CHALLENGES OF TELEVISION BROADCASTING IN A DEMOCRATIC DISPENSATION

CHALLENGES OF TELEVISION BROADCASTING IN A DEMOCRATIC DISPENSATION

Abstract

The research project was set out to examine the challenges of television broadcasting in a democratic dispensation with a case study of NTA, Jos. It is observed that access to government information is more visible under democratic administration than during military which prohibit press from accessing government information and as a result of this; press is able to exercise its constitutional role as stated in chapter 2 sections 22 of the 1999 constitution. The researcher adopted survey method and NTA, Jos was selected as a case study while simple random sampling technique was also adopted in selecting respondents. Also, the frequency and percentage method of data analysis was used. It is clear that NTA and other press are able to criticize the government under democratic government. Press has no access to government information under democracy. It is recommended that media houses and media associations should organize workshops and seminars for their staff on how to make use of the new freedom of information law (FOI) in shaping the practice of journalism in this democratic era.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The role of television as a mass medium in the democratization process is understood in the context of the public sphere, which is defined by Habermas stated  in 2012 as "organs of information and political debates such as newspapers, journals, and institutions of political discussion such as parliament, political clubs, literary salons, public assemblies, pubs, coffee houses, meeting halls, and other public space where socio-political discussion took place." Television, like other forms of mass communication, is meant to serve as a bridge between civil society and the domain of power in a democratic environment. As a result, television provides a platform for free debate of all topics of public concern, using discursive reasoning to guarantee the public benefit (Isola, 2010). This assumes that television in a democratic society operates under the freedom of speech and expression concept. This gives individuals the freedom to engage freely in political debate and decision-making, which is essential to democracy. Several study results in political communication support the notion that freedom of speech and the press are essential for political involvement in a democracy (Becker, McCombs & McLeod, 2016: Entman, 2012; Van Belle 2013). Civil society, which includes the mass media, of which television is a component, is one of the three pillars that maintain democracy, according to Diamond (2014). Political culture and