Mass Media And The Coverage Of Human Right Issue In Nigeria

Description

ABSTRACT

This is a study that is pre-occupied with an in-depth analysis of the influence of Mass Media pm the coverage of Human Rights activities and also on political issues in Nigeria. Some national daily like the vanguard, New Nigerian, Punch and Daily Times Newspapers were critically evaluated and content analyzed, on a given period of time.

In achieving this, we embarked on a look into the extent of coverage given to human rights issues as regards their views on national political issues. The press objectivity coverage quest and the ownership restrictions were also studied to determine whether it has any relevance with ethnicity or not. There is also a drawn comparison between newspapers which area supposed to have the characters of ethnicity and those that area biased based on the ownership patter

TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER PAGE

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL PAGE

DEDICATION

ACKNOWELDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER ONE

• INTRODUCTION
• BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT
• PROBLEM STATEMENT
• OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT
• PURPOSE OF THE PROJECT
• RESEARCH QUESTION
• SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
• OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS
• PROJECT ORGANISATION

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

• *
• CONCEPT ANALYSIS, DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION THE MASS MEDIA
• THE ROLES OF THE MASS MEDIA IN PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHT
• THE FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHT
• UNIVERSALITY OF HUMAN RIGHTS
• THE NATURE OF HUMAN RIGHTS
• RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
• RIGHT OF WOMEN
• CAUSES OF VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
• PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHT
• METHODS AND TOOLS FOR SAFEGUARDING HUMAN RIGHTS
• HUMANITARIAN INTERVENTION AS A MEANS OF PREVENTING FURTHER HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION
• SANCTION AS A TOOL FOR SAFEGUARDING HUMAN RIGHTS
• INCENTIVES AS A TOOL FOR SAFEGUARDING HUMAN RIGHTS

CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

• INTRODUCTION
• DESIGN OF THE STUDY
• SAMPLE SIZE
• STUDY POPULATION
• DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURE

CHAPTER FOUR

• RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
• DATA ANALYSIS
• RESULT
• DISCUSSION

CHAPTER FIVE

• CONCLUSION
• RECOMMENDATION
• REFERENCES

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                          INTRODUCTION
The media roles in the area of human right protection can be evaluated based on the media concept which is supposed to be on ethical binding in as much as the media in information dissemination, aims at profit making, they ought not to forget that social responsibility is supposed to be their concern on public sectors. According to Mrs. NKEM FAB – UKOZOR, “MEDIA ETHICS AND LAW” Pg 26, she said “However, there is bound to be conflict in any situation where making profits is against serving public interest”. “Bacaring profit and social responsibility is a concern…”

This accounts conjures well with the media ability to respond positively to the view of human right activist on major issues which are profusely identified by them. One thing among all is lack of effective leadership is a major problem confronting the ethnicity met of democracy in Nigeria.

An un-emergence of a sound economy and less political violence was been linked with an ethnicity and tribal sentiments, yet no a properly addressed developed account and different reactions from those so called social critics.

The mass media is a tool for success or failure of human right activities and essentially the main components of human rights activities all over the world. There is also a tool of human right abuse or violation exposes through it’s programmes and ideas of human rights activities are made for actions and the re-occurring action from the authority concerned.

The leadership and human right problems in Nigeria, which has made it’s mark long ago, has been attributed to the mass inability to portray an objective rather un-objective responsibility since the inception of the second republic. As researches identification, that Nigerians is endowed with greatness has been made but what has been responsible for the liability abundant talents, graduating into an effective economic and political leaders demands explanation.

However, the media sometimes indirectly expose plans to human right violation, who then take a precautionary drastic measures before the plans are expected. This is an act of media/human right activities hard in hard partnership in combating societal odds. For instance, when in Nigeria, the pro-democracy groups and NADECO planed to communicate the Annulled June 12, 1993 presidential Election, in June 1997, which the media exposed. In response, the Federal military Government not only warned against the demonstration but also orders the police in all the states of the federation to deal ruthlessly with any such demonstrators.

The idea of holding ethics loyalty above national willing is a disturbing problem in Nigeria. As a Yoruba newspaper will find it very difficult in criticizing a Yoruba leader and like other tribal owned news media.

This project focus on the role of human rights activities in Nigeria and also the pros and cons of Journalistic/media reporting as in given analysis to the activities of human right violations in the country, human right committee and pro-democracy groups.

The emanating problem from reporting of human rights activities would also be examined objectively to see how the media fared in their reporting and analytical responsibilities. The reporter handicaps including media ownership problems will also come into place.

In addition to ownership, investigation on some other factors hindering media coverage of human right activities were carried out. Equally were factors not mentioned but they affect upright objective coverage.

1.1                                        BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

This research work studies the mass media’s contributions to the political values of openness and democratic accountability that go by the name of ‘transparency’. In fact, the metaphor of transparency encompasses three separate political virtues, which often work together but are analytically distinct. The first kind of transparency is informational transparency, knowledge about government actors and decisions and access to government information. Informational transparency can be furthered by requiring public statements of the reasons for government action, or requiring disclosure of information the government has collected. A second type of transparency is participatory transparency, the ability to participate in political decisions either through fair representation or direct participation. A third kind of transparency is accountability transparency: the ability to hold government officials accountable either to the legal system or to public opinion where they violate the law or when they act in ways that adversely affect people’s interest.
In theory, at least, mass media can make the political system more transparent in all three respects: mass media can help people understand the operations of government, participate in political decisions, and hold government officials accountable. In practice, however, its effect are often quite different. In the age of mass media, democratic governments and politicians may find it useful to stimulate the political virtues of transparency does not serve the underlying political values that motivate the metaphor of transparency. Instead, it is a transparency that observes and obfuscates, that frustrates accountability and hides important information in a mass of manufacturing political realities. It is a form of transparency that is not transparent at all.

This paper analyses the watchdog role played by the media in the coverage of human rights issues in Nigeria. It discusses the role of the media in the transition period between 1988 and 1999, as well as their championing of a cleaner and healthier polity in expressing highly placed state officials who got into office through fake credentials or by making bogus claims. Case studies of the media in this respect include the disgrace from office of Alhaji Salisu Buhari, former speaker of the house of representative as well as the fall of Senator Chuba Okadigbo, former senate president, who was impeached in the wake of allegations of corruption and misappropriation of funds. To get to grips with the role of the media in the national controversies, the editorial content of the publications, which championed these struggles were identified and collated. These were complimented where possible, by interviews with some of the editorial personnel involved in these episodes.

1.2                 STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEMS

In democracy, the mass media are the watchdog of the people. The citizens are usually mobilized and informed to create awareness on the political culture. Political culture refers to a system of politics in which sovereignty is vested on the people rather than a small clique, or an oligarchy, a political arrangement that places emphasis on the accountability of polity where the rule of law, majority rule and constitutionalism is the basic guiding principle. Perhaps, it could be argued that the political crisis that pervaded our recent past points to the fact that most of our people are ignorant of an apathetic towards the country’s observe that in Nigeria electioneering and voting pattern cannot be validated, in the voting pattern of Nigerians and the possible estimation of the voter’s attitude towards politics.
1.3                                OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1. a)      To investigate whether professional training of journalists or lack of it affects the media objectively.
2. b)      To find out the different ways of media control by government media and how it affects media coverage of human rights issues and violations.
3. c)      To discover whether ethnicity plays any influencing role in newspaper coverage of human rights activities
4. d)     To find out whether different ethnic groups cover human right issues differently.
5. e)      Whether the discrepancies in media coverage
6. f)       It differs, should be attributed to tribal sentiments.

1.4                                  PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the study is the urgent call for the extensive Mass Media enlightenment on effective Human rights practices, through aggressive public relations and advertising campaign to ensure grassroots mobilization, as well as the Government agents such as military and paramilitary to undergo compulsory comprehensive training on human

1.5      RESEARCH QUESTIONS  
(I)       To what extent do journalists select and cover human rights stories?
(II)      To what extent do journalists avoid bias or distortion of human rights information?
(III)     To what extent does government influence the role of the mass media in reporting human rights issues in the country?

(IV)    What are the people’s attitudes to the role of mass media in gate keeping and reporting of human rights issues?

Addressing these questions, this report examines the news and reporting process and its relations with human rights organizations. It assesses the difficulties of communicating complex human right issues accurately and suggests ways in which coverage of human rights could be improved.

1.6                   SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is expected that this study would be immense benefit to the government, the mass media and the people of this country. This study will highlight the importance of the mass media as a vehicle for political mobilization in a transition era.   Through the mass media, especially the radio and television in Nigeria might have a chance of having a viable political culture and help to choose a leadership that will inculcate a viable and sustaining democracy. This will also give us a society blessed with.

This study stands as a knowledge enhance to Journalists, media proprietor/practitioners on the influence of media ownership in objective reporting analysis.

Aiding to this, is the works ability to stand as a solution finding to issue bordering on reapportion in our media plans and houses especially where if borders on influence of mass media ownership.

1.7              OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

• MEDIA: This also can be referred to as a medium or a channel in which information is being passed to the audience, usually in mass communication.
• TERRORIST: A group of people or persons that causes terror, violence, fear, nuisance, intimidation etc in a particular place.
• NEWS: this can be referred to as fresh information a recent happening that is worth reporting.
• VIOLENCE : this is causing unrest in the society or any where, using great force to attack people, causing chaos etc
• PROFESSIONALISM: The high standard that you expect from a person who is well trained in a particular job.

 

1.8                                                         PROJECT ORGANISATION

The work is organized as follows: chapter one discuses the introductory part of the work,   chapter two presents the literature review of the study,  chapter three describes the methods applied,  chapter four discusses the results of the work, chapter five summarizes the research outcomes and the recommendations.