ABSTRACT
The focus of this study was to examine the content of newspapers in Nigeria based on how they contribute to development and to establish the extent to which the media are working to create awareness in agricultural and health sector so that it can mobilize both the government and the governed towards achieving a developed agricultural sector and a healthy state. The frequency of reportage, space occupied and prominence given to agriculture and health related issues on the editorial and front pages was also examined. The study adopted content analysis as its research design. The population of the study was all editions/issues of the Guardian, Vanguard and Thisday newspapers published from June 2014 to May 2015(12 months), using purposive sampling techniques. Findings from this study revealed that the most emphasized issues in agriculture was on agricultural input information (40%), while that of health was on diseases related issues like, ebola (36%), HIV/AIDS (26%) and malaria (18%), this could be attributed to the fact that there was ebola disease outbreak during the period under the study. With regards to space, agricultural related issues were more on quarter pages (53%) while Health related issues were more on a Full page (33%) of the Nigerian newspapers. It further revealed that agriculture were more on the Inside pages and none was found on the other pages While Health issues were mostly on the Inside pages (76%) of the newspapers though some were found on the front pages (19%) and few on the editorial pages (2%). Findings from this study also showed that Guardian newspaper reported agriculture and health related issues more than Vanguard and Thisday newspapers throughout the period under this study. Furthermore, the results of the Z-test for two sets of hypotheses tested showed significant differences in both frequencies of reportage as well as prominence given to agriculture and health related issues by newspapers. Therefore, the two hypotheses were rejected. Similarly, the results of ANOVA tests on two other hypotheses showed that there was no significant difference in the prominence given that agricultural-related issues among the three newspapers while there was a significant difference in the prominence given to health-related issues by the three selected newspapers in Nigeria. The study concluded that information on health related issues were given more reportage, prominence and space than agricultural related issues. This study recommends that agricultural-related information should be given more attention because as the country shifts its attention to improve local food production, farmers need up-to-date information on government programs. And the attention given to health-related issues should not be on diseases alone, it should as well include other areas in the health sector. Finally, daily newspapers reporting only agricultural and health issues should be established.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgments v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables ix
List of Figures x
Abstract xi
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1: Background of the Study 1
1.2 Problem Statement 5
1.3 Objective of the Study 8
1.4 Test of Hypotheses 8
1.5 Justification of the Study 9
1.6 Definition of Terms 10
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE
REVIEW 12
2.1 The Concept of Communication 12
2.1.1 Communication process 14
2.2 Mass Communication 15
2.2.1 Nature of traditional communication in
Nigeria 16
2.2.2 Nature of modern communication in Nigeria 17
2.3 The Rural Persons and Their Information
Needs in Nigeria 19
2.4 The Need for Rural Information
Dissemination in Nigeria 20
2.5 Agricultural Communication in Nigeria 22
2.6 Health Communication in Nigeria 24
2.7 Media Contributions to Health
Communication Activities in Nigeria 26
2.8 Mass Media and the Nigerian Society 29
2.8.1 Mass media role in creating awareness 31
2.9 Print Media 32
2.9.1 Newspaper: an overview 33
2.9.2 Organogram of the newspaper 35
2.10 List of Local, Regional and National
Newspapers in Nigeria 38
2.11 Publishing Ethics in Nigeria 42
2.12 Writing Newspaper Article 43
2.13 Review of Related Theories 45
2.14 Theoretical Framework 51
2.15 Conceptual Framework 53
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 57
3.1 Study Area 57
3.2 Population of the Study 57
3.3 Sample and Sampling Procedure 58
3.4 Data Collection 59
3.5 Data Analysis 59
3.6 Hypotheses 61
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION 65
4.1 Developing Issues Covered by Nigerian
Newspapers 65
4.2 Most Emphasized Issues About Agriculture
and Health by the Nigerian Newspapers 72
4.3 Frequency of Reportage of Agriculture and
Health Related Issues by the Newspapers in Nigeria 75
4.4 Space Allocated to Agriculture and Health
Related Issues in the
Newspapers
in Nigeria 80
4.5 The Prominence Given to Agriculture and
Health Related Issues in the Newspapers in Nigeria 84
4.6 Hypotheses Testing 88
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY,
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 93
5.1 Summary 93
5.2 Conclusion 95
5.3 Recommendations 97
References 99
Appendices 105
LIST OF TABLES
2.1 List of local, regional and national
newspapers In Nigeria 38
4.1 Frequency distribution of news items
reported in Guardian Newspaper according to sectors of the economy under review 66
4.1.2 Frequency distributions of news reported in
Vanguard Newspaper
according
to sectors of economy under review 65
4.1.3: Frequency distribution of news items in
Thisday Newspaper according
to
sectors of economy under review 70
4.2: Frequency distribution of the selected
Newspapers according to most emphasized issues about agriculture 72
4.2.1: Frequency distribution of the selected
Newspapers according to most emphasized issues about health 74
4.3 Frequency distribution of reportage on agriculture
related issues by the
three
selected newspapers 76
4.3.1 Frequency distribution of reportage on
health related issues by the three
selected
newspapers 78
4.4 Distribution of the selected newspapers
according to space allocated to agricultural news items 80
4.4.1 Distribution of selected newspapers
according to space allocated to
health
news items 82
4.5 Distribution of the selected newspapers
according to prominence given to
agricultural
news items 85
4.5.1 Distribution of the selected newspapers
according to prominence given
to
health news items 87
4.6: Z-test analysis of the frequency of
reportage of agriculture and health
related
issues by the selected newspapers 89
4.6.1 Z-test analysis of the degree of prominence
given to agriculture and
health
related issues by the selected newspapers 90
4.6.2 Summary of one way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) of the percentage
mean
of the prominence accorded to agricultural- related issues among
the
three selected national newspapers 91
4.6.3: Summary of one way analysis of variance
(ANOVA) of the percentage
mean
of prominence accorded to health-related issues among the three
selected
national newspapers. 92
LIST OF FIGURES
1 Communication Process 14
2 Organogram of Newspaper Medium 35
3 Inverted Pyramid showing the different
parts of a Newspaper article 44
4 Conceptualized framework of the study 54
CHAPTER
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Information is central to all forms of human activity
no matter the field, be it medicine, agriculture, tourism or engineering, there
is need for exchange of information in order to ensure completion of tasks. Inefficiency
will be the results, where this exchange of information is slow or where there
is a break down in the system. For this, information is regarded as an essential
resource that needs to be properly developed because it has a high effect on
society. Consequently, any society, community or group that has a poor
communication and information dissemination system, perpetually lags behind
others that have efficient information system Edegoh, Asamah and Anum, (2013)
citing Moemeka (1985)
It is good to also note that people are living in a
world that is saturated by the media with the environment brimming with data
and information (Hutching and Matthew, 2008). Also, in recent decades, the
popular use of mass media has resulted in heightening the level of public
knowledge in different field, (Buren, 2000).
Mass media is an important communication outlet that
plays a greater role in the process of positive change. It does this in a
variety of ways including setting agenda for important discussion, topics,
transferring knowledge, forming and changing options and behaviour. It also
plays a vital role in disseminating information about education, health and
agricultural development including different new innovations in agriculture
which could help farmers to increase production. Nowadays, access to
information, education, knowledge and communication plays an important role in
the individual and social life of the citizens and also in human development
and inclination towards growth. As a pre-requisite to knowledge, information,
recognition, and awareness are among the most efficient factors in reaching
human development (WSIS, 2005).
Among the diverse mass media, the print media
especially newspapers are enduring and very popular. It is cheap and available
and can reach a wide and large range of readers. It can be read and re-read at
convenience, thus allowing for a fuller and better understanding of mass
content. It also helps in the exchange of information between those searching
for information and those disseminating the information and also supports new
behaviours (LightFoot, 2003). In other words, newspapers are vital and
fundamental tools for technology transfer in promoting agricultural and rural
development. Thus, Aina (1990) with reference to USA and Canada and Fett (1972)
with reference to Brazil attribute success recorded in agriculture in these
nations, to farmers’ adequate access to agro-information contained in
newspapers.
Newspapers provide up-to-date information on local,
state, provincial, national, and world issues. They are among the widely-read
periodicals that are available and accessible to majority of people of all ages
and walks of life in any community. Every category of reader can find some
important, current, and interesting information by accessing newspapers.
Today’s newspapers use design elements that make information easily accessible
to the reader, for example important stories have large bold headlines, while
graphics appear next to related stories. The most current analysis and
criticism of politics, economics, health, sports, psychological and emotional
issues, music, theatre, television, the fine arts, and even comics are covered
by newspapers (Apata, 2010)
Ola and Ojo (2006) reiterate that, “newspapers are
important because they carry current information and keep readers informed of events
and happenings within and outside their immediate environments”. They are
useful for education, recreation, entertainment and relaxation. News is written
as a way of disseminating information to a large group of people. Reporters and
editors are usually conscious of the language they use in news reportage to
attract popular readership. Knowledge and information are essential for people
to successfully respond to the opportunities and challenges of social, economic
and technological changes. But to be useful, knowledge and information must be
effectively communicated to people (Singh, 2011).
There is a greater demand and need for accurate,
relevant, rapid and impartial public health information by people, and a
growing reliance on mass media as the main source of information. The public
health community usually looks to the media for support, attention and
endorsement and are considered as a primary source of health and science
information, even for health professionals. On the other hand, they are also
seen as an important tool to disseminate health information to the population.
They are quite important in furnishing the public with health information
(Gupta and Singh (2010).
Agriculture is becoming increasingly information
sensitive (Padre et al., 2003) hence
access to information has become a prerequisite and a valuable resource for
agricultural development. Success in enhancing food production, providing
income and job opportunities and ensuring that the agricultural sector performs
its manifest functions in furtherance of rural and overall national
development, depend largely on the communication system adopted to implement
various agricultural programmes. Access to this information is one of the most
critical resources in agricultural production.
The Nigerian press has the social responsibility of
passing information to the entire populace, on agricultural innovation and
agricultural information generally. This responsibility becomes imperative
especially with its claim as the vanguard of people for sustainable
development.
Another key aspect of the development potential of
mass media is in health communication as Ochonogor (2009) suggests that, development media message, if
structured and sustained over a long period of time will ensure a smooth transition
of the media agenda to public agenda.
The media are significant sources of health related
information and can shape the way we think and discuss about health. According
to the Health Reform Foundation of Nigeria (HERFON) in the Nigerian Health Review
(2006) “recent assessment of the health of the Nigerian population indicates
that the health situation in Nigeria and of Nigerians is dismal and efforts to
change the situation over the years have been insignificant”. Some recent
health issues in Nigeria are as follows, Malaria, tuberculosis, tetanus,
HIV/AIDS, cholera, chicken pox, diarrhea, polio, measles, diabetes, and
typhoid, among others HERFON in the
Nigerian Health Review assert that “the coverage of the National Health System
is limited and health education and enlightenment is weak partly due to high
level of illiteracy (Uwom, 2014).
To be in good health, people need adequate information
and knowledge on healthy lifestyle practices, preventive health measures,
health conditions and diseases, and government health care programmes. The
print media can help in National development through creating awareness,
accelerating information flow and mobilizing the populace towards attainment of
national goals and aspirations to ensure a total transformation of the society.
Agriculture and health are the two key sectors of any economy, if improved can
boast economic development. In review of the health situation in Nigeria, the
Federal Ministry of Health acknowledged that “the health situation in Nigeria and
the health of Nigerians are in a deplorable state (Gupta et al 2010).
This work therefore seeks to establish the extent to
which the print media (Newspaper in particular) is working to set public agenda
for the health and agricultural sectors so as to help in building a collective
knowledge base and mobilize both the government and the governed towards
achieving development as they relate to these sectors.
1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT
Dissemination of important information about various
programmes is one most important aspect for bringing uniformity in a society.
The information for all programmes provides a framework for international
co-operation and regional partnerships. It supports the development of common
strategies, methods and tools for building a just and free information society
and for narrowing the gap between the information-rich and the information-poor
(Singh, 2011). The implication of this is that if the right information is
carried on the print media readers will be properly informed and this will
contribute to national development. The simmering crisis in Nigerian
agriculture involves dissemination of timely and relevant farm information to
farmers because if farmers do not have access to relevant information it will
affect their level of awareness about new innovations in agriculture. Thus,
access to information is one of the most critical resources in agricultural
production (Obidike, 2011). The
trends of agricultural information coverage studies show that developing
countries do not publish much important information on agriculture (Blackbum
1999). So in other to improve
agricultural production in Nigeria, there is need for adequate and
proper dissemination of key developmental issues and programmes to stakeholders
and farmers through the media.
The coverage of the national health system is limited
and health education and enlightenment in Nigeria is weak. Health sector is
another important sector of the economy. “Health they say is wealth”, and
healthy living is wealthy living but most times we are not properly informed.
Therefore, efficient communication in healthcare is critical in achieving
appropriate result, because to be in good health people need adequate
information and knowledge on health matters. They also need information on healthy
lifestyle practices, preventive health measures, health conditions and
diseases, and government healthcare programmes (Uwom, 2014). An unhealthy
farmer cannot carry out its farming activities successfully throughout the
farming season, so the media are to create awareness accelerating information
flow and mobilizing the populace towards attainment of national goals and
aspirations to ensure a total transformation of the society. Thus, this study
seeks to investigate the extent to which newspapers face the challenge of
informing, educating and enlightening the society on health related issues.
The rate of circulation of newspapers in Nigeria is
urban centralized. Those living in rural communities have less access to
information because the print media sell the papers mostly in the cities.
Newspaper is one of the cheapest print media yet they are not readily available
in the rural areas. Thus, the rural people do not have much access to
newspapers. And because they use more of traditional technology and health care
it will not promote agricultural development because an unhealthy farmer cannot
carry out his farming activities successfully (Okorie et al 2010). Therefore, if the newspaper caries educative
information in these sectors and also tries to circulate it to the rural areas
it will help in creating awareness in the rural area.
Furthermore, at the inception, newspapers in Nigeria
were established to serve the interest of their owners, politician and
businessmen but not just for the common man (Ahmed 2014). But when newspapers
are properly conceived, it can do more than reportage of events to become instigators
of development, Therefore there is need for a change of direction in terms of
reporting as against the already established way of just disseminating
information. The inability of the newspapers to address development issues
could be traceable to the fact that some government policies are not in favour
of the newspaper operators. Some of these policies also affect the cost of
publishing. Therefore, a critical look will reveal the extent to which the
newspaper media have contributed to agricultural and health development through
their level of reportage of relevant and educative information in these sectors
despite their constraints in publishing.
There is a general assumption that Nigerian Newspapers
more often than not give limited reportage of health related issues. This assumption is even worse among relevant
stakeholders regarding poor reportage of agricultural information in the
dailies who believes that the newspapers need to do more to upscale their
reportage on agriculture. In any case these are mere assumptions. There is thus
an urgent need to verify the authenticity of such assumptions. This study was
therefore designed to analyze the content of newspaper coverage of agriculture
and health related issues by three national dailies in Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined three
Nigerian newspapers (TheVangurad, The Guardian and Thisday) from June 2014 to
May 2015(12 months). It sought to examine the space that agriculture and health
related issues occupy in the newspapers. The level of prominence (placement)
given to agriculture and health related issues and the impact and awareness the
newspapers create in national development through disseminating adequate
agricultural and health development issues.
Based on the aforementioned issues raised, the
following questions guided this study.
i.
What is the level of reporting developing
issues in the selected Nigerian newspapers?
ii.
What are the most emphasized issues about
health and agriculture that are published by these newspapers?
iii.
What is the frequency of newspaper
reportages of agriculture and health related issues in the selected newspapers?
iv.
What amount of space is being allocated to
agriculture and health related issues in the selected newspapers.
v.
Are agriculture and health related issues
given prominence on the front page?
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The broad objective of the study was to analyze the
content of coverage of agriculture and health related issues by three national
newspapers in Nigeria.
Specific objectives were to;
i.
ascertain
the level of reporting development issues in the selected newspapers;
ii.
ascertain the issues written about
agriculture and health issues that are most emphasized by the selected
newspapers;
iii.
ascertain the frequency of reportage of
agriculture and health issues in the selected newspapers;
iv.
ascertain the space being allocated to
agricultural and health related articles by the selected newspapers; and
v.
ascertain the prominence given to
agricultural and health related articles by the selected newspapers.
1.4 TEST OF HYPOTHESES
HO1:
There is no significant difference in frequency of
reportage of agricultural and health -related issues by national newspapers in
Nigeria.
HO2: There is no significant
difference in the prominence accorded to agriculture and health-related issues
by national newspapers in Nigeria.
Ho3:
There
is no significant difference in the prominence accorded to agricultural-related
issues by the three selected national newspapers in Nigeria.
Ho4:
There
is no significant difference in the prominence accorded to health-related
issues by the three selected national newspapers in Nigeria.
1.5 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY
Agricultural information dissemination is a crucial
stage in agricultural technology development and transfer. It is crucial
because if it is not done properly and through the appropriate channel it would
not serve the purpose which it was intended to serve (Apata 2010). Also, Health
programmes in Nigeria will not be successful without proper dissemination of
health research findings to the people. There is need for communicating
up-to-date information about health related issues so as to know the right thing
to eat and the right thing to do at all times when one is not healthy (Uwom,
2011). This study brings to light the recent developments by the print media in
filling the gap in proper information dissemination in these areas in Nigeria.
Effective agricultural information will assist in
boosting farmer capacity to increase their agricultural productivity. In
addition, the “watchdog” function of the press could be brought to bear on the
coverage of agricultural issues to make government accord the desired priority
to agriculture. Thus finding from this study will generate information that
will be useful to the newspaper proprietors
It also hopes to sensitize the policy makers in both
sectors on the need for partnerships between extension and newspaper publishers
and also between health personnel and newspaper publishers. It will also
trigger off serious attention to the social responsibility of the newspaper.
This work hopes to help bring to the forefront the media research on
agricultural and health information dissemination as the bone for improvement
in these sectors and national development. Undertaking a study on the
contributions of the print media in the development of the two important
sectors of the economy, will help publishers to understand and put serious
attention to dissemination of relevant information about these sectors. Added
to this, what have been done so far will be known and improvements will take
place to bring to the people what they need to know through the newspapers in
Nigeria.
Information is not something that we can see or touch
but can be acquired, just like knowledge (Ahmed, 2014). When people are given
the right information, they get the knowledge, skills, and ability to discover
themselves and their environment. This is how people can be empowered by the
use of communication. Thus, this study added to the existing knowledge and has
bridge the gap between the contributions of the newspaper media in the past and
present, that is, if there is any improvement or not has been known.
1.6 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Content
analysis: Content-analysis is a practice of measuring and
analyzing communication that has taken place, and from it make inference
(Ogunbameru, 2000).
Agriculture:
According
to Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, agriculture is the cultivation of animals,
plants, and fungi for food, fiber, bio-fuel, medicinal plants and other
products used to sustain and enhance human life.
Health:
Health
has been defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “a state of complete
physical, mental, social and spiritual well-being rather than a mere absence of
disease” (Ekong, 2010)
Coverage:
According
to Wikipedia, coverage is the extent or degree to which something is observed,
analyzed, and reported. It is the percentage of persons reached by a medium of
communication, such as television or newspaper. It can also be regarded as the
amount or extent to which something is covered.
Development:
According
to online Business Dictionary, development is the systemic use of scientific
and technical knowledge to meet specific objectives or requirements. It is an
extension of the theoretical or practical aspects of a concept, design,
discovery, or invention. It is also the process of economic and social
transformation that is based on complex cultural and environmental factors and
their interactions.
Newspaper:
It refers to a brand range of publications from the huge metropolitan daily to
the small provincial newspaper (Ukonu, 2006). It can also be defined as a
printed product created on regular basis and distributed to large number of
people. Hence, newspapers carry information and news reports of happenings in
the society.
Frequency: Frequency
is defined as the total number of articles published by the newspapers within
the duration under study. It is also the rate of occurrence of reports/articles
or an issue within a given period in a newspaper.
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