Abstract

This study focused on the challenges facing government owned station in disseminating
information. For clarity of focus, the study was among staffers of NTA Channel 12, Uyo. The
sought to identify the challenges faced by NTA, Uyo in the dissemination of information; as well
as propose possible solutions to tackle the challenges faced by the station in information
dissemination. Anchored on the Social responsibility and Development Media Theories, the
study adopted qualitative research design of both survey and Interview. The instrument for data
collection were structured questionnaires and interview guide. Data was analysed using mixed
methods of frequency table and thematic analysis. In course of the study, the following findings,
inter-alia, were discovered; that the establishment is faced with challenges arising from poor
facilities, government interference, poor remuneration of workers. The study however
recommended that adequate funding and support be provided by the stations proprietor as this
will ensure obsolete equipment are replaced with modern broadcast equipment in order to stand
the challenges of modern broadcast production. Privatization of station should be considered an
option as this might ensure the continued financial sustenance for the organizations. Also,
professionally qualified persons should be recruited to man the affairs of the stations with their
salaries and other incentives regularly paid as this will boost the morale of the workers thereby
bring about efficiency in output.
CHAPTER ONE

1.1 Background of the Study

Broadcasting means is to disseminate information through mechanical means, simultaneously to

a wide, diverse and heterogeneous audience made up individual within and outside a society.

Broadcasting is indispensable in any society, permeating and fulfilling all individual, social,

political and hedonic needs of people pivoted by the transfer of meaning – communication.

The societal importance of broadcasting is underscored by Folarin (2010) when he

defines the endeavour as: “the planned provision of information, education and entertainment to

large and heterogeneous audiences through the medium of radio or television” (P.35).

Broadcasting which involves radio and television broadcasting, as noted by Folarin (2010),

expresses the assumption of “scattered dissemination to anonymous, undefined destinations

made up of listeners and viewers” (Udeajah 2014). This implies that, within a society,

broadcasting operates not in a vacuum but as an element within a system comprising of mutually

interactive, interdependent constituent parts or elements. This suggests that broadcasting, as an

institution within a society, derives its functional relevance from its interaction or relationship

with other societal elements, both within its organisational structure (i.e. operational managers,

owners etc) and outside (i.e. sources, audiences, advertisers, government etc). Hence, logically, it

can be posited that broadcasting, in any society, operates within an environment made up of

dynamic, interactive internal and external forces.

In Nigeria, broadcasting has its roots in the British colonial period; as far back as 1933,

radio broadcasting was introduced in the form of Radio Distribution System which was later

named Radio Diffusion System (RDS). This entails the ‘reception of the overseas service of the

British Broadcasting Corporation (henceforth called BBC) and re-broadcasting through wired
system with loudspeakers at the listening end’ (Amadi & Atoyebi, 2011:12). The first radio

station was set up in Lagos, which was then the administrative capital of Nigeria and by 1949,

ten further relay stations had been opened at different locations in the country (Amadi &

Atoyebi, 2011:13). But before independence, the radio broadcast media in Nigeria succeeded in

transitioning from a relay system to a full-fledged broadcast system.

Television broadcasting began in Nigeria in 1959, under the leadership of Obafemi

Awolowo, the premier of the Western region. He launched the very first television station in the

entire African continent called Western Nigerian Television (WNTV) sited in Ibadan, the

regional capital city. Seven months later, in May 1960, the regional government started its own

radio broadcasting system under the banner of the Western Nigerian Broadcasting Service

(WNBS). This remarkable feat motivated the other regional governments to set up their own

television and radio stations too. So, two additional television and radio stations sprang up in

Nigeria in quick succession. In 1960, the Eastern Nigeria Television Service (ENTV) was set up

alongside its radio broadcasting service called Eastern Nigeria Broadcasting Service (ENBS) by

the Eastern Regional Government. This was followed by Radio-Television Kaduna (RTK) and

Broadcasting Company of Northern Nigeria (BCNN) which was the radio broadcasting arm

established by the Northern Regional Government in March, 1962. Besides the regional

television stations’ establishment, the Federal Government owned television station; the Nigerian

Television Service (NTS) was also established in 1961 in Lagos.

Changes were made in the Nigerian broadcast media following the military take-over of

government from 1966-1979. According to Umeh, the centralisation of broadcasting by the

military government was borne out of the successful attempt at a joint broadcast in Nigeria in

1973. Umeh explains that, in a bid to provide an ‘effective and co-ordinated coverage of the
second All-Africa Games hosted by Nigeria in 1973’ (Umeh, 1989: 59-60), all broadcasting

agencies in the country were merged to form the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON).

BON successfully co- ordinated all the broadcasting activities and fed all the media units (radio

and television stations) in the country at that time. Further state affiliate broadcasting stations

were created during the military occupation of Nigeria in addition to the regional broadcasting

stations taken over. These were all controlled by the federal government.

It was only in August 1992 that broadcasting was deregulated in Nigeria by the Federal

Government. The 1992 act repealed the provisions which conferred exclusive monopoly of

ownership of electronic media on the federal government and the state governments; thus private

and independent ownership of the electronic media became legalised in Nigeria. Prior to this act,

private individuals were not allowed to operate broadcasting stations in Nigeria.

The Nigerian press right from its inception has been noted to exhibit a high level of

vibrancy which has often pitched it against the governments of the day. The press could be said

to have displayed its true stuff when it stood to fight the dictatorial tendencies of many Nigerian

past leaders and politicians. Media ownership will continue to be a major determinant in the

affairs of the media in Nigeria. Adeseye and Ibagere (2011:22) identify three types of media

ownership; Public, Private and Quasi-government ownership. They noted that the public

ownership is a system whereby the government establishes and operates media houses. The

private system is a system where private citizens own media houses and the quasi-government is

a partnership between the government and private investors. The last is however not being

practiced in Nigeria. There is no doubt that media ownership in Nigeria is largely in the hands of
the government. In Nigeria today, there is virtually no state government that does not own a

television or radio station and even newspaper publishing houses. This therefore implies that

majority of media personnel in Nigeria are under the services of the government.

Unarguably, ownership is one of the major problems facing the media in Nigeria, be it

State or Federal. In most cases, there is a stigma on journalists who work in these media houses

as they are often seen as government’s propagandists. Journalists are made to give the activities

of the government owner more prominence at the expense of other important issues. When they

fail to do so, regardless of their role or importance to the media organization, the reporters risk

being sacked or demoted unless they are lucky.

According to Udeajah (2014:300), everything points to the fact that ownership has had

some significant effect on the operations of broadcast organizations in Nigeria. The policy of the

persons who pay the broadcasters salary determines the operation of the media station.

Government owned Media houses in Nigeria have mostly failed to achieve many of the reasons

for establishing them. Majority of them have remained “sick babies” while some have faced

death. These media houses have largely been criticized for their inefficiency, unresponsiveness

to the needs of a growing and dynamic economy. These problems appear to be more complex

because of the usual bureaucratic inertia and mismanagement that are characteristic of the

developing countries. Hence the conservative attitude of government media out-fits;

organizational problems and misappropriation of fund exert a paralyzing influence on the

government owned media. Financial mismanagement, inability to provide enough funds for

technical facilities as well as static administrative protocol coupled with the absence of practical

knowledge of audience management etcetera hamper the operations of the media out-fits owned

by the government no doubt these problems, invariably, are likely to truncate information

dissemination, thereby leading to starving the populace of the information they require and

putting question marks on the media social responsibility functions. It is in the light of this that

this study sought to find out how Nigerian Television Authority, Uyo (henceforth referred to as

the NTA, UYO) has fared in the midst of all this challenges

1.2 Statement of problem

The public media exist in Nigeria, like their private counterparts with problems starring them on

their faces. Even though, the government media outfits exist under the cover and protection of

the government, they still are not free from problems which impede their growth and

development. No doubt, the government owned media outfits are bedeviled with such problems

as the continuous use of out-dated equipment, thereby failing to catch up with the changes of

globalization which are known for modernity: the non-availability of training and retraining

opportunities, which is the bedrock for enhanced productivity; poor remuneration for staff,

thereby having low motivation to perform optimally and above all, the teleguidance of

management and staff by their employers-Government, hence only projecting the activities of

government with little or no regard for their responsibility to the public. The situation has always

seemed as “turning new wine into an old skin”. The problems as captured by Enyenihi (2010) are

summarized below:-
 Media houses are referred to as “government babies” and are funded by the government

who own them. Unfortunately, they have failed to achieve most of the objectives for

which they have been established and this has led to their unproductive and inefficient

posture and equally to their inability to move with the trend in the new millennium

broadcasting technology and innovations.

 Government interference in the running of these media houses has been identified as a

major problem. With the appointment of unqualified personnel (as a political

compensation) it becomes even more difficult for these corporations to attain

organizational goals and corporate excellence. This interference by government has led to

organizations poor policy formulation and an unhealthy and un-conducive organizational

climate.

 Management of most government owned media houses in Nigeria are not concerned

about employees’ welfare and motivation. This has resulted in low morale and lack of job

satisfaction on the part of the employees’.

 The enormous size of these media houses has led to a vague organizational focus and an

under-staffing in several departments. This has adversely affected the performance and

corporate excellence of these corporations.

 Lack of subordinates’ involvement in decision making process affects their job

performance in particular and the attainment of corporate excellence in general.

 Lack of delegation of tasks, authority and the close supervision of the subordinates by

their superiors kills employees’ initiatives and enthusiasm. This greatly impinges on

employees’ performance and drastically affects the attainment of corporate excellence.

These seeming problems, invariably, are likely to truncate information dissemination, thereby

leading to starving the populace of the information they require and putting question marks on

the media social responsibility functions. Thus, the need arises for proper evaluation, exploration

and assessment of these problems as to how it affects the operation of government broadcast

stations in Nigeria. It is, therefore, against this backdrop that this study is focused or derives its

aim with emphasis on Nigerian Television Authority, Uyo (NTA, UYO).

1.3 Objectives of the Study

1. To identify the challenges faced by NTA, Uyo in the dissemination of information;

2. To ascertain if government interference has impacts on the stations social responsibility

role.

3. To find out the measure put in place by management of NTA, Uyo in addressing the

challenges faced by the station in information dissemination.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to act as a guide to this study

1. What are the challenges faced by challenges faced by NTA, Uyo in the dissemination of

information?

2. Does government interference have implications on NTA Uyo social responsibility roles?

3. What are the measures put in place by management of NTA, Uyo to address these

challenges faced in the dissemination of information?

1.5 Significance of the Study

The study will serve as a basic for carrying out further research and evaluation of how the

challenges in the media can be faced bearing in mind that what is obtainable in NTA station will

also be applicable to other media station in the country. Therefore, there is hope that the findings
posted will be beneficial to other students and researcher attempting to research on a similar

project.

1.6 Scope of the Study:

The scope of the study is limited to area by Nigeria Television Authority (NTA). A good

justification for limiting the study to this station is because of the nature of qualitative research

approach employed, that it can accomplish this study by producing detailed data from one

television station with the help of a few interviews, therefore, enough to generate the required

answers to the research questions.

1.7 Limitation of the Study

As a major constraint, there is the tendency of the respondents to be uncooperative in terms of

giving out information. In the same vein, the bureaucracy associated with government

establishments may also pose as a constraint to the study. Time is certainly going to be another

limitation in this study especially when viewed against the backdrop of the dynamism of man,

which makes it difficult to carry out research of this nature

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

The terms below are defined in the context that they are operationalized in the study:-

Challenges: It means the hindrances or constraints which makes the media not to execute their

duties effectively and efficiently.

Media: In this research study, the media simply means the medium or channel via messages or

information are passed from one source to the heterogenous audience e.g Nigeria Television

Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Cooperation of Nigeria (FRCN).

Dissemination: In this research, it means a way by which the media carry out their social

responsibility in order to tell the audience what is happening within and outside the society.

Information: These are messages used to educate, entertain, mobilize, sensitize, inform and

socialize the masses concerning everyday activities within and outside the society.

Constraints – those factors militating against the practice of journalism.

Government – group of people who are responsible for controlling a country or state.

Government Media – these refers to government-owned newspapers located in the south-south

geo-political zone of Nigeria.

Ownership: this refers to the state of having complete control or possession of something as in

the owning a television station

 CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Factors Militating Against the Efficient and Effective Performance of the Government
Owned Media
The mass media play a vital role in nation-building. It is therefore necessary to identify the

problems facing the mass media in Nigeria. The problems of government owned media house

appear to be more complex because of the usual bureaucratic inertia and mismanagement that are

characteristic of the developing countries. Hence the conservative attitude of government media

out-fits; organizational problems and misappropriation of fund exert a paralyzing influence on

the government owned media. Financial mismanagement, inability to provide enough funds for

technical facilities as well as static administrative protocol coupled with the absence of practical

knowledge of audience management etcetera hamper the operations of the media out-fits owned

by the government.

For the mass media to live up to the expectations of the masses, their rights must be

guaranteed by the state. However the mass media are restricted from having access to

information that has the tendency to develop the society. The military decrees from past military

eras still witch-hunt the mass media practitioners in the discharge of their duties. The press in

Nigeria are still being checkmated by various previous decrees of the past military

administrations in the country.

Olukotun (2012), for example, contends that:

...all the anti-media decrees promulgated by Generals

Babangida and Abacha are still on the statute books as at
November 2001 inspite of several promises to expunge
them, although they are not being enforced. These include
offensive publication (proscription) Decree No.35 of 1993;
State Security (Detention of Persons) Decree No.2 of 1984
under which journalists can be detained and held
 incommunicado for security reasons; The treason and
other offences (Special Military Tribunal) Decree No.1 of
1996; as well as The Constitution (suspension and
modification) Decree No. 53

Nwosu (1990:117) asserts that the government has limited resources; hence most

government media are suffering from chronic shortage of funds. This implies that government

ownership of both the electronic and print media involves funding for capital investment and

running costs. It is pertinent to mention here that the funding of government media depends on

the state of the economy of the media.

The problem arising out of inadequate funding of the government owned media outfits,

more often than not, compel the media organisations to seek other means of supplementing

government subvention given to them such as resorting to limited commercial broadcasting,

increasing the advertising rate and the withdrawal of subvention on newsprint.

Partisanship or ideological journalism and sectionalism pose a big problem to the

government owned media. During the colonial era for instance, most newspaper privately owned

by some nationalists and politicians, like the west African pilot owned by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe

of Africa, mounted newspaper crusade against the British colonial administrators by criticizing

the government policies and inciting the people against colonial rule in Nigeria Hachten

(1971:19).

Schranm (1964:26) states that poor funding is the bane of government owned newspaper

in the developing world. Throughout the developing world, the mass media are under-financed

and underdeveloped and therefore are not contributing what they might contribute if fully and

adequately used. Schranm believes that the financial starvation being suffered by some

government owned media is preventing them from realizing the dream for which the founding
fathers of the newspapers had established it. He however recommends that the basic requirement

for developing the mass media to the rate at which they can make the greatest contribution to

national development require serious and substantial financial commitments.

He also said that the first requirement for accelerating the developing of mass

communication is therefore that a nation be willing to make a serious investment in media

growth, adding that substantial progress could be made in this regard for results. He insists that

the essential point is that the responsibility for communication development should not be

dropped when an inventory and plan have been made. Arguing that, the responsibility should be

an active and a continuing one. Perhaps, the best bait for communication development is to

develop a well though-out plan that investigates the development of mass communication in the

general pattern of social and economic development.

Nwosu, (1990:185) supports the idea of funding when he points out that “stringent

budgets mean little or no investigative reporting or in depth writing. This affects salaries so that

talented professionals will not come to that organization or if they do they will not stay”. This is

exactly the present cloud that envelopes some government owned broadcast stations. The few

talented professionalizes who are presently working in this newspaper are however only there

because they have not found any alternative. They are not committed because of the inadequate

funding. Furthermore, delayed monthly salaries have led to low morale, job insecurity and lack

of commitment, pilfering and indiscipline.

The choice of suitable media technology is another militating factor against government

owned media. The changing technological improvement prevalent in this modern age affects

both the broadcast and the print media. Going by the present economic woes of the government,

the procurement of modern technological equipment and facilities has become a problem to the
government. New technological transfer is difficult to be adapted to. Other problems associated

with it include problem of spare parts, durability of the new technology, and staff training for

operating the new system. Ethical problems still militate against government owned media.

Amadi (1986:128) insists that bribery and corruption still exist in the practice of Nigeria

journalism. Ebo (1998:14) says that this affects audience perception of media credibility.

One of the greatest ethical problems of government owned media is that of the media

objectivity. Many of these media do not report balanced news. Also, inviting reporters for dinner,

giving them Christmas gifts, “brown envelops” and other forms of gratification remain an ethical

problem against the government media outfits.

Another crucial problem of the Nigeria media is its urban, elite-centred bias, and it’s

almost cynical neglect of the rural areas (Kadiri, 2019). Kadiri stated that the acquisition of

modern technologies by these media houses further increases the gap between the urban and the

rural news reportage. ‘‘Urban elite class directly or indirectly call the shot for the mass

media ...their agenda and ideology are often at variance with those of the people who receive

prominence in the media’’ (Soola, 2012a:122 ).

The situation above gets deteriorated by the fact that most of the media houses only have

reporter in the urban centers at the detriment of the rural areas; even the few reporters in the

urban areas are so overwhelmed with duties that they sometimes compromise the ethics if their

profession in order to live up to the expectation their bosses. Since the best form of development

is said to be bottom-up type, the absence of rural presence cosmetic development of the centre at

the expense of the rural areas.

Also, some of the ‘so-called’ development news that is published in the Nigerian

newspapers is not well researched, and the few ones reported are mostly culled from
international media or sources. This resulted in a setback of which the much needed local angles

on development news that affects the lives of the people are left unattended to. Reliance on

foreign/international sources results from minimal investment in investigative reporting. The

implication of this is that foreign perspectives to developmental issue become dominant in the

news coverage, thus sacrificing local peculiarities and particularities. The reason for the use of

the foreign sources is because they are readily available at little or no cost at all.

2.4 Review of empirical studies

Enyenihi (2010) in her study accesses the organization of government media houses with

a view to finding the major problems militating against them performing efficiently using NTA

and FRCN Enugu as case studies. The researcher carried out a survey study using sets of

questionnaire to gather data from 245 respondents. From analysis of the data collected, the

following findings among others were made. The study among others showed that there is

inadequate availability of broadcast infrastructure when compared with what is obtainable in the

developed economies. Also, majority of the staff expressed their dissatisfaction with the general

working conditions stating incessant government interference. With respect to the findings, the

researcher recommended the following among others; that government should grant these media

houses autonomy and independence by commercializing them to improve upon their efficiency.

In addition, it was also recommended there should provision of adequate broadcast infrastructure

so as to meet trend in new technology and innovations as obtained in developed economies of the

world.

In a related study, Okafor (2014) examined the Influence of Media Ownership and

Control on Media Agenda Setting in Nigeria. The study revealed that different levels of

government in Nigeria which comprises of state and federal governments, serving and retired
high level public and private officials, politicians, as well as influential businessmen and women,

own most of the media organizations in Nigeria. It was observed that these groups of people (the

ruling elite) are the core “news makers” whose views and opinions populate most of the views,

news, opinions and information disseminated in the media in Nigeria. The findings further

showed that the current media ownership pattern and the level of media control in Nigeria

actually hinder the media from independently setting society’s agenda.

2.5 Theoretical Framework

Development Media Theory

This theory tries to explain the normative behaviour of the press in the so-called "developing

countries” or Third World Countries”. This theory is not easy to identify in any particular

country because it show levels of inconsistencies in economic and political conditions. This is

because, even though the third world countries have all been lumped together as developing

countries, some are a lot more developed than the others. For instance, countries like India,

Brazil and Korea cannot be compared to places like Nigeria, Togo, and Cameroons etc.

Nevertheless, the fact still remains that there are certain factors or characteristics of developing

countries which are common to a host of them. These include:

 Insufficient or total absence of communication technology.

 Inadequate professional skills.

 Relative lack of traditional/cultural resource materials.

 Dependence on the developed countries for information technology, skills and cultural

products for information dissemination.

Even though there is a great disparity among the conditions of these lopsided countries, their

common principle still invariably bothers on development. Hence, the writers’ insistence that
commercial media should positively stimulate development and economic change to fall in line

with the industrialized society. We also emphasize collective interests rather than individual or

press freedoms. So, there should be democratic grassroots involvement in the media business.

The under-lying principles of this theory are:

 Media should accept and carry out developmental tasks in line with nationally established

policy.

 Freedom of the media should be restricted according to economic priorities and

developmental needs.

 Media should give priority in their content to the national culture and language.

 Media should give priority in news and information to links with other developing

countries.

 Journalists and other media workers have responsibilities as well as freedom in their

information gathering and dissemination tasks.

 In the interest of development ends, the state has a right to intervene, or restrict, media

operations and devices of censorship, subsidy and direct control can be justified.
 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Methodology as an important component of research was detailed through various sub titles in

this study chapter to include research design, target population, sample size, sampling criteria,

data collection and data analysis.

.3.1 Research design

According to Kothari (2014), research design is defined as advanced planning of the method(s)

to adopt when relevant data is collected and techniques used in analysing the data without losing

the focus or objectives in mind with the purpose of showing how the parts of the study will work

in order to answer the specified research questions. Having gone through the relevant literature

for the study and discovering that little has been undertaken (Kanayama, 2017), the researcher

proposes to engage the use of qualitative approach in order to have more insights in the study.

More insight in the subject requires more of depth interviews with experts. One of the key

features of qualitative research described by Creswell (2012:6) is that of a process of enquiry

centered on building a complex, holistic picture, analyses words, and reports, detailed views of

informants and conducts the study in a natural setting. For that advanced reason, the study

employed qualitative method to help the researcher coming up with answers to the research

questions of the study.

The use of qualitative approach was accompanied by exploratory design. Highlighting on

exploratory qualitative research, Seale (2004:10), positions that it is a study that seeks to

investigate an under researched aspect of social life and Kothari (2014) argues that exploratory

studies research design must be flexible enough.

3.2 Population of the study

The research concentrated and focused itself to employees of the Nigerian Television Authority,

Channel 12, Uyo, which is 76.

3.3 Sample size and sampling technique

Creswell (2012:142) describe a sample as a subgroup of the target population that the researcher

plans to study for generalizing about the target population. This means that the researcher intends

not to use the target population as a whole, but used a sample of the population, that is selecting

from the main group to represent the target group. This study used mixed sampling criteria

namely probability and non-probability. Reasons for using these two types were justified for

each type of selection. To conduct the survey among employees of the station, the researcher

used simple random sampling so that the employer was not given an opportunity to choose those

who are only loyal to the station to participate. The use of purposive sampling by the researcher

applied when choosing one (1) senior member of management team and 3 Key Informants from

the Organisation. Purposive or judgement was instituted by the researcher using his own

discretion believing that those selected are knowledgeable in the operations of the station. Since

the study made use of mix methods and considering the population size for this study, the

researcher deemed it necessary to use the entire population as the sample size in the survey

section. This was done because was population was very small and can be easily managed.

3.4 Methods of Data Collection

In order to conclude this study, data was collected using various instruments suitable for each

purpose. The researcher utilised two instruments namely: Interviews guides, and structured

questionnaire. Three tools for data collection is justified in qualitative research in order to

triangulate the data.

3.4.1 Depth-Interviews According to Brigg et al. (2012), interviews are a common type of data

collection tool in qualitative research. Further, Briggs et al. observes that interviews are detailed

discussions using open answers to collect facts on members’ meanings of their views about the

world. In this research, their world would mean being found in the broadcasting industry. In

order to guide the interview, the researcher used semi-structured interviews with open-ended

questions. This allowed the researcher to get more data from the participants who were

knowledgeable. The researcher explored and probed the participants to get as much data as

possible of the issues and payed much attention to emerging themes directly related to the

phenomenon. Those interviewed were; The General manager NTA, Uyo and was coded as M1,

the Head News and Programmes and was coded as M2.

3.4.2 Questionnaires: The study employed the structured questionnaire for data collection. To

elicit appropriate response, nine simple items questionnaire divided into two sections were

formulated. Section A, made up of item 1-5, deals with the bio-data of the respondents while

section B made up of item 6 – 10 deals with core issues which this study interrogated. Items on

the questionnaire were designed in line with the objectives of the study.

3.5 Data Analysis

The data that was collected from the participants were un-organized to make sense out of it. Raw

data that was collected from the field could not answer the research questions until it was cleaned

and organized for analysis. For this kind of analysis, the researcher classified emerging themes

and sub themes, and contents arising from the study. Van den Berg (2008:122) observes that

thematic analysis is linked to case study design. Therefore, thematic analysis is found to be

necessary and useful for this research. Yin (2003) defines themes as umbrella ideas, which are
observed by the researcher before, during and after data collection. Therefore, the data collected

was organized into themes that emerged from the interviews.

3.6 Reliability: A convenience sample of 20 staffers of NTA was used to pre-test the

questionnaire, and calculate the correlation coefficient, an estimate of the reliability of the data

collection instrument. Using Pearson correlation coefficient, a correlation coefficient of .85 was

obtained, thus indicating a high reliability of the instrument.

3.7 Validity: The questionnaire had to undergo face and content validity before being

administered on the respondents. The content validity was estimated as the questionnaire items

were scrutinised by three senior media practitioners in Akwa Ibom State.

 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

This chapter deals with the presentation, analysis of data obtained and findings by the researcher

through questionnaires. In this study a total of 76 copies of questionnaire were administered, and

all were correctly filled returned and found useful. This shows a positive responses rate. Aside

from the questionnaire, data were also gathered through the interview sessions with key figures

of the stations which constituted the basis of making analysis in this research. The respondents

who were interviewed in the study were; The General manager NTA, Uyo and was coded as M1,

The Head, News and Programmes department coded as M2 in this study.

TABLE 4.1: Gender Distribution of respondents

Gender Number of Respondents Percentage
%

Male 32 42.1

Female 44 57.9

Non-binary - -

Total 76 100

Source: field survey 2022.

The above data show that (32) respondents were male; this represents 42.1% of the sample size.

(44) respondents were female and this represents 57.9% of the sample size.
TABLE 4.2: Age Distribution of the Respondents
Age No of Respondents Percentage

20-30 19 25

31-40 43 56.6

41-50 8 10.5

51-60 5 6.6

61 and above 1 1.3

Total 76 100%

Source: field survey 2022

Nineteen (19) respondents were within the age of 20 – 30 years which represents 25% of the

sample. (43) respondents fell under the age category of 31 – 40 years which is 56.6% of the

sample size. Respondents whose age ranges were between 41 – 50 years was eight (8), which

also corresponds to 10.5% of the sample size. As for age bracket of 51 – 60, the numbers of

respondent were (5) or 6.6% of the population. Respondents between the age of 61 and above

was (1), representing 1.3% of total number of respondents.

TABLE 4.3: Marital Status

Status No of Respondents Percentage

Married 27 35.5

Single 49 64.5

Divorced 0 -

Total 76 100

Source: field survey 2022

From the table above, (27) respondents representing 35.5% were single while forty-nine (49)

which represents 64.5% were married. None of the respondent indicated to be divorced.
 .4.3 Presentation & Analysis of Psychographic Data Collected

TABLE 4.7: Are there constraints in your media organization?

Nature of Response No of Respondents Percentage

Yes 76 100

No 0 0

Total 76 100

Source: field survey 2022

From the table above 76 respondents representing 100% of the sampled population agreed that
there are constraints in their station which infringes on information dissemination.

TABLE 4.8: Possible constraints to information dissemination in your media organisation

Nature of Response No of Response Percentage

Government infringement on editorial 3 3.9

policy

Employment of non-professionals 2 2.6

misappropriation of fund 2 2.6

Shortage of staff 3 3.9

Inadequate funding 9 11.8

Poor remuneration 11 14.5

Lack of modern/adequate equipment. 10 13.2

All of the above 36 47.4

Total 76 100%

Source: field survey 2022

From the table above, 9 respondents, representing 11.8 percent assert that inadequate funding is

the major constraint. Similarly, 2 respondents, representing 2.6 of the respondents opine that the

employment of non-professionals is one of the constraints. Meanwhile 10 respondents (13.2)

contended that lack of modern/adequate equipment is a constraint . 3 respondents, representing

3.9 of the total respondents share the view that management not given free hand to operate. In

the same vein misappropriation of fund is one the constraint as noted by 2 respondents,

representing 2.6 percent. Meanwhile 11 respondents representing 14.5 point to poor salary as

other constraint. 3 respondents, representing 3.9 percent opine that shortage of staff is constraint.

However, 36 respondents who constitute majority of the respondents with a percentage 47.4

percent assert that all the above constraints to information dissemination in the organisation.

Table 4.9: Does government officials/agents interfere with your operations?

Nature of Response No. of Response Percentage

Yes 68 89.5

No 5 6.6

Undecided 3 3.9

Total 76 100%

Source: Field Survey 2022

The above table shows that 68 respondents representing 89.5% of the entire sampled respondents

agreed that government official/agents interfere with their operations. 5 respondents or 6.6% of

the entire respondents disagreed with the question that was asked. However, 3 respondents or

3.9% of the sampled respondents were indifferent on the question as they were undecided.

Table 4.10: Which of these ways does the government seek to control your media
organisation?

Nature of Response No. of Response Percentage

Funding 6 7.9
 Setting up of Editorial Board 27 35.5

Prior Censorship 43 56.6

Total 76 100%

Source: Field Survey 2022

From the responses on the above table, it is evident that majority of the respondents agree that

government uses different means in seeking to control media organizations. Some of those

means included Funding 7.9%, Setting up of Editorial Board 35.5% and Prior Censorship56.6%.

Table 4.11: Does your news stories seek to protect government interest at all times?
Nature of Response No. of Response Percentage

Yes 52 68.4

No 13 17.1

Undecided 11 14.5

Total 76 100%

Source: Field Survey 2022

The table above indicates that majority of the respondents agree that their news stories seek to

protect the interest of the government at all times. This is indicated by 52 respondents or 68.4%

of the sampled respondents. The response from the table also indicates that 13 respondents or

17.1% of the respondents indicates that their news stories are fair as they do not seek to protect

the interest of the government at all times. 11 respondents or 14.5% of the respondents were

however indifferent as they were undecided in their responses.

TABLE 4.12: Government policies affect media content negatively

Nature of Response No of Response Percentage

Agree 0 0

Strongly agree 76 100

undecided 0 0

Disagree 0 0

Strongly disagree 0 0

Total 76 100%

Source: field survey 2022

The entire respondent strongly agrees with this option which represents 100%. This obviously

may be the reason why most private individuals prefer private owned media organization to

those owned by the government. Despite their wider reaches, advertisers still prefer the private

owners as a result of certain

Table 4.13: Implications of government interference on stations output

Options Frequency Percentages

Low patronage by advertisers 5 6.6

Lack of motivation for staff 20 26.3

Low viewership 3 3.9

Loosing of talents to private stations 12 15.8

All of the above 36 47.4

Total 76 100

From the data presented in the table above, responses indicate that government interference have

implications on the stations output.

Table 4.14: In which of these ways can these constraints be overcome?

 Nature of Response No of Response Percentage

Through boards independence 13 17.1

Regular payment/Improvement of staff 22 28.9

salary

Adequate funding 14 18.4

Provision of up-to-date broadcast 27 35.5

facilities

Total 76 100%

Source: Field Survey 2022

The data in the table above shows that 13 respondents representing 17.1% said the constraints

can be overcome by granting board independence for the station to run freely. 28.9% said regular

payment and improve of staff salary. 35.5% indicated provision of standard broadcast

equipment. 18.4% agreed to provision of adequate funding.

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS/ANSWERS TO RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The discussion of findings was done in line with the research questions the study sought to

answer.

Research Question 1: What are the constraints faced by NTA, Uyo in the dissemination of
information?

From the table above, 9 respondents, representing 11.8 percent assert that inadequate funding is

the major constraint. M1 had this to say when inquired on this point, “what NTA is in dire need

of is neither structure nor training. Rather, the organization is bogged down by a number of

issues among which is inadequate resources, both human and material. The situation is yet to

change till today as vehicles, cameras, computers, editing facilities and other modern

technologies which can facilitate the work of the organization are in short supply. If NTA can be

funded to acquire such basic working tools, it will function like Al Jazeera whose operatives do
not possess superior academic and professional backgrounds.” Nwosu (2014) points out that

“stringent budgets mean little or no investigative reporting or in-depth writing. This affects

salaries so that talented professionals will not come to that organization or if they do they will

not stay.”

Two (2) respondents, representing 2.6 of the respondents opine that the employment of

non-professionals is one of the constraints. One of the interviewees coded as M2 pointed to the

fact that employment into the organisation is based on favoritism and not by qualification, “In

terms of human resources NTA is hardly allowed to recruit the best applicants into its fold.

About 70% of those who pass recruitment tests organized by the station are usually not

recruited; instead, they are replaced by nominees of the Executive and Legislative arms of

government.” He further added, “Indeed, far back in 2003, when I was the General manager at

NTA Lagos, I inherited a large number of architects, builders, town planners, nurses and other

operatives that were not the system’s priority but that were imposed on the station by people in

the corridors of political power, such well-connected workers were also forcibly deployed to the

‘juicy’ cities of Abuja and Lagos. At a point, the number of drivers doubled the number of

vehicles in the Lagos station.” There is no doubt this trend of ‘tele-guiding’ is probably the

stations most intractable problem.

Furthermore, respondents (13.2%) contended that lack of modern/adequate equipment

poses a challenge to information dissemination. M2 assertion on this point further gives credence

to this finding; “Not every part of NTA is digitalized, for example, you go out with a digital

camera, then you bring in pictures; in the process of transmission, you transmit using analogue

equipment, at the end of the day, the pictures are not as bright as they should be.” This findings

points to the fact that government owned media outfits are bedevilled with problems such as the
continuous use of out-dated equipment, thereby failing to catch up with the changes of

globalization which are known for modernity.

Three (3) respondents, representing 3.9 of the total respondents share the view that

management are not given free hand to operate. This finding is better capture by M1 she stated

that it will be practically impossible to separate government influence on the reports and

programmes; “Irrespective of the person heading the authority at any time, there is already a

tradition in place and nothing perceived to be anti-government can even make it past the

newsroom.” She further states; “Staff of NTA barely had enough room to practice professional

journalism, in fact there are several story ideas you see your contemporaries in private media

doing, but you dared not suggest it at the editorial board meeting. This finding corroborates the

Somaliland Times report of 2013 on complete censorship of all materials issued by the

government media.”

Respondent also point to poor salary as a constraint. Some respondents interviewed said

that because of the meager salary, motivation is not encouraged, some lamented that even the

meager salary is not regularly paid as at when due. This according to some journalist interviewed

has led to brown envelop syndrome. 3 respondents, representing 3.9 percent opine that shortage

of staff is constraint. It is no doubt that this seeming problems, invariably, are likely to truncate

information dissemination, thereby leading to starving the populace of the information they

require and putting question marks on the stations social responsibility functions.

Research question two: Does government interference have implications on stations

performance?
The findings from the study indicates that government officials have implications on the stations

performance. This was answered by data from the interview held with key figures of the station.

M1 pointed to the fact that there are doubts about the stations credibility in most of its report;

“since we depend solely on the government for funding, we cannot say certain truths about the

government of the day, however obvious it may be; even critical news stories that unearth ills

may also be overlooked, especially if the government of the day is fingered in any of such

findings.” M2 assert to lack of competition with private station. He adds, “unless the politics is

separated from the business, NTA will not be able to compete with any of the private stations.

The current structure is one that places professionals in charge as figurehead leaders, even

though they still have to do the bidding of the political heads who have appointed them.” This

finding point to fact why NTA is not profitable despite huge amount of money pumped into the

organisation in over its 40 plus years of operation. Also, findings from study pointed to inability

to attract the best talent as an implication of continued government interference. M1 had this to

say, “Even now, if I am given NTA to head on a platter, I will not take it because the structure

will not allow one function professionally”.

Research question three: What are the measures put in place by management of NTA, Uyo
to address these challenges faced in the dissemination of information?
The data in table 4.13 provides answers to this question. twenty-three (23) respondents

suggested that the editorial board should be independent, thirteen (13) has it that qualified staff

should be employed; forty-two (42) advocated for joint ownership of the media instead

government alone owing the public media. However, two hundred and eighteen (27) respondents

advocated provision of standard and up-to-date equipment. In addition, the respondents also

advocated for press freedom, abolition of legal restrictions and the limiting of undue political

interference.
 CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Summary

This study is predicated on the need to have a functional and effective media in Nigeria.

Therefore, it set to unearth the basic constraints in information dissemination in government

owned media organizations in Nigeria with particular focus on NTA Uyo. The study revealed

that there are so many constraints militating against the professional discharge of journalistic

practice in government owned media. These constraints range from Management not being given

free hand to operate their stations, Poor remuneration of staff, Lack of modern equipment,

Employment of non-professionals, Inadequate funding, Censorship, amongst others. These

obviously accounts for the reasons many prefer to patronize private media stations to the public

owned ones which has degenerated to government propaganda machines.

5.2 CONCLUSION

The fulcrum of this study is on examining in totality, the challenges faced by government owned

media in disseminating information within the Nigerian landscape. To properly handle this task,

the study narrowed down to NTA Channel 12 Uyo. It should, however be noted that through the

revelation from this study that all is not well with the media outfit, as lots of challenges hamper

their performance, such that their successes have been hanging in a balance, thereby reducing the

chances of achieving their set goals. Hence, a dire need to clearly device ways through which

these problems can be efficiently and effectively tackled.

5.3 RECOMMENDATION

In view of addressing the challenges pointed out in the study, the researcher makes the following

recommendations;

1. That adequate funding and support be provided as this will ensure Obsolete equipment

are replaced with modern broadcast equipment in order to stand the challenges of modern

broadcast production.

2. That station should come up with a well-articulated editorial policies capable of placing

the station in the same pedestal as their counterparts in other developed and developing

Professionally qualified persons should be recruited to man the affairs of the newspaper

organizations to avoid sycophancy and yellow journalism.

 3. Privatization of station should be considered an option as this might ensure the continued

financial sustenance for the organizations.

4. Professionally qualified persons should be recruited to man the affairs of the stations with

their salaries and other incentives regularly paid as this will boost the morale of the

workers thereby bring about efficiency in output.

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