CHAPTER 1     

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Onoja sees "A situation in which news channels starts to earn by collecting extra for news stories that they should normally broadcast for free" (20). This means that instead of commercializing news for revenue, broadcast networks should organize and distribute it for free. Chioma sees news commercialization "as a deft method by which the media delegated its role for society surveying" (50). One of the most major shifts in journalism practice today is matching the cost of high-quality news versus economic gain (Okigbo 97). By implication, mainstream media are supposed to serve the people by providing news and entertainment rather than profitably selling news and entertainment. The purpose of broadcast media organizations should be to serve the public good. However, current Nigerian media appears to be afflicted by the disease of news monetization (Kenneth and Odorume 105). This means that only the wealthy will be able to transmit their thoughts to the general audience, relegating the average man to the background. The public interest of their audiences is unquestionably protected by media organizations (McManus 219). Any action aimed at increasing profit that interferes with a journalist's or news group's best efforts to increase public comprehension of the issues and events that influence the society they profess to represent' is referred to as news commercialization. Against this background, news commercialization could entail a sponsorship paying a media source to organize, publish, and transmit information. It could also be material paid for by an anonymous sponsor whose idea is aired to a large, diversified audience via a news organization in designed to persuade or alter their thinking (Ekeanyanwu and Obianigwe 517). This act of commercializing news by journalists and media organizations has a significant impact on the objectivity and balance of reporting. Financial gifts may pressure a reporter to do what the giver desires, making the reporter unable to be impartial in his coverage of events and issues encompassing the people that give such gifts (Ekeanyanwu and Obianigwe 517).

The mainstream media are mass communication instruments with specific obligations to keep citizens informed, enlightened, and entertaining. It is via the mass media that society learns about what is going on in or around the nation and responds accordingly. The core elements of the mass media are to serve as the society's watchdog; they are expected to conduct environmental monitoring and correspond the elements of society to ensure the system's effective functioning, which will aid in the transmitting of social heritage from down the generations (Lasswell 65). The mainstream media utilize a variety of strategies to acquire and disseminate information in order to perform these duties, including straight news reporting, interpretative reporting, and investigative journalism (Bo 10).

The Federal Republic of Nigeria's government recognizes the role of reporters in the country's affairs under section 21, sub section 150 of the constitution act. It asserts that the media must maintain the goals and objectives of Nigeria as a nation, and that the media should make sure that all administration organs (Legislature, Executive officers, and Judiciary) uphold these goals and objectives and perform the duties levied on them in the interest of nation building; the press must hold the government answerable to the public in the performance of official functions and responsibilities to ensure that the goals and objectives of nation building are achieved; and the media must hold the government answerable to the public. The preceding provision recognizes the Nigeria press as partners in progress and, as a result, allocates specific tasks to them. The Babangida military regime deregulated the broadcasting business in 1992 in order to encourage more participation and ensure a more diverse range of viewpoints. The main goal of this policy thrust was to enable those who had previously been denied access to state media for whatever reason, so that they could express their ideas and opinions on national and current issues. The fact that reporters have responsibilities to the public is widely acknowledged. Contract agreements to the press and their internal environment; social responsibility commitments to public opinion and society as a whole; responsibility or liability arising from the duty to follow the law; and responsibility to community to ensure good consistency (Ugwuanyi 7). These functions are carried out by the media in order to fulfill their responsibilities to the general public. However, a system in which media practitioners perform their obligations based on financial incentives and rewards is incompatible with the profession's ethics and goals.

Journalists and media houses in Nigeria today market news coverage in order to make a profit. The media's credibility has been harmed as a result of this. The government must investigate this problem, which has suffocated the press media. As a result of the bias in news reporting and coverage, the public has lost faith in the media. Therefore the study centers on commercialization of news coverage in public and private radio stations in calabar: a case study of crbc-fm and ait -fm

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

News commercialization has become a prominent trend in news reporting around the world, as well as a source of ethical concern in the press. It's a deft approach in which the media abdicates its responsibilities for assessing society and sharing information about the event, as well as people of public interest, for monetary benefit (Chioma 50). As a result, the issue of news commercialization has become a defining feature of Nigerian journalism. A circumstance in which a reporter or news organization is forced to raise funds in order to report. Money for hand back for ground is a Nigerian saying that comes into play here. "No money, no reporting," as the saying goes. This technique is like a cankerworm wreaking havoc on Nigerian journalism. Various media outlets in Nigeria have undermined the good old fairness, impartiality, balance, and truth in reporting due to selfish greed and commercial motives. In our modern capitalist era, news organizations are founded on business motives; perhaps, unquestionably, less on the motivation of serving the public for which they are structured (Azeez 20). As a result, the voice of the wealthy is projected at the expense of taxpayers, or the opinion of those who can pay is projected at the cost of all those who can't. Therefore the study centers on commercialization of news coverage in public and private radio stations in calabar: a case study of crbc-fm and ait -fm

1.3 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives of this research are to examine commercialization of news coverage in public and private radio stations in calabar. Other specific objective includes:

1) To assess the level of news commercialization in Nigeria

2) To examine how commercialization of news coverage has an impact on media credibility in Nigeria

3) To examine news commercialization thrive in Nigeria

4) To examine the challenges of media private and public service broadcasting in Nigeria

5) To recommend ways of improving media credibility in Nigeria.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1) What is the level of news commercialization in Nigeria?

2)  How does commercialization of news coverage has an impact on media credibility in Nigeria?

3) What is news commercialization thrive in Nigeria?

4) What are the challenges of media private and public service broadcasting in Nigeria?

5) What are the ways of improving media credibility in Nigeria?

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

H0: There is no significant impact of commercialization of news coverage on media credibility in Calabar

H1: There is a significant impact of commercialization of news coverage on media credibility in Calabar

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study would enable the researcher to pass their experience on the subject matter to Education research centers, government ministries, schools, students to serve as a medium for further research.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study is restricted to commercialization of news coverage in public and private radio stations in Calabar

1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The researcher was faced with the following constraints in carrying out this study:

Time: The time within the researcher is too short to carry on the detail study on this topic.

Resources: Another constraint of the researcher is financial resources to carry on the detail study of this topic. Data: Another limitation to this study will be lack of data to make valid study on the research problem.

1.9 DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

NEWS: News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. News is sometimes called "hard news" to differentiate it from soft media.

NEWS COMMERCIALIZATION: news commercialization as the deliberate presentation of sponsored information to unsuspecting media audience who perceive these information as conventional public interest-oriented news.