original normative theories namely, the  Authoritarian, libertarian, soviet communist and social responsibility theories do  not   apply to developing countries or where they  can be applied, have limited potential benefits because  of some peculiar characteristics of the developing countries.

The Development theory for instance was made to suit the developing needs of the third  world as evident  in the shortage or some times  absence of professional skills, communication infrastructure, low  production  and cultural resources, illiteracy to mention a few.

According  to the theory, the freedom of the mass media should be open to restrictions based on the economic priorities and development needs of the people in the society, stressing   that the state has a right to intervene in  or  restrict  media operations in the interest of development  needs. In the interest of development needs. In this way, devices of censorship subsidy and  direct  control can be justified . This theory emanates  from several sources, notably the   Mcfrides report of the  UNESCO international commission for the study  of communication problem.

The second theory  that has bearing on this work is the Democratic participant media theory. This is the latest  addition to the  body of the normative theories and McQuail strands  out as a major proponent  of this theory. The theory emphasizes the right to relevant information, the right to feedback, the right to use  the means of communication for interaction in  small scale settings of community, interest group and sub cultural: In short , it emphasizes what contemporary development communication scholars  term participatory press.

Basically, these  theories X-rayed here  to give focus  and direction to this project work are mainly modifications of existing  theories on how the press ought to perform in a given society.

 

 

1.4     OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

There have been concentration of development effort in the urban cities of our country  at the detriment of the rural areas and this had always brought about the problems of urban-rural  migration because of basic amenities missing in the rural areas.

In view of the aforementioned,  rural development  and diversification of the Nation’s economy is top in the priority list of both past and present government. Thus is why there have been various grassroots development  programmes like Development  for food, Road and Rural  Infrastructure  (DFRRI), The Better life Programme (BLP) and The family support Programme (FSP) to mention but a few.

On rural development as a major concern in Nigeria, a media practitioner, Nwuneli Onwora once said.

A country like Nigeria probably  now  realize that building  sky scrapper and modern express ways and  purchasing vast numbers  of cars among other things are on only  aspect of  development that do not necessarily  change  the   basic attitude of a significant percentage  of the population  towards life”.

De-emphasizing the importance  of communication in social development process,  Nwuneli affirmed that “while social change in desirable, social  development programmes can easily run in to  problems if they are not effectively communicated to the people”.

By  content analyzing  the coverage of rural development news by four national Newspaper, this research work have the purpose of finding the extent to which the  mass media  notably   the newspaper has succeeded or failed in carrying out it’s  rural development functions through the quality  and  quantity  of rural news it carries.

Bearing in mind  that there  are  no or very  few clearly marked community newspaper that  are    fully dedicated to the  coverage  of rural   activities  and selfless  services with a view of bringing  about  rapid  grassroots  development  in all ramification  as it concerns the rural  communities, one of the objectives of rekindling   and reinforcing  the burning   desire for the coverage of rural development  news by national as well as state dailies .

This  project write-up is equally purposeful in the area of  determining  which of the    tow class of newspapers i.e. government and  private owned newspapers that is more poised towards rural development through the nature of rural  news each publishes.

 

1.5     SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

One of  the significance  of this work is  that it highlights  the place of the newspapers in the transformation, mobilization, industrialization and education of the rural dwellers with a view of enhancing their quality of life.

This study  offers readers that opportunity to access the level   of commitment of Nigerian  Newspapers  in furthering the cause of rural  development  through full objective reporting of  community events, activities, achievements  aspirations,  efforts as well as problems.

It is  indeed significant  in that  it stressed the need for newspapers  to use  developmental  events  from rural areas in conspicuous positions such as  front or  back page. Most  times when we see events  from rural areas making front pages, these events are mostly horrors, tragedies or some other negative reports as against self- help  development projects.

This practice is against the fairness doctrine  of the press and stands out as a long in the wheel of rural development .  Hence, one of  the significance  of this project work is that  it is  geared attaining  balances reporting through equal coverage and treatment of rural development news vis-à-vis urban news. This in turn help bride the wide communication gab between the government and the rural dwellers  so as to pave the way for participatory  governance and grass root development.

This project work is  a guide and mirror to  policy makers in terms of  designing  a suitable editorial  policy  that will give a  newspaper upper hand to give  adequate coverage to rural development news.

Besides  it might be one of the needed penance for Nigeria to attain National  development as it is geared towards rural development without which there will be no national development.

Furthermore, this project work stands  out  as a reference material for other researchers  working on this  field or  related communication & development work.

1.6     RESEARCH  QUESTIONS

  1. Is there any relationship between newspaper ownership and coverage  of rural  development news ?
  2. To what extent does location of a news paper   affect us  coverage of rural development news?
  3. Does readership size of a newspaper influence its  coverage of rural development  news?
  4. Is there any correlation between a Newspaper house style or location and its  placement as well  as treatment of  rural development news ?

 

RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

This research work revolves around four hypothesis. These are:-

H1     Government  controlled Newspapers carry more  of rural development news than  privately  – owned newspapers.

H0     Government – controlled newspapers  does not carry more  of rural development  news than privately – owned newspapers.

H2     State- based (municipal) newspapers carry more of rural  development news than national dailies.

H0     State-based (municipal)  newspapers does not carry more of rural development news than national dailies.

H3     That government newspapers give more prominence  to rural development news than privately owned newspapers.

H0     That  government  newspapers does not give more  prominence to rural development news than privately  owned newspapers.

H4     That state- based (municipal) newspapers does not give more prominence  to rural development news than national newspapers.

 

1.8     CONCEPTUAL AND  OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

RURAL COMMUNITY

Operational definition

A rural community may be viewed as a set of people with the  same historical heritage  and cultural  affinity, exhibiting an awareness of their uniqueness  location, sharing common socio-economic and  political  interest but with little or no  social amenities  and basic  infrastructures like pipe-born water tarred roads, electricity, telephone, well- equipped schools, recreational and tourist centres as well as high standards of living.

 

CONCEPTUAL  DEFINITION

According  to a pamphlet  of the Anambra State Development Authority “focus” a rural community is a unified body of inherited cultural  affinity and common socio-economic, political interest based on a common poor social amenities  state that  binds them.

 

 

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Operational Definition:- Rural development here means the conscious, planned and systematic  efforts geared  towards the  transformation or modernization of the rural areas through the provision  of basic amenities and public  utilities needed for good living as well as their full integration in the scheme of things.

Conceptual definition _The world Bank (1975) defines  rural development as a strategy designed to improve the economic and social   life  of a group of people (rural poor). It involves extending the benefits of development to the poorest among those  who seek a live hood in the rural areas. This group include small scale farmers tenants  and landlords.

 

RURAL DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Operational Definition:- Rural Development news here takes the form of  an accurate and timely account of events aimed at bringing  about meaningful economic, Industrial, technological, educational, structural and general development in the rural areas including features, opinion, editorials, letters and pictures.

Conceptual Definition :- According to  Ducan Broadly,  a communication a scholar, Rural  Development News is the coverage of events  pay the mass media rural communities to enhance   rapid development of these communities.

NEWSPAPER

Operational Definition:- This is  a publication  usually printed daily or weekly which report news of current events happening around the globe.

 Conceptual  Definition:-F.U Nwanze of the  mass communication  department, federal polytechnic  Oko sees newspaper as “a mechanically reproduced  tabloid, published daily  or weekly, accessible to anyone who can afford  the cover price and contains a variety of news of public interest  as well as marked with a continuity of Organization.

 

 

 

MASS MEDIA

Operational Definition:- Mass media encompasses all communication medium through which information are passed or communicated  to  a large audience.

Conceptual Definition:- Mass media has  been perceived as formal  Organisations which  process events which are not predictable (Kunczik, 1988).

1.9     ASSUMPTIONS

This project work is  carried out based on certain assumptions. Some of these assumptions are already stated as part of the hypothesis.

This not withstanding, this project work is under the assumption that  rural development news  on rural communities is no getting enough  coverage as it deserves both from the state and  privately owned mass media  (Newspaper).

That both the private and government owned newspapers do not place rural development news at conspicuous positions like front or back pages rather, they  sensationalise and report more on “negative” news from rural areas so as to capture more of the available market audience.

 

  • LIMITATION OF STUDY

The scope of this  study is limited to four Nigerian Daily New papers; The champion,  Guardian, pointer and Daily Star Newspapers. In the process  of  this research  work, there were some limitations and constrain. The  greatest being the challenges  of combining the research work with other pressing   academic work under a very limited  time  as    mapped out by  the school calendar for the semester.

Apart from time constrain, it was a challenge  gathering  the four newspaper content analyzed. Especially in the case of the Daily Star in Enugu where very old editions has to be looked for since the paper is no longer producing on a daily basis.

 

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