CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study.
Mass media are very important tool of communication through which information is passed to even the farthest end of the world. They enable us to communicate with each other by helping us to overcome the barriers of time and space. They perform both primary and secondary functions for the society.
Mass media function in various ways. First, mass media keep us well informed of the happenings around us and of the world which will otherwise remain unknown.
The media also persuade us mostly through advertisements. As we can see newspapers, magazines, radio and television.
Also, the mass media gives us entertainment. Television and radio broadcasting provides us with a big variety of programs which both educates and entertain us.
The media systems that exist in a society are directly related to the political system prevalent in that society. The political system determines the exact relationship between the media and the government. The political system in place also determines the relationship between the media and the people. It also determines to what capacity the media will operate. The political system in a country also affects the flow of information in the country in which it operates. It, for example, the political system in place in a country is an authoritative one (i.e. Military rule) there will be no free flow of information as the media will be acting in fear of the government and will cover the information that the government want the people to be informed about and so the people if that country will continue to live in ignorance of the activities of their government. But since Nigeria is a democratic society, the researcher is going to talk about the role of the media is a democratic society.
The role of the news media in a democratic society springs from the right of the people to learn about matters of public concern.
Nigerians, as members of a democracy, claim a freedom to speak about the workings of government, and entitlement to debate government conduct and a right to demand that policy makers defend their decisions such things rely on access to information. People can play a useful role in a democracy and hold their government accountable only if informed well enough to do so. In this context, the news media act as both a conduit and a watch dog. Free expression also encourages a government to be answerable to its people. Indeed, because of advances in Internet communications and the mass media, at no time in history have governments been better able to answer directly to those who elect them. But there are limits in the scope of information people have access to so, it is the job of the news media and the journalists to pass on correct and concise information to the people so that they are kept abreast of the activities of their government and their environment. This brings us to broadcast management and media owners.
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via radio, television, or other digital transmission media. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof. It is imperative to note that broadcasting organizations has various things it offers to its audience. Those offerings of the organization are regarded as programs of the organization, programs are artistic products packaged as tangible goods in an economic sense for the consumption of audience of a broadcast channel in the medium (Owuamalam, 2002).