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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background Of The Study
A community newspaper is that paper established in the rural area with the basic aim of bringing development closer to the grassroots. A community newspaper should b e community in outlook reporting the activities of the community to the outside world. It is also a veritable medium through which the people are informed about government policies and programmes. To this end, it could be rightly said that a community newspaper has significant impact on national development since effective development of any nation commences from the grassroots.
Igwe (1991:175) agrees with the above postulation when he declares that “a rural or community newspaper serves the information need of a particular locality. Such papers should not be mistaken for provincial papers such as the Calabar-based pioneer. These have a wider coverage and circulation range beyond state boundaries.
The origin of community newspapers in Nigeria could be traced to 1859 when Reverend Henry Townsend established the first newspaper known as “Iwe Irohin in Abeokuta. According to Akinfeleye (1985:28), which launching the maiden issue of Iwe Irohin, Reverend Townsend said: “my object is to get the people to read… that is to beget the habit of seeking information by reading newspapers”. 3
This statement could be interpreted to mean that the aim and objective behind the establishment of the Irohin was for the Egba people to seek information from their environment by reading newspaper.
Initially, Iwe Irohin was published fortnight in Yoruba Language and later in both Yoruba and English Languages. It has eight pages with four pages in Yoruba languages and another four supplementary pages in English Language translating the Yoruba version of it.
Akinfeleye (1985:29) throws more light on Iwe Irohin when he says:
“In January 1866,Iwe Irohim for the first time started publishing two separate editions-one in Yoruba language and the other entirely in English language. It continued with two separate editions until these 1867 when it temporally ceased publication as a result of civil disruption (IFOLE) between the Ibadan and Egba traders…. After a short while, Iwe Irohim resumed publication through under a new management but some title and flag”
Akinfeleye also points out that in the beginning the news coverage of Iwe Irohim was limited in scope. For instance, it carried only religious news items such as news transfer of preachers from one parish or location to another, coronations of pastors or preachers, weddings, baptisms, confirmations and the like. It later expanded its news coverage and began to run non-religions news in addition to religious items. It began to carry stories and news about trade and commerce, exhibitions, sports, health, hygienic, educational and other news items of national significance. 4
fIwe Irohin was particularly informative in its presentation of up-to-date information about schedules of arrivals and departures of slip, cargoes from and to European countries. Crimes reports, nudity, immoral news abstract, alcoholic promotion and the like were unacceptable to the paper.
Akinfeleye concludes by saying that one of the uniqueness of Iwe Irohin is that, it is still the only native language newspaper in the continent of Africa that has lived for over 120 years without any major prolonged stoppage. Today in Nigeria, copies of Iwe Irohin (though how under another management, but same title) can still be found on sale in several Nigerian newsstands particularly in the southern state of Nigeria. Most of its contemporaries have been closed or ceased publication.