AN ASSESSMENT OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY (ICT) ON PERFORMANCE OF BROADCAST MEDIA ORGANISATION IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Conceptual Overview

According to Benjamin Mays, cited in Okafor (2005:1), “he who starts behind in the great race of life must run faster than those in front or forever remains behind”. The advent of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has set the world on a fast track. The ICTs have been widely acknowledged as having strong effects on the changes taking place in all spheres of life. This is because the technologies especially the newer ones have demonstrated an unprecedented magical power of speed, quality, efficiency, reliability and cost effectiveness in every aspect of human endeavours.

More so, the rate of advancement in technological innovations in recent time is such that yesterday’s technologies have become obsolete today, while today’s discoveries will inevitably became antiquities tomorrow. It is therefore no gainsaying the fact that technology is growing at an astronomical pace and scientific fictions are being translated to realities on daily basis.

According to Agba (2002:108), “one area where these technologies have made tremendous impact is in the area of communication, and mass communication in particular”. The mass media being a product of science and technology, are taking seriously the numerous opportunities afforded by the ICTs revolution for improved programme contents, greater speed, greater reach, clearer sound and vision, better quality output and better reception.

In recent time, so much has been said and written on ICTs. Many empirical works/studies have been done on its relevance, development, adoption, utilization and even on its policy implemeESBStion issues in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa. While some believe that the mass media in Nigeria are catching up rapidly with these explosive technologies, others seriously contend that the media in the country have remained in an abysmal performance, and have steadily watched the rest of the world grow with the trend. To this end, this chapter reviews existing experts‟ views, related works and empirical studies to find out what they say on the subject-matter, and how it agrees or disagrees with the findings of this work.

Historical Development of ICTs

Rijsenbrij (2005:3) cited in Adamu (2007:222) explains that the internet is currently the most important driving force behind the revolution in ICTs. Baran (2007:69), however records that, there are conflicting reports on the historical development of ICTs. According to him, one school of thought believe that as early as 1956, a Psychologist, Jospeh C.R. Licklider, a devotee of Marshall McLuhan‟s thinking on the power of communication technology foresaw linked computers, consoles and television sets connecting people in a nationwide network. Baran (2002, P. 69) further writes that scores of computer experts enthused by Licklider‟s vision joined the rush towards the development of what we know today as the Internet.

The second school of thought which is perhaps the common one has it that the Internet is a product of the cold war. According to this school, the U.S Air Force in 1962, in her quest to maiESBSin the military ability to transfer information around the country even if a given area was destroyed in an enemy‟s attack, commissioned leading computer scientists to develop the means to do so. Baran (2002:69) recorded that it was shortly after the launch of the Sputnik in 1957 by the Soviet Union that the United States felt that her undisputed supremacy was being challenged. This led to the immediate establishment of the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA), to sponsor and coordinate sophisticated defense related research. ARPA commissioned Paul Baran in 1962 to produce a plan that would enable the United States military to maiESBSin command over its missiles sites and planes if a nuclear attack knocks out their conventional means of communication. The U.S Military thought that a decentralized communication network was necessary. In that way, no matter where the bombings occurred, other locations would be available to launch a counter attack.

As part of this plan, Paul Baran introduced what he called Packet Switched Network. Using Honeywell computers at Stanford University, the University of SaESBS Barbara and the University of Utah, Paul Baran‟s Packet Switch Network went online in 1969 and was fully operational and reliable by 1970.

In 1972, an engineer called Ray Tomlinson created the first e-mail programme, he introduced the @ character. The word “Internet” was however coined by Vinton Cerf of Stanford University and Robert Karn, a U.S. military man in 1974.

In 1979, a graduate student at the University of North Carolina, Steve Bellovin, created the USENT. In 1992, the Internet society was chartered and the same year, the World Wide Web was released. Ticker (1990) cited in Adamu (2008:223) indicates that, today, there are more than 37 million users of the internet worldwide, serving a seemingly limitless number of persons.

Again, there is yet another line of story which links the history of advancement in ICTs back to as early as 11 May 868 when a Chinese, Wang Chieh printed a book with the moveable type in memory of his parents. Quoting Wainwright (1978, P. 105), Ufuohu (2008, P. 235) credits the Chinese to have invented the first moveable type, by using small blocks, each carved independently with one character to make them interchangeable.

However, John Gutenberg expanded ICTs when he introduced the moveable type to Europe in 1454, by setting up his press in Mainz, Germany, to print the papal indulgences, a document authorized by the pope to grant forgiveness to sinners. Wainwright wrote that, Gutenberg and his assistants printed 300 copies of the Bible in 1456 and were sent to Paris for sale, and few years later, the skill spread to other parts of Europe, America and the world. Other technologies such as the telegraph, telephone, photography, film, radio, television, computer and the internet were later introduced; and today, the world is still witnessing unending sophisticated advancement in ICTs.

Meanwhile, Uche, (1989:191) in Orhewere (2007:290) argues that “the new ICTs revolution did not start in the 1970s with the emergence of the information superhighway as some writers claim”. He contends that since the telegraph is an aspect of telecommunications, then, the revolution in ICTs started as far back as 1832 with the invention of telegraph by Samuel Morse. In his words “the term “new” is therefore confusing because it misleads people to think that early technological inventions relating to telecommunications like radio, television, film, etc, are not new. It is probably as a result of this that Dunu and Oraka (2004:96) observe that: the new communication technology could be explained as meaning that the nature of the media of communication is changing to encompass more specialized media. In the past, we could think of newspapers, magazines and books, we could as well think of radio and television broadcasting, but today we have electronic edition of newspapers, journals and other written materials. This gives the new technology its distinct advaESBSges.

Dunu and Oraka and other writers with this view, see only the computer aspect of the technologies as new, and ignore the telecommunication aspect. Thus, their meaning of the new information and communication technologies (NICTs) revolves round the internet and what it does to the media industry.

Be that as it may, Agba (2001:91) presents what appears a superior argument to clarify the term “new” as it concerns information and communication technologies in these words:

The term “new” in NICTs simply denotes that even though man has been communicating and receiving information from time immemorial, the present period makes him do what he has been doing in a manner unequalled by any period in all his history.

The present period Agba talks about is the one marking the revolution of telecommunication technology.

In line with the foregoing, therefore, the NICTs could be said to include all the modern forms of mass media and the technologies associated with them. They include telecommunication facilities (analogue and digital), computers, the Internet, telephone, communication satellite, cable system, radio, television, film, newspapers, magazines, microwaves, videotext and teletext, teleprompter, console, broadband, OBvan, among others.

Appraising ICTs Application in the Nigerian Mass Media: The Experts’ Views

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become powerful weapons not only in the economic, industrial and academic spheres of life, but have also pervaded and virtually transformed the world from what we know barely few years ago.

The media of mass communication radio, television, newspapers, etc, all over the world, have definitely not been spared from the great revolution. The industry in the last few years had begun to take and appreciate seriously, the economic and productive values of adopting and applying the new technologies in their operations.

Before the ICTs revolution, media operation was very cumbersome, slow and expensive. However, ICTs have changed the situation positively in various aspects. For instance, before the launch of the first communication satellite in 1962, news took long time to travel within a country let alone across countries and continents. With the launching of communication satellites into the orbits, news has become almost instant. With satellite TV stations such as the CNN, the BBC World, the Sky News, etc, events are now reported almost simultaneously and instantly (Adamu, 2007:113).

The subsequent invention of digital cameras such as Electronic News Gathering (ENG), and the effective use of the communication satellites have also made news become very instant and more accurate.

In the print media, print operations were very cumbersome before the advent of the ICTs. However, the ICTs revolution has simplified and changed the hitherto cumbersome and complicated process. The journalist of today gathers and sends his news stories to his medium using the internet or the cell-phone. The editors recall the available news reports on their computers and do their editing and all the formatting on the computers. The graphic artists do their art works on the computers too.

The modern lithographic machines and printing machines are digital, thereby, eliminating time waste. The machines print faster, collate, count and do other necessary finishing.

Again, colour separation is now done on digital equipment as against the previous analogue ones, thus, making print journalism less clumsy and more interesting. This facilities newspaper publication in colours.

Available still are digital sound photographs and videos. The new media channels have further transformed media practice by influencing the process of information gathering, processing and dissemination to a more globalized but selective audience.

Today, the new ICTs have fused radio, TV and print into on cyber space, making unique differences between the media to disappear on the web. (Igyor, 2004:7) cited in Idemili and Maama (2007:213) puts it this way: on the web, newspapers and magazines are no longer primarily text medium, radio an aural medium, and television a visual medium. All media have the capacity of providing news using graphics, text, audio and video. News requiring visuals can adequately be illustrated on a radio web cast, and an important piece of audio can be played on a net paper. As a result of these new changes in media practice, new standards in the nature of doing journalism have emerged.

However, many scholars still argue, and strongly too, that while the developed countries of the world can be said to have fully embraced these technological innovations, and integrated them in their media, the less developed countries like Nigeria are still left far behind in their adoption and application. Reasoning along this line, Osuala (2005:118) observes that:

The diffusion of ICTs into Africa is at a snails’ speed, such that the gap between the information rich developed countries and African countries continue to increase everyday……… Africa has 13% of the world population but only 2% of the world telephone lines and 1% of Internet connectivity. Consequently, most African countries including Nigeria have not been able to reap the abundant benefits of the global information revolution in all areas of life.

In the same vein, Eze (2007:173) presents what appears a more worrisome development as it concerns ICTs diffusion and adoption in Africa. According to him, “even within the African continent, there is now a digital divide between Southern Africa, Eastern Africa, North Africa and West Africa”. He concludes that “as long as there remains a lukewarm attitude towards the adoption of ICTs by developing countries especially in Africa, they will continue to lag behind in both human and material development”.

In his own views, Aginam (2001, p. 26) observes that “Nigerians and indeed sub-Saharan Africans are still spectators in the ICTs world”. This is in agreement with the submissions of Uwaje, cited in Terngu and Ternenge (2007:276). According to him, “ICTs are still on low ebb in Nigeria, and there is a serious and fundameESBSl need to refocus the nation’s information mindset from the current standard of who you know to what you know”.

Ndukwe (2005:23) chronicles the state of ICTs in Nigeria thus:

We live in a global village where ICTs have direct impact on a nation’s ability to compete globally; we must therefore ask ourselves how we have fared in comparison with other nations of the world in providing access to these vital infrastructures for our people..... While countries like Sweden boasts of about 100 percent access, Nigeria’s figure is at a level of less than six percent. Even in the African continent, we are still far behind countries like Egypt, South Africa, Botswana, etc……. Nigeria remains a “Lilliputian” in the international development index as far as ICTs penetration and usage is concerned.

The above scenario is equally applicable to our media. Although the mass media in the country are catching up gradually with the explosive information and communication technologies, yet, the extent of its adoption and application so far, still cannot be compared with what is obtainable in the advanced world; nevertheless, the nation’s media have moved appreciable steps ahead. To this end, Media (1996:181), maiESBSins that:

With the development of telecommunications in Nigerian, the practice of mass communication has greatly improved. The mode of news collection has significantly changed. Reporters can now send their news from far places to their organizations with the cell-phone or with the aid of the briefcase computer; news is therefore simultaneously processed and disseminated with automatic devices.

However, although the rate of technological growth in Nigeria is still hampered by lack of institutional framework and absence of basic amenities, yet, in the last few years, the country has made significant progress especially in the telephone infrastructure and teledencity. The country has realized that the creation and diffusion of technological knowledge is at the heart of modern economic growth. This led to the liberalization and deregulation of the telecommunication and ICTs sectors in 2001 (IbeESBS, 2004:53).

Review of Related Empirical Works

This section of the work critically reviews some existing empirical findings on ICTs adoption and application in the Nigerian mass media. It is no gainsaying the fact that several local and foreign studies have been done on this area. One of such is the one done by Salau, Adamu and Yakubu in 2008 on “An Explanatory Survey of the Extent of Application of ICTs in Two Selected Newspapers: The Daily Trust and The New Nigerian”. In the study, the scholars sought to find out the level of availability and use of ICT facilities such as the computers, internet, GSM, the satellite, etc, in each of the two media outfits. It also sought to establish the nature and extent of application of ICTs in these organizations.

The study further sought to find out the technical and professional problems associated with the application of ICTs and their functional values to each of the two organizations. The study yielded that ICTs have brought about significant improvements on journalism practice and are potential instrument for efficiency; however, the extent of their application in Nigerian Newspapers is “deplorably low”. According to them, “while both papers have sufficient access to ICTs, majority of the journalists in both media, suffer very limited computer literacy level, and this has been a very serious impediment on efficiency of local journalists, and has constituted serious barrier to their acquaiESBSnce with modern trends on journalism”.

In a similar study done by Onah in 2008, on “The Level of Awareness of Globalization and ICTs Issues Among Selected Nigerians”, the study had the objective of determining the computer literacy level of Nigerian people. The research findings revealed that many Nigerians (64%) hear about ICTs and globalization but do

not know much about them. The study further revealed the major problems confronting ICTs development in Nigeria and Africa to include:

1 Lack of infrastructure

2 Absence of ICTs policy/ImplemeESBStion

3 Few trained or skilled personnel

4 Financial constraints

5 Corruption and political instability

6 Wars and fear of insecurity, etc.

The study through its findings therefore, authenticates the claims of those scholars who earnestly contend that the level of application of ICTs in the Nigerian mass media is still grossly inadequate.

Again, another empirical work on “The Pattern of Utilization of the Internet and the World Wide Web by Nigerian Newpapers” was done by Eserinune McCarty Mojaye in 2006. He undertook an exhaustive and a wide spectrum of empirical research to ascertain how Nigerian newspapers are adopting and using the new ICTs especially the Internet and the World Wide Web for improved service delivery. The general findings of the study show that:

1. All major Nigerian daily newspapers have Internet websites.

2. All major Nigerian daily newspapers post their editorial content on their websites, but less than half post advertisements. This shows that at present Nigerian newspapers do not utilize the internet for pecuniary gains.

3. An overwhelming majority of Internet connected computers in Nigerian daily newspapers are allocated to the editorial department.

4. All major Nigerian daily newspapers source stories from the Internet, and an overwhelming majority of them (75%) do so frequently.

5. Nigerian newspapers are yet to fully adopt and utilize other added advaESBSges of the Internet technology in newsgathering, processing and dissemination.

The relevance of Mojaye’s study to this research stems from its establishment of the fact that although all major Nigerian newspapers have access to some of the new ICTs like the computer and Internet, but many of them are yet to fully adopt and utilize the added advaESBSge of the new technologies in newsgathering, processing and dissemination.

In another study carried out at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, Balogun Oluwatosin in her Doctoral Thesis (2008) investigated “The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Broadcasting: A Study of ESBS 2 Channel 5, Lagos”. The study had the objective of ascertaining the rate of ICTs application in ESBS 2 Channel 5, Lagos, and the extent to which the ICTs have impacted positively on the station. Her findings show that the new ICTs have tremendously impacted positively on the quality of the station‟s programmes, however, the extent of application is still grossly inadequate and needs to be improved upon.

In a similar study done at the Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Ezeoha (2008) researched on “The Influence of ICTs on the Nigerian Broadcast Industry: A Study of and ESBS, Enugu. The result shows that the rate of technological growth in Nigeria is hampered by lack of institutional framework, inadequate infrastructure, high cost of operation and lack of trained personnel to handle most of the sophisticated tools.

On the foreign scene, available empirical works on internet and telephone connection shows that Africa, Latin America and many parts of Asia are not fully connected to the global information economy.

In his work on “ICTs in Africa: A Status Report”, Mike Jensen (2008:86), found out that ICTs in Africa are still at a very early stage of development compared to other regions of the world. The research showed that out of the approximately 816 million people in Africa in 2001, it is estimated that only:

One in four has a radio (200 million) One in 13 has a television (62 million)

One in 35 has a mobile telephone (24 million) One in 39 has a fixed line (21 million) One in 130 has a personal computer (9 million) One in 160 use the internet (5 million) One in 400 has pay-television (2 million).

The report however noted that the above figures do not take into consideration the widespread sharing of media that take place in African (often ten people may read the same newspaper or share an internet account, or a whole village may use a single telephone line or crowd around a television set at night). The study further showed that sub-Saharan Africa may be slipping behind when compared with south Asia (http://www3.wnape.org).

The findings of Mike Jensen’s research (2008) get a support from “An Internet Usage Survey around the World”, done by the United Nation‟s Development Programme (UNDP) as coESBSined in the world Development Report 2006. The findings are hereby replicated in the table below:

Table 1: Internet usage as Percentage of total population

Source: United Nations Development Programme, World Development Report 2008.

The findings of the UNDP internet usage surveys as depicted above, agrees with The Punch newspaper report of Monday, March 27, 2006, p.3 which says that “a team of researchers at the University of Washington has discovered that the hourly Internet fee of cyber café’s in Lagos, Nigeria is the highest in the world”. The findings also showed that fares in Lagos are thrice as high as that of Cairo, Egypt, which has 23 percent, in Beijing, it is 12 percent high, Mexico City, 10 percent, and Tokyo, Japan, 9 percent. Seoul, South Korea with 5 percent has the least price as a Percentage of daily income, while New York and London (6 percent) tied to be the second least expensive places to browse in the world. The research report also highlighted the fact that people in the developing countries pay more to browse the Internet, yet, they get less value for their money.

In telecommunication Usage in Africa, the International communication Union (ITU) research report 2001 says that “there are approximately 850,000 public telephones in the whole continent of Africa, 175,000 of which are in the sub-Sahara, or about one telephone for every 37 people, compared to a world average of one to 25 and a high income average of one to 5”.

Another study was done at the Boston University, U.S.A in 2007. The study was to ascertain the growth of telecommunications around the world. The research showed that only 15% of Africans use the telephone; in Europe, it is 63%; in America, 74%; in Asia Pacific, it is 6% (ITU 2005 Report).

The study however, did not fail to recognize that due to the diverse nature of the African region, it can be misleading to generalize the research findings. The study however shows that sub-Saharan Africa currently has one of the least developed communication networks in the world.

Similarly, an Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), report 2005, again says that the African region has almost 12 percent of the world‟s population, but has 0.5 percent of all the telephone lines (with South Africa excluded). The same report attributes the chronic shortage of lines to high cost of the commodity in the region. This is in agreement with an ITU, 1996 report recorded in Eze (2007, P. 173) which puts the cost of a business phone in Africa at an average of 112 dollars to install, and over 200 dollars in Benin, Mauritania, Nigeria and Togo, and 6 dollars a month to rent. The above scenario has undoubtedly impinged on the use of these and other ICTs both in the media and other sectors in Nigeria and Africa.

From the foregoing, it is evident that existing empirical studies, local and foreign, agree that the level of adoption and application of ICTs in various sectors especially the media in Nigeria and indeed the African continent has not only remained inadequate, but that that cannot be compared with what is obtainable in other parts of the world, especially in the developed countries of Europe, North America and some parts of Asia. This again, lends credence to the necessity / objectives of this study which among others is to ascertain the extent of ICTs use in Nigerian mass media and make suggestions on the way forward.

Theoretical Framework

For the purpose of verifiable, testable and generalizable views, research works are usually based on already existing theories. In every discipline, there exists a body of theories that provides explanations and enhances a better understanding of a given phenomenon in the field. This is because knowledge does not exist in a vacuum and the adoption of theories “invariably facilitates the understanding of issues in the field” (Ohaja, 2003). In acknowledgement of the above remarks, this study will be based on the Diffusion of Innovation theory.

The Diffusion of Innovation Theory

The Diffusion of Innovation Theory according to Anaeto, Onabajo and Osifeso (2008, P. 116), is associated with Ryan and Cross (1943) and Everett Rogers (1960). The concept, innovation, as later defined by Rogers and Shoemaker (1971:19) is “an idea, practice or object perceived as new by an individual”. The newness here, the scholars argue does not presuppose that such “idea, practice or object” is entirely novel to members of a social group. It rather means that though members of the target group may be aware of such idea, practice or object, they have no particular disposition towards the idea, practice or object prior to the lunching of the campaign for social change. On the other hand, diffusion according to Katz (1963:77) means “The process of spread of a given new idea or practice over time, via specifiable channels or through social structures.

Simply put, diffusion means internalization, adoption, practice and application of new ideas by man either as an individual or member of a social group. Innovation diffusion therefore involves conscious exposure to adoption, application and utilization of new ideas, practices or objects. Thus, the main thrust of the Diffusion of Innovation theory lies on how new ideas, discoveries, practices or technologies spread to members of a social system.

Ogboho (2008:352) puts it this way “the Innovation Diffusion Theory refers to how media technological products and facilities are introduced and adopted by the international community, comprising external broadcasting service stations, using technological products to reach out the world and the international audience who are the beneficiary of the new media contents and products”. This submission rightly buttresses the suitability of the theory to the objective of the study, which aims at evaluating the adoption and application of ICTs in the Nigerian mass media. However, Bittner (2003) believes that in the innovation diffusion process, the media present information that makes us aware of the existence of an item. From there, the person gets interested, constantly evaluates the item, takes a trial of the item and finally acquires it. In the same view, Katz, et al (1966) in Ojobor (2002:21) maiESBSins that for a new idea or innovation to diffuse, there must be the awareness stage, trial stage and adoption stage.

Innovation campaign is therefore hardly hypodermic in effect. This means that it is difficult to achieve instant change of attitude and behaviour through innovation diffusion. Hence, Rogers (1965) cited in Wogu (2008:164) explains that when new technological innovation is introduced, they will move across a series of stages before they are generally adopted. Firstly, majority of people will know of the innovations; secondly, the innovation will be adopted by a very small group of innovators or early adopters; thirdly, opinion leaders take a cue from the early adopters and try out the innovation themselves; fourthly, if opinion leaders find the innovation helpful, they persuade their friends, the opinion followers. Finally, after the majority has adopted the innovation, a group of laggards or late adopters join.

Early experiments on Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation theory in the U.S. show that the theory aids the taking up of new innovations that were hitherto not preferred by adopters. It was discovered that this process applied to nearly all American agricultural innovations. Today, many agricultural practices like the use of fertilizers have been promoted even here in Nigeria.

However, diffusion of innovation has been criticized of taking longer time than we believe. The time between the actual development of innovation and its widespread adoption is known as the Innovation Diffusion Gap (IDG). For instance, the IDG of the invention of the Laser and the Mouse took about 20 years to their widespread application (see Szabo.http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/DRMIKE).

From the above remarks, it suffices to opine that Innovation Diffusion Gap (IDG) may be responsible for the current level of ICTs application in the Nigerian mass media. The study however, aims at contributing towards closing the gap.

In all, the following constitute the basic assumptions of the Diffusion of Innovation Theory. According to http://www/utwente.theoriesnovezicht/Theory%20clusters/communication%20:

1. Diffusion research centres on the conditions, which increase or decrease the likelihood that members of a given culture will adopt a new idea, product, or practice.

2. The information flows through networks; the nature of networks and the roles opinion leaders play in them determine the likelihood the innovation will be adopted.

3. Opinion leaders exert influence on audience behaviour via their personal coESBSct, but additional intermediaries (called change agents and gatekeepers) are also included in the process of diffusion.

4. Diffusion of Innovation Theory predicts that media as well as interpersonal coESBScts provide information and influence opinion and judgment.

Daramola (2003) wraps it up by saying that “diffusion of innovation theory is a theory that seeks to disseminate information about new discoveries to the masses of a social set up”.

In this research, which aims at assessing of ICTs in the Nigerian mass media, it is believed that the Diffusion of Innovation Theory will form a good theoretical base and will help in achieving the set objectives.