THE ROLE OF THE BROADCAST MEDIA IN THE MANAGEMENT OF

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

BY

Wilson Chidiebere Peter

pstwcpetwers@gmail.com

+2347030181006

ABSTRACT

This study examined the role of the broadcast media in the management of
environmental health issues in Enugu State, Nigeria. Although the mass media
generally have a distinct presence in our homes today – providing us with a wealth of
information on a multitude of channels – they are equally well established as parts of
the social structures and world of values around us. This makes it imperative that we
take an interest in the kinds of values the media promote in their work. When the media
are working well to help curb and prevent the incidences of wrong environmental health
behaviour, they employ agenda setting strategy to reinforce values and practices that
would reduce the phenomenon. In Enugu urban, Nigeria, the broadcast media in the
discharge of their information, education socialization, sensitization, agenda setting and
mobilization functions, contributes immensely in not only creating awareness in the
society, but also in condemning practices that debase the environment. This study
therefore focuses on the role of the broadcast media in the management of
environmental health in order to prevent or reduce health’s problem in Enugu State.
The research methodology adopted is the survey research method. Questionnaire was
constructed and administered to the representative sample of the study. The study found
that the broadcast media and Nigerian Television Authority, Enugu in particular have
been effective in its campaign geared towards enlightening the public on environmental
health issues. It was recommended that regular information dissemination, public
education and enlightenment and up-to-date sources of information and effective
communication about environmental health issues are of paramount importance and
should be maintained by the media. Also, government and stakeholders in media
industry should ensure specialized training for disseminators of environmental health
information.
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INTRODUCTION

Health is very vital to life. A poor health of mind, soul and body can render any
man impotent in life. People normally do not value their state of health until something
goes wrong in their body. However, it is popularly said that health is wealth. To lose
your health is to lose your wealth. No unhealthy man can be successfully wealthy in
life.
According to history, various kinds of sickness and diseases have so much
increased in the lives of our citizens in Enugu State before, during and after the colonial
masters. On the other hand, the management of environmental health in Enugu has
carried out various programmes of health issues through the effort and influence of
broadcast media. However, communication came and played its role to standardize the
health welfare of people.
Communication made the people to change their health environment for better.
Health issues have embraced a new and prosperous era in the society especially in
Enugu State.
Considering the quickness of plants, early philosophers get disturbed on the
quick passing away of animals. At a time, they referred to death as a “cheat on nature
that comes whenever it wants”. However, science showed up in enthusiasm to discover
and subdue human problem. It can be agreed that science is a discipline that is anchored
in the pursuit of wisdom and knowledge around 1500, there was radical scientific
sudden change then. The wish, desire and determination to discover science by man,
rise as a result of conflict noticed between different belief and attempt by man to
achieve an improved and upgraded environment status. Economic necessity and the
need to kick out ignorance, improved health condition and the zeal for knowledge
propelled and triggered the growth of science through the historic perspective.

Besides, in 1980’s and 90’s, Enugu State due to the ignorance on health issues,
the management of environmental health were tortured by the people transmitted
disease like. Gonorrhea, during the period over 5000 citizens especially the children
between one to ten years lost their lives in it because people in the rural area dwell more

2
on roots and herbs, with little or no precaution at all. These threaten the health of the
state and then pushed the state for campaign to resolve the epidemic.
Furthermore the management of environment on health has warned against all
sexual transmitted disease like Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The
disease is recently recognized throughout the globe. However, the benefits of
immunization programme cannot be over emphasized at all. Presently, children, youths
and even people of all ages have received from contaminated disease.
In various cultures of the world, there were/are controls in every community on
how to tackle environmental problems. However, effective communication, public
education, efficacious public enlightenment, proper environmental enforcement
procedures, indefatigable environmental agencies, integrated management,
governmental and intergovernmental approaches, private sector participation and
environmental education have been lacking.
Although the mass media generally have a distinct presence in our homes today –
providing us with a wealth of information on a multitude of channels – they are equally
well established as parts of the social structures and world of values around us. This
makes it imperative that we take an interest in the kinds of values the media promote in
their work. When the media are working well to help curb and prevent the incidences of
wrong environmental health behaviour, they employ agenda setting strategy to reinforce
values and practices that would reduce the phenomenon.
In Enugu urban, the broadcast media in the discharge of their information,
education socialization, sensitization, agenda setting and mobilization functions,
contributes immensely in not only creating awareness in the society, but also in
condemning practices that debase the environment. This study therefore focuses on the
role of the broadcast media in the management of environmental health in order to
prevent or reduce health’s problem in Enugu State.
Problem
Broadcast media is a good medium of information distribution in the Enugu
State. People of different calibers become aware of the important events when they tune
on their television to hear the news through the media. The management of
3
environmental health issue in Enugu State has made life more happy and safe. The
broadcast media is a medium of education and it helps in the integration of
environmental health in Enugu. There are enough of the primary roles which the
broadcast media is supposed to perform on the management of environmental health in
the society especially Enugu State but over the years, it has faced the problem that have
hindered performance up to the required expectation of the society. In the source of
research, the researcher was able to find out what some of the problem are:- Firstly,
poor equipment, like tippers that can be carrying the waste product, unprepared
permanent environment to keep dirty materials that is not useful in any way. Secondly,
inadequate management of environmental health. Thirdly, lack of involvement of
members of management of environmental health in Enugu State. The problem of the
researcher can be solved when the government and non-governmental organization is
our society join hands together to support the management of environmental health in
Enugu State.
Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this study are:
 To ascertain the extent of broadcast media coverage of environmental health issues
in Enugu State.
 To determine the effectiveness of the broadcast media in managing environmental
health issues in Enugu State.
 To know if there is relationship between broadcast media campaigns and good
environmental health practice in Enugu State.
Research Question
The research questions for this study are:
1. Do the broadcast media have good coverage of environmental health issues in
Enugu State?
2. Are the broadcast media effective in managing environmental health issues in
Enugu State?
3. Is there relationship between broadcast media campaigns and good environmental
health practice in Enugu State?
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Research Hypothesis
The hypotheses for this study are:

H1: The broadcast media have good coverage of environmental health issues in Enugu
State.

H0: The broadcast media do not have good coverage of environmental health issues in
Enugu State.

H2: The broadcast media are effective in managing environmental health issues in
Enugu State.

H0: The broadcast media are not effective in managing environmental health issues in
Enugu State.

H3: There is relationship between broadcast media campaigns and good environmental
health practice in Enugu State.
H0: There is no relationship between broadcast media campaigns and good
environmental health practice in Enugu State.

LITERATURE REVIEW
Concerns about environmental degradation and the consequences of
environmental hazards have stimulated policy and programmes aimed at promoting
environmental health globally. Substantial money and time are currently being
expended for the purpose of educating people about the advantages of environmental
healthy living. The use of broadcast media to achieve environmental health objectives
has increased recently and both the government and private agencies are involved in
developing and implementing programmes through the use of media facilities (Bankole,
1994, p. 1).
The proponents of this approach have argued that the increasing availability of
radio and television in developing countries can be effectively used to influence
5
people’s behaviour. Parlato (1990, p. 105) argues that a well-designed media campaign
can be effective in creating a positive social environment for a behaviour by bringing
about a shift in popular opinion. In the view of Piotrow, Rimon, Winnard, Kincaid,
Huntington and Conviser (1990, p. 265), the mass media can be a powerful tool only
for creating awareness about new technology, but also for stimulating people’s desires
for more information and facilitating their efforts to apply the information to their
behaviour.
This means that the broadcast media can be very useful in educating people on
environmental health issues. Most environmental health messages in Nigeria come in
the form of advertisements. However, apart from simply advertising environmental
health issues in the media, the use of an “enter-educate” approach has become attractive
to communication experts. The “enter-educate” approach uses the entertainment
components of the mass media, such as song and drama, to drive home the intended
message. The assumption here is that people tent to adopt behaviour faster if they are
motivated by those they consider as role models. Therefore, using popular and
respected entertainers is believed to be an effective means of getting people to adopt a
new behaviour.
Bankole (1994, p.1) observes that recent studies have shown an interrelationship
between broadcast media campaigns and environmental health practices. This supports
the claim that the mass media influences behaviour. Westoff and Rodriguez (1993, p.
212) examined the relationship between exposure to media messages on environmental
health awareness and a number of indicators of environmental healthy behaviour –
including ever and current observance of hygienic behaviour. The results indicated that
people who are exposed to such messages in the media are more likely to adopt good
healthy lifestyle.
These assertions expose the potentiality of radio and television in educating
people on environmental health issues. This shows that those who are exposed to media
campaigns on environmental health issues are likely to adopt it and reduce
environmental health risk. On the other hand however, people who have limited

6
exposure or no exposure at all to environmental health campaigns are likely to remain
in an unhygienic disposition and orientation.
The spread of television and radio; the rise of an independent press, and
increasing literacy rates in many countries offer new opportunities for environmental
health organisations to inform the public and reach opinion leaders. Making most use of
these opportunities however, requires skill in helping the news media cover
environmental health issues. News media relations professionals use processes and
approaches to encourage accurate coverage of environmental health information and
issues (Kirkman, 1991, p. 35).
The effectiveness of radio and television in environmental health campaign is a
product of the fact that the news media reach a large number of people. In developing
countries of Africa, the number of radio sets is estimated at over one billion in 1994.
More than 9 households in every ten have radio. Ownership of television sets is much
less widespread but has risen dramatically in recent times (Wanta and Hu, 2001, p. 96).
Environmental health communication programmes have long recognised the
importance of working with the news media. This is important because news coverage
is often people’s first source of new information. Also, news coverage helps to confirm
and reinforce the information that people receive about environmental health
programmes from other sources such as entertainment programmes, brochures, field
workers, family members and friends.
With their broadcast reach and powerful influence, television and radio can help
to improve health practices. As people are exposed to new information, ideas and
values such as good hygiene, many become increasingly aware and interested and
eventually some decide to take action (Piotrow et al, 1990, p. 267). There are various
stages in the inculcation of environmental health practices to the audience, and in each
of the stages, the broadcast media play a very crucial role. The stages are:
Knowledge stage: News and feature stories can make people aware of the benefits of
maintaining good hygiene for good environmental health and can help overcome myths
and false rumours.

7
Persuasion stage: Frequent news coverage helps to legitimize environmental health
programmes, both as a practice and as a topic of conversation.
Decision stage: News coverage helps people to make informed decisions and choices
about adopting healthy environmental practice living based on expert opinion and
other’s experiences.
Action stage: News and features on radio and television can inform people about how
to take action such as, how to maintain a healthy environment and personal hygiene.
Confirmation and advocacy stage: Coverage in the news media can reinforce
individual decisions to adopt health care practices and can serve as a forum for
members of the public and opinion leaders to endorse environmental health
programmes and offer testimonials from personal experience (Robey and Stauffer,
1995, p. 25).
The news media is pervasive and play a serious role in shaping and reflecting
popular opinion, and this is why policymakers find them very useful. In many
countries, radio and television set agenda for public discussion and debate. They do this
by deciding what issue to cover and how to report on them. So, one can state that the
media is very effective in the introduction of new policies, their adoption and
implementation by the public.
Use of Mass Media Campaigns to Change Environmental Health Behaviour
Over the past few decades, media campaigns have been used in an attempt to
affect various environmental health behaviours in mass populations. Such campaigns
have most notably been aimed at tobacco use and heart-disease prevention, but have
also addressed alcohol and illicit drug use, cancer screening and prevention, sex-related
behaviours, child survival, and many other health-related issues.
Typical campaigns have placed messages in media that reach large audiences,
most frequently via television or radio, but also outdoor media, such as billboards and
posters, and print media, such as magazines and newspapers. Exposure to such
messages is generally passive, resulting from an incidental effect of routine use of
media. Media campaigns can be of short duration or may extend over long periods.
They may stand alone or be linked to other organised programme components, such as
8
clinical or institutional outreach and easy access to newly available or existing products
or services, or may complement policy changes. Multiple methods of dissemination
might be used if health campaigns are part of broader social marketing programmes
(Kotler and Lee, 2008, p.35).
The great promise of mass media campaigns lies in their ability to disseminate
well defined behaviourally focused messages to large audiences repeatedly, over time,
in an incidental manner, and at a low cost per head. Mass media campaigns can work
through direct and indirect pathways to change the behaviour of whole populations.
According to (Hornik and Yanovitzky, 2003, pp.204-224) many campaigns aim to
directly affect individual recipients by invoking cognitive or emotional responses. Such
programmes are intended to affect decision-making processes at the individual level.
Anticipated outcomes include the removal or lowering of obstacles to change,
helping people to adopt healthy or recognise unhealthy social norms, and to associate
valued emotions with achieving change. These changes strengthen intentions to alter
and increase the likelihood of achieving new behaviours (Fishbein and Azjen, 2010,
p.47). For instance, an antismoking campaign might emphasise risks of smoking and
benefits of quitting, provide a telephone number for a support line, remind smokers of
positive social norms in relation to quitting, associate quitting with positive self-regard,
or a combination of these features.
Behaviour change might also be achieved through indirect routes. First, mass
media messages can set an agenda for and increase the frequency, depth, or both, of
interpersonal discussion about a particular health issue within an individual’s social
network, which, in combination with individual exposure to messages, might reinforce
(or undermine) specific changes in behaviour. Second, since mass media messages
reach large audiences, changes in behaviour that become norms within an individual’s
social network might influence that person’s decisions without them having been
directly exposed to or initially persuaded by the campaign.
For example, after viewing televised antismoking campaign messages, several
members of a social group might be prompted to form a support group to help them

9
stop smoking. Another individual who has not seen the television campaign could
decide to join the support group and change his or her own behaviour.
Finally, mass media campaigns can prompt public discussion of environmental
health issues and lead to changes in public policy, resulting in constraints on
individuals’ behaviour and thereby change. For example, a campaign discouraging bush
burning and felling of trees because of its effects on the environment might not
persuade people to stop the behaviour, but it might increase public support for a new
policy that restricts the practices.

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Broadcast Media Effectiveness in Managing Environmental Health Issues
There are a number of things that the broadcast media can do to promote
environmental health, and indeed many organizations are already engaged in successful
efforts to both raise awareness and promote sustainable behaviour change to reduce
vulnerability to environmental health issues. One of the most obvious roles of the
broadcast media is to open channels of communication and foster discussion about
environmental health issues and interpersonal relationships.
Addressing environmental health issues in entertainment programmes can have
an enormous impact on a society at risk. A number of researchers have noted that the
Radio Tanzania soap opera Twende na Wakati (Let’s Go with the Times), which was
first broadcast in 1993, has greatly increased listeners’ willingness to discuss issues
related to environmental health. In short, the show got people talking. After the
programme had been aired for several seasons, evaluations reported that 65% of
respondents said they had spoken to someone about Twende na Wakati and more than 8
in 10 reported having adopted a good environmental health practice measure as a result
of listening to the show.
It has been argued that the mass media, especially radio and television have been
quite effective in creating environmental health awareness in urban Nigeria. Perhaps,
this is because the urban dwellers have greater access to the mass media. According to a
survey of predominantly urban areas, about 90% of all urban house-holds have radios
and about 60% own televisions in Nigeria (Information, Education and
Communication, IEC, July 1996) and the likelihood that people living in urban areas
would readily have access to environmental health information as purveyed through
radio and television media is high.
But to make this level of environmental health issues awareness effective among
the generality of Nigerians, the mass media should have a hold in the rural areas where
a larger number of the people live. The spread of television and radio, the rise of an
independent press, and increasing literacy rates in many countries offer new
opportunities for environmental health providers and other environmental health
organizations to inform the public and reach opinion leaders (Piotrow et al. 1994).
11
 Making the most of these opportunities requires skill in helping the news media
cover environmental health issues. Obaid (2006) and Abd El-Aziz (2006) have also
identified radio and television media as effective instruments in environmental health
education in Jordan and Egypt respectively. Most studies on mass media campaigns are
emphatic on the issue of the people’s attitude in terms of the degree of reception and
adoption of a particular idea, programme or innovation.
According to Akinfeleye (1989), attitude formation and attitude modification
precede behavioural change or modification for the achievements of the desired goals.
He further states that for a modification of attitude and behaviour, an effective
communication must be presented and articulated before there can be any useful
mobilization. However, when communicating with the rural dwellers, the problem of
the appropriate medium to be used arises.
Broadcasting has come to mean the communication of news, instruction and
entertainment by radio or television. Before the invention of wireless telegraph,
however, the term broadcasting was mainly an agricultural term. It meant the free
scattering of seeds as against careful planting in drills and rows. When considering
radio and television, everything put out by these powerful media is like seeds.
However, most rural dwellers are regulated by solid entrenched socio-cultural norms,
ethos and values. They believe so much in taboos, but a proper and proficient use of the
broadcast media can be useful in the opening up of the minds of the rural dwellers
through certain subtle means.
In this connection, Babalola (1986) states that broadcasting transcends the
barriers of literacy and it reaches all the people without discrimination except those
imposed by the people’s own selective will. Among literate persons, it is believed that
broadcast messages have immediacy, which the print message lacks. Broadcast
messages are of course easily forgotten but their impact continues to exercise an
influence at the subconscious level. Indeed, a broadcast message tends to have greater
mass appeal and this arguably makes it more effective for reaching the grassroots.
However, Nwuneli (1984) considers the forgoing positions as mere rhetoric. He
contends that because of Nigeria’s large size, it is impossible to mobilize the entire
12
population through centralized directives. He suggested the decentralization of
communication for meaningful change to take place at the local level. He stressed the
need for the village level communicator recruited among the people of the rural areas
for more effective communication with the rural dwellers. His argument is also borne
out of the contemplation that people are more responsive if they participate in decision-
making and have a stake in a particular project. In other words, the decentralization of
information would involve the use of smaller, less expensive and less cumbersome
mass media technologies. For instance, cassettes and video tapes on Land Rovers could
be used to reach isolated communities with the campaign messages, thereby creating
intercommunication among the people and feedback to the government or development
agents.

Importance of Communicating Environmental Issues

Certain trends today seem to challenge world leaders as far as environmental

problems are concerned. Even the Earth Summits held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June
1992 and 2012 have not done much to help the situation. The trends in question have to
do with species, fisheries, rainforests, mega-cities, ozone-Layer, Global warming,
climate change, transport, nuclear power, war and refugees, as well as the earth’s
population to mention just a few. These trends have serious implications for Africa in
particular, and for the world in general. First, Africa, already stricken by drought and a
host of other environmental problems, could suffer even more. Secondly, the current
business as usual scenarios for energy use and population could make it very difficult
for Homo sapiens (the so-called wise ones) to stay on Earth for even a fraction of the 63
million years that the small-brained dinosaurs managed. Thirdly, much environmental
damage is either irreversible over inestimable numbers of years. We are incapable of
putting lost ozone back into the atmosphere or recreating extinct species. Fourthly, the
trends for many environmental issues such as ozone depletion, acid rain, climate change
and rainforest destruction also take decades to identify and reverse (Adewuni, 2004).

13
 Furthermore, successful action on the most serious environmental threats is
more complex without global agreements between the rich and poor countries of the
world, a daunting political task requiring strong national action and innovative global
diplomacy. Finally, eco-hazards are often unpredictable-the size of the first measured
ozone hole was significantly bigger than scientists had predicted. This means that we
must pursue a proactive policy of limiting the impact of synthetic chemicals and other
potential environmental insults, rather than the reactive policy of loading such things
into the biosphere and waiting to see what happens.

A key condition for a successful proactive policy is the public's right to know
about what they are exposing their communities and planet Earth to. Such freedom of
access to environmental information, communication and data would help to identify
early signs of environmental or human harm and to provide the public with a full
picture of the implications for environmental pollution of industry's activities. This is
where communication of information on environment comes in (Akiyode, 2004). There
are several reasons why it is of utmost importance for social scientists, natural
scientists, environmentalists, communication researchers, media practitioners, religious
leaders, traditional rulers, stakeholders, policy-makers, government functionaries in the
legislative, executive and judicial arms of government, farmers, traders and other
members of the society including all agencies of socialization to raise public awareness
about existing environmental problems. The agencies include the family, the mass
media, the schools, the government, the peer groups etc.

First, many decisions which have to be made today involve some aspects of the
environment. All these decisions in some way affect people and most of them involve
making judgments and balancing the positive and negative effects of the environmental
action. It is, thus, important to educate the people on cost-benefit analysis of issues to
avoid any conflicts. Secondly, if the general population acquires adequate knowledge
and understanding of environmental issues, problems and solutions they can be better
involved in decision-making, in-put and out-put functions and the universality of other
functions in all socio-politico-economic systems. These are interest articulation, interest
14
aggregation, political communication, political socialization, rule-making, rule
application and rule-adjudication to mention just a few. It is important to mention that
national, state, local and international communities should be involved in this
communication enterprise of environmental issues. Thirdly, there is a real danger of
society becoming divided into a minority of people who have some knowledge and
understanding of environmental issues and the majority of people who perceive the
environment as being there for man/woman to exploit to meet his/her basic needs. This
perception may lead to apathy towards measures to conserve the environment and
further environmental degradation (Tella, 2009).

The real work of mobilizing the population in each country to appreciate the
seriousness of the environmental problems and to create in them an awareness and
appreciation of their specific role in environmental management, governance, security
and preservation certainly goes beyond the major earth summits held in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, in June 1992 and 2012 (Tella, 2014). Within the African region, attention has
been called to a number of major issues of environmental concern and the need for
action to save the environment from further destruction.

According to available information from the United Nations Environment

Programme (UNEP), some of these issues are: (1) deforestation and desertification
which exacerbate the problem of food production, drought and depletion of energy
sources (2) fresh water resources that are severely endangered by poverty, population
growth, and poor agricultural practices; (3) dumping of industrial, toxic and human
wastes, oil pollution and sea erosion; (4) indiscriminate and unbridled exploitation of
natural resources; and (5) increasing use of toxic chemicals and hazardous waste that
contaminate food, land and air.

Ecology has been variously defined as “the study of interrelationships between

the forms of life and the environment in the biosphere"; and “the study of the
interrelationships of organisms with their environments and each other”. Modern
ecology is further said to be “focused on the concept of the ecosystem, a functional unit

15
consisting of interacting organisms and all aspects of the environment in any specific
area”. Common to all these definitions is the concept of relationships - of interactions of
one kind or another.“ Man, the dominant organism on earth, has stood apart from the
interaction of living things; yet, as he is discovering, he is inextricably tied to his
environment The air he breathes, the water he drinks, the food he consumes, and the
products he uses and throws away bind him to the functions of local and global
ecosystems” (Olayiwola, 2011).

Today humanity is faced with environmental problems which have grown to

become what the Inter Action Council (IAC) has described as: an ecological crisis of
many dimensions ... characterised by a depletion of the ozone layer, a substantial
accumulation of greenhouse gases inducing climate change; accelerating degradation of
air, land and water quality; accumulation of industrial and household wastes; depletion
of the earth's natural resource base and loss of biodiversity.

16
Major Environmental Issues in Africa

The decline of productive resources is rapidly emerging as a major threat to

economic prospects in most developing countries whose economies are many times
more dependent than those of industrialized countries on their soils, water, fisheries,
forests and minerals. Many of these developing countries are found in Africa, including
29 out of the 42 countries classified as least-developed. Factors contributing to the
continent’s generally poor economic status include the persistent decline of economic
production per capita in the 1980s; the dependence of Africa's agriculture on rainfall
and rudimentary technology; the dependence of African industry on imports of capital,
skilled labour, technology and spare parts; and the scarcity of indigenous
entrepreneurial and management skills (Tella, 2014).

The report of the World Commission on Environment and Development (the

Brundtland Commission) states, with reference to Sub-Saharan Africa, that no other
region more tragically suffers the vicious cycle of poverty leading to environmental
degradation which in turn leads to even more poverty (Olayiwola, 2012). The
continent's major environmental problems include land degradation, desertification and
depletion of forest reserves. All of these are related to increasing population pressure;
as Sharp and Kone have observed: With more than 600 million people, Africa today is
not over-populated in terms of absolute numbers.

Nevertheless, there are two critical problems. People and the resources which
could support them are unevenly distributed between countries and between rural and
urban areas, often leading to excessive pressure on the most fragile environments. And
secondly, population numbers are growing at a dizzy rate-at approximately 3 percent
annually, faster than anywhere else in the world. Water resources are another critical
aspect of the problem. In Sub- Saharan Africa, only 40% of the population has access to
safe water supplies, though in many low-income countries the share is much lower; the
rest have to risk water-holes or rivers that are often contaminated. Eighty percent of

17
illness is attributed to polluted water or poor sanitation, and may account for as much as
half of infant mortality (Alawiye, 2002).

The Environmental Media Audience

Early audience studies come into the media research scene in response to the
needs of the media industries that were eager to know the 'reach' and 'size' of their
audiences. These early approaches in audience research have also helped to identify the
social composition and geographical distribution of the audiences. The interests and
findings of the researchers, however, were influenced by the broadcasters and
advertisers (McQuail, 1994; Mytton, 1999:16-17).

The focus of the researchers was the 'media messages' and the specific behaviors
they might create, such as the direct effect the media have on people. This trend has
regarded audiences as 'passive recipients' without of the ability to construct their own
meanings, rather than 'active readers' (Croteau and Hoynes, 2003:240). It was only after
the 1970's that more and more researchers tried to assert their findings that claim
audiences to be interactive and autonomous with the capacity to select and use useful
and meaningful media products.

Audience filter media content in a variety of specialized environments. And

when the medium is introduced in to an environment it modifies the environment.
When environmental conditions are altered, the audience member may be come upset.
However, media plays a crucial role in connecting the world to an individual and
provides opportunity for the individuals to communicate with a wider audience. And,
the down side of media communication, as national and international media ownership
is more likely to be influenced by a few, is in its difficulty to maintain neutrality
(McQuail, 1994).

According to McQuail (1994) historically media audience research has witnessed

different phases which he argued have happened as a result of reactions to the cultural
and social changes over time. It seems important to point out that the crucial issued

18
which is hidden in current approaches to audience research is the relation of audience to
power and control within the system (Morgan, 1997:9). He also states that information
overload leads audience to filtering out some of uninteresting media messages, or at a
time just shut the channel. The prevailing assumption among media researchers in the
early 20th century about media effects was that the media was so powerful that if it can
serve as tools of persuasion (Ross and Nightingale, 2003:74-75). This premise
considers audiences as only receivers of media message as presented by the media
outlet. This group however criticizes the early researchers for undermining the
audience’s ability to select, interpret and use media content (Davis, 2006:261). Others
acknowledge that audience as active with the capacity of picking preferred content and
message from the media (Rockeach, 1995:187).

From the given approaches is can be concluded that individuals consume media
with purpose, critics however argue that attending media products is something that
happens more casually and without planning. According to these critics, people might
attend a certain media because of its prominence or lack of access to or absence of
alternative media outlets (Williams, 2003:178-179). The above discussions tried to
show how audience progressed from the powerful media approach to the active
audience premise. In the latter approach audiences is autonomous concerning the
selection of media content or programs. For instance, when some audience faces
environmental shocks they may be interested to get information from the media.
Exposure of individuals to environmental pollution in everyday life could lead them to
consider media information.

Historical Perspective of the Media and the Environment

In the area of environment, the earlier premise of an open and unlimited global
space for individual nations or states to explore and exploit for maximum economic
growth was turning out to be unattainable. The finite nature of the global space and its
limited caring capacity received increased attention both in academic literature and the
media industry. Environment was now part of a complex ecosystem, which is fragile

19
and threatened by severe disruption from the competing forces of over population,
resource exploitation, over consumption, and industrial pollution. According to Speth
(2004) a global ecosystem approach was not without competitors, but both the
biocentrism and the humanist perspectives were foreign to the perceptions of the
international development elite and recognizing the offences against nature as just
another sign of the supremacy of technological expansion over people and their lives
would go against the grain of development aspirations. The discourse, then, moved to
efficient management of the environment to serve the needs of development.

Environmental issues are firmly entrenched at the centre of the world in all
spheres of development activity, especially after the Second World War. This is
exemplified by the number of international conferences and workshops which were
held on the environment. One of these, the Rio de Janeiro Earth summit in 1992,
marked the beginning of relentless environmental campaigns across the world from
developed to developing nations (UNCED, 1992: 327-366). This was followed by the
world summit on sustainable development (WSSD) which was held in Johannesburg,
South Africa in 2002 where critical targets for sustainable development, including the
Millennium Development Goals (MDG's), were defined (UNCED, 1992). These
campaigns were largely in response to the alarming rate at which human activities are
affecting the environment.

Human beings are an incredible species. Compared to other species, people

inhabited the earth relatively recent, but they are rapidly dominating and changing the
face of the earth. Human activities generate many byproducts which are generally seen
as discarded waste (Day, 1993). These massive amounts of waste subsequently find its
way into the ground, water and air every year (Day, 1993:17). High consumption
lifestyles of the Earth's resource and the waste created resulted in global environmental
degradation. Millions of tons of carbon dioxide and other gases are released in to the
atmosphere each year, creating the green house effect. There is a significant
biodiversity loss, with the general extinction rate of species. Almost half of the forest
that originally covered the earth has been lost (FAO, 1997).
20
 Furthermore current global trends such as economic globalization and
liberalization of trade are having a strong impact on the environment at local, regional
and global levels. Because of globalization many productive activities traditionally
associated with developed economies are gradually being transferred to developing
countries (UNEP, 1998). Most industries or activities that move to developing countries
have some potential for environmental degradation. The result is negative, less care is
exercised or responsibility taken, fewer resources are applied to environmental
protection, soil is eroded, forests are disappearing, and the atmosphere is polluted.
Overall, the human ecological footprint has exceeded the caring capacity of the earth
(UNEP, 1998).

In recent years the need to understand the relationship between the media and
environment has become more pressing. Many commentators attribute enormous power
to news media, claiming they have the ability to move and shape governments (Cohen,
1994:9). In this turbulent era, the media has played a significant role in shaping popular
views on environment. If an environmental crisis occurs, the public will immediately
look to the media for information. Despite the public dependence on the media for
information, there are salient aspects of press behavior that the public views negatively
(PMC, 2006).The environmentalist movement, recently the largest most credentialed
and well resourced social organization prior to the 1989's has historically, been
consistently treated with hostility by the media (PMC, 2006).

Media organizations are ideologically biased like, for example, the cherry-pick
environmental movements, that best capitulate to their corporate driven demands for
news worthiness (Baker, 2007).This encourage the environmentalist movements to
make concession to their causes by becoming more media savvy (Davis 2002:81) and
by internalizing media valves to maximize to gain of favorable media coverage
(Hansen, 2007). Environmental movements may improve their media visibility, but
paradoxically by making tactical concessions to obtain media coverage, they may
render their longer term objectives invisible to their audience (Cohen, 1994).

21
 Over the last 25 to 30 years, the environment seen as a problem for public and
political concern, manifested in considerable 'ups' and 'downs' which experienced in the
media and wider public agendas. Despite the raising power of the environmental
movement and increasing public awareness on environmental issues, were not
necessarily equated with improved media coverage. In fact a comparison of
environmental pollution media coverage between 1972 and 2000 found that the nature
of the coverage was unchanging (Wezel and Haigs, 2000). Thus, campaigns around the
issue of environmental pollution have had almost no effect on the media's discourse and
if anything, the media framed the issue to oppose the environmental movement's
objectives.

Environmental reporting or voices have become increasingly marginalized in the

news Banterer (2002) study of the Globe concluded that lip-service was paid to
environmental concerns and those environmental issues were never addressed in their
full range and seriousness. The lip-service we might have served to divert attention
from the overall thrust of the reporting, which was one-sided and hardly environmental.
At the beginning of 2005 the international taskforce on environmental change
concluded that a strong consensus has been reached in the scientific community that
environmental change is a real and dangerous issue (Lindolf, 1995).

According to Cleaver (1994:20) western media were not reflecting the

dangerous environmental change which is politically defined and ideologically
constrained. Speth (2004:3) also observes how the public's understanding of global
environmental change and sustainability issues has been badly served by the media. As
the science of environmental change and biodiversity has matured, media coverage of
these issues became less. Despite conservation organizations acting as the dominant
news source in the beginning with industry occupying a reactive role, their positions
had reversed by the mid 1990's. The change in coverage was due to the government's
framing of the stories and the media institutions’ only framing and logging issues that
could be set by elite interest (Bennett, 1999). To understand the media and

22
environmental issues can help by explaining particular aspects of the communication
process.

The communication history indicates that until the recent past the ancient
societies mainly depended on oral transmission of information. In the absence of
modern media facilities, word travelled mainly by word of mouth. The emergence of
modern media during the beginning of the second half of the 20th century shows
significant improvement in essential human communication and interactions (Dobson,
1997). Environmental communication has now emerged as a strong complementary
practice to environmental education. A broad definition of environmental
communication would be, "the sharing of information, insights and opinions on
environment issues, trends, conditions and solutions using any means of
communication, raising from interpersonal methods to means of mass communication,
using the modern as well as traditional media" (Dobson, 1997). In this sense,
environmental educators constantly engaged in environmental communication.
However, an important distinction is that while all environmental educators are
communicators, not all environmental communicators are necessarily educators
(Rockeach, 1995). Across the globe, individuals and institutions are engaged in a very
wide range of environmental communication activities with varying degrees of
sophistication, outreach and its impact.

A key issue for many countries in the world is to integrate environment into
development policy, and to use communication and education in an integrated way as
an instrument of policy (UNESCO, 1993).One of the major channels through which
environmental communication is practiced is the media, which include both print and
electronic. The communication media in the world underwent rapid change during the
1990’s with liberalization of media policies allowing private sector involvement and the
spread of global media networks owned by trans-national companies (UNESCO, 1993).
The broadcast media, (radio and television), in all their variations, have established
themselves as the most pervasive and powerful forms of media or potential source of
environmental information in world today (Dobson, 1997). They represent a major
23
channel through which information on environment can be conveyed to the people
(UNEP, 1997). Today, more environmental activities and organizations are moving to
take advantage of these powerful media for environmental action and awareness. Many
use media to raise public awareness and understanding of environmental issues, some
are using it to document instances of the environmental crimes and degradation; to
lobby for specific policy reforms or raise funds for specific campaigns (UNEP, 1997).

A major difficulty faced by journalists and producers covering the environment

is access to reliable source of information and having the technical information
interpreted by experts. Although identified some times ago, the response to this
constraint has been slow. The restriction of access to information by the public and
media still prevails in some countries and inhibit open coverage, discussion and debates
of issues that are of public interest. In other cases, where information is available,
journalists lack credible means of interpreting technical issues and explaining them in
layman terms (MOI, 2006). Environmental journalism encounters other problems that
are not easily overcome. For example, bottlenecks sometimes exist, where editors and
program managers may not appreciate, and thus, pay limited attention to environmental
news. Another limiting factor is legitimacy of environmental issues and where such
legitimacy is derived from.

For instance, sometimes major environmental stories are under reported in the
country of origin until the foreign media picks it up and gives international coverage.
However, in many countries, environmental activists and government agencies handling
the subject of environment have not developed fruitful media relations and use the
media only to generate publicity for events and individual actions (Dobson, 1997).
According to Dobson (1997) environmental communicators have recognized the value
and power of using folklore and traditional media, such as songs, dance, drama,
puppetry and mining, to take environment and development messages to the public.
Historically, traditional media have often played a role in the communication and
promotion of new ideas, apart from its traditional role of preserving and teaching
established values. Today, in spite of advances in the modern forms of media, many
24
people still relate more readily and easily to traditional media, which are closer to their
local cultures, and are often more interactive and participatory than the regular forms of
media. Various forms of traditional media are being used or adapted to convey
environmental messages to children, communities and specific large target groups in
different countries (MEA, 1994).A considerable amount of work has been done and
achievements made since the 1990s,but as many challenges remain.

Attitude Change and Media

Rogers has shown that in many respective deep-rooted attitudes cannot be easily
changed by simply exposing the audience to modern broadcast media. Only new
principles which do not run in line with established or accepted tradition and customs
may be easily accepted. Generally, the broadcast media need to be reinforced by
interpersonal channels in order to evoke the desired reactions.
There is an evidence based on the investigative broadcast media that individuals,
once they are exposed to information, they change their views differently. Agbola,
Tunde and Adegoke, S. A. (2007) in an attitude test on information campaign result,
concluded that people seek information which is suitable or sociable with their previous
attitudes. They discover that just giving information to audience does not necessarily
influence their attitude, if the information continues to flow from public who are
already influenced to accepting it’s condiments, it might and up without changing their
attitude. As a result, it can be said that when ever attempt have been made to change
attitudes and researcher has found that the act is a contribution agent to change.
Considering a lots of studies done in different field, it has proven that public
reaction different to a problem than a pressure group information does not necessary
change attitude per say. Broadcast media is effective. It is different and very easy. The
broadcast media create awareness while face to face communication brings about
change but both of them are complementary however.
Engel et al observed that when the use is large, it is often to accept the
inefficiency of the broadcast media. The implicit meaning is the identification of the

25
attitude (behaviour) and the motivation structure of the youth as well as group influence
as a crucial factor in the success and failure of communication messages.
When the needs for information dissemination were raised in the state, it was like
a silly and difficult target. From the perspective of things, it is clear that health matter
cannot be effectively discussed without recognizing it’s contribution to some people
from health hazards. The broadcast media (e.g.) NTA through her primary health
programmes have educated the people on health even without payment, through the
management of environmental health.
On health matters: The dangers of HIV are alarming. Most villagers describe
HIV as the unseen untimely and persistent homicide. Considering the statement of
Cornelia Rwenyagiva of the Republic of Tanzania when AIDS invaded the city of
Kagara, she said that the city of kagara close to the lake was always considered blessed.
No one had to sweat to feed himself here, bananas grow all round, there are bushes in
the lake and a good climate. Then AIDS came and the blessed life end.
Our society has become an environment of death, so many people in the society
at large have died and those in the sexual active group are afraid. When a man sees his
wife dies of AIDs and his son or daughter returns from city also sick. Why would such
a man invest in future? Why should he spend money and plant coffee tree that will take
several years to mature. Why would he acquire more land than necessary to feed his
family for years? Today, a lot of people are spending whatever money they have on
drinks because they say, “what is the point, I shall die soon too”.
However, a healthy state is a wealthy state. Enugu Sate would unusually meet her
primary function if the health of the state were not adequately maintained. But HIV
must be our target. The state broadcasting mass media use a very high quality
production technique and attractive, prominent citizen in their various programmes to
carry out well researched public health message to the public. As a result of this, health
issues is dependent on the broadcast media to inform, educate, mobilize, sensitize and
motivate the masses in order to remold the attitude towards health programmes, that
will better their living and enhance state growth or development. Historically, the
broadcast media are seen as a powerful tool utilized during public enlightenment
26
campaign. The broadcast media in the content of health has extra additional roles such
as to entertain, mobilize the masses on health issues so as to enhance standard of living
in the state. Interpersonal communication channels are inadequate for reaching the large
present audience of less developed state even when these channels are commanded to
the village level by government change agent.
Lambin, E. F. (2001), Explained the relationship between the broadcast media
and state development in 60’s listing role media functions. The tasks which have come
to be the development function of the broadcast media includes:
 To widen the horizon of society members.
 To focus attention on important issues of the society there by setting agenda for the
society.
 To create an awareness for development.
 To develop social norms.
 To help substantially in all types of education and training
Although, the extent to which these information are carried out will depend of the
kind of media and the particular situation that calls for the use of the media or operation
of the particular media. Health issue is of public interest and it is a problem that needs
to be tackled as soon as possible. Since the broadcast media have included audience
participation program, health issue have taken a credible outlook in the state. However,
illiteracy level of our people in the society has brought a great problem in achieving
these role and how to checkmate or control the wide spread disease in the Enugu State.
METHODOLOGY
The research method adopted by the researcher in this study is the survey
research method. This research design involves the researcher going into field, as to
administer, to the respondents, a structured questionnaire. This will be used for the
analyses in this study as to have an authentic and valid result. The area of study in this
research work is NTA, Enugu. The staff of this media organization was used to
examine the effectiveness of the broadcast media in managing environmental health
issues in Enugu urban. The population of this study was drawn from the staff of NTA,
Enugu. According information obtained from the medium, NTA, Enugu, has staff
27
strength of 126. Therefore, the population of this study is 126. The sample of this study
still remains one hundred and twenty six (126) which is the research population. This is
because the number is not too much or large to be studied. Thus, 126 is very
manageable to work with. The sampling technique for this study is the simple random
sampling. According to Uwakwe (2006, p.118) simple random sampling provides an
avenue for “each element in the sample to have equal and independent chance of being
included in the sample”. So, the researcher adopted this to give equal chance to the
sample population to be selected in the study.
The instrument of data collection in this study is questionnaire. The
questionnaire is structured to contain both open-ended and closed divided into two
sections. The first section is designed to get the demographic details of the
respondents, while the second section will dwell solely on the research questions. The
questionnaire provided for the confidentiality of the respondents. The questionnaires
are 400 to suit the sample population. In this study, the researcher adopted the primary
and secondary data collection methods. The primary source includes interview, face to
face interactions, discussion and observation. The questionnaire was also used to
generate primary data. The secondary data is gotten from books, published and
unpublished works, magazines, newspapers, journals and data generated from browsing
the internet. The method of data analysis in this study was simple percentages, tables
and Chi-square goodness of fit. The simple percentage was used to analyze the
demographic data of respondents and research questions, while the Chi-square formula
is used for the test of hypotheses.
ANALYSIS OF DATA AD FINDINGS
Table 1: Do the broadcast media have good coverage of environmental health
issues in Enugu State?

Variables Frequency Percentage

Yes 82 65.1%
No 44 34.9%
Total 126 100%

28
 The table indicates that 82 of the respondents representing 65.1% agreed that the
broadcast media have good coverage of environmental health issues in Enugu State,
while 44 of the respondents representing 34.9% said the broadcast media do not.
Table 2: Are the broadcast media effective in managing environmental health
issues in Enugu State?

Variables Frequency Percentage

Yes 91 72.2%
No 35 27.8%
Total 126 100%
The table shows that 91 of the total respondents representing 72.2% agreed that
the broadcast media are effective in managing environmental health issues in Enugu
State, while 35 of the respondents representing 27.8% said the broadcast media are not
effective.
Table 3: Is there relationship between broadcast media campaigns and good
environmental health practice in Enugu State?

Variables Frequency Percentage

Yes 101 80.2%
No 25 19.8%
Total 126 100%
From the table, 101 of the respondents representing 80.2% are of the opinion that
there is relationship between broadcast media campaigns and good environmental
health practice in Enugu State, while 25 of the respondents representing 19.8% said
there is no relationship between broadcast media campaigns and good environmental
health practice in Enugu State.
Hypothesis One
H1: The broadcast media have good coverage of environmental health issues in Enugu
State.
H0: The broadcast media do not have good coverage of environmental health issues in
Enugu State.
29
Table 4: Test of Hypothesis I
Variables 0 E 0–E (0 – E)2 (0 – E)2
E
Yes 82 63 19 361 5.7
No 44 63 -19 361 5.7
Total 126 11.4

Df = K–1
Df = 2–1
Df = 1
Level of significance at 0.05 = 3.841
Decision: Since the table indicates that the calculated Chi-square value (11.4) is greater
than the table value (3.841), the alternative hypothesis (H I) is accepted, proving that the
broadcast media have good coverage of environmental health issues in Enugu State.
Hypotheses Two

H2: The broadcast media are effective in managing environmental health issues in
Enugu State.
H0: The broadcast media are not effective in managing environmental health issues in
Enugu State.
Table 5: Test of Hypothesis II
Variables 0 E 0–E (0 – E)2 (0 – E)2
E
Yes 91 63 28 784 12.4
No 35 63 -28 784 12.4
Total 126 24.8

Df = K–1
Df = 3–1
Df = 2

30
 Level of significance at 0.05 = 3.841
Decision: Since the calculated Chi-square value (24.8) is greater than the table value
(3.841), the alternative hypothesis (H2) is accepted. It therefore holds that the broadcast
media are effective in managing environmental health issues in Enugu State.
Hypothesis Three

H3: There is relationship between broadcast media campaigns and good environmental
health practice in Enugu State.

H0: There is no relationship between broadcast media campaigns and good

environmental health practice in Enugu State.
Table 6: Test of Hypothesis III
Variables 0 E 0– E (0 – E)2 (0 – E)2
E
Yes 101 63 38 1444 22.9
No 25 63 -38 1444 22.9
Total 126 45.8
(Source: Field Survey, 2017)
Df = K–1
Df = 2–1
Df = 1
Level of Significance at 0.05 = 3.841
Decision: Since the calculated Chi-square value (45.8) is greater than the table
value (3.841), the alternative hypothesis (H3) is accepted. It therefore holds that there is
relationship between broadcast media campaigns and good environmental health
practice in Enugu State.
In all, three hypotheses were tested for statistical support. The findings from the
analysis of the research questions and testing of the hypotheses support the motion that
the broadcast media are very useful instruments for the management of environmental
health issues in Enugu State. Hypothesis one centred on whether the broadcast media
have good coverage of environmental health issues in Enugu State. In the analysis, the

31
calculated Chi-square value (11.4) was seen to be greater than the table value (3.841)
proving the alternative hypothesis. This goes to authenticate the assumption that the
broadcast media have good coverage of environmental health issues in Enugu State.
In hypothesis two, the analysis indicated that the calculated Chi-square value
(24.8) is greater than the table value (3.841) giving credence to the alternative
hypotheses. This goes to support the proposition of the hypothesis that the broadcast
media are effective in managing environmental health issues in Enugu State.
The focus of hypothesis three is on whether there is relationship between
broadcast media campaigns and good environmental health practice in Enugu State.
The analysis proved that there is relationship between broadcast media campaigns and
good environmental health practice in Enugu State. This was corroborated by the
analysis which showed that the calculated Chi-square value (45.8) is greater than the
table value (3.841) proving the alternative hypothesis.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The findings of this study have necessitated some conclusions to be drawn from
it. Having explored messages from the broadcast media on environmental health issues,
it is seen that enough and adequate strategic contents have been disseminated to get
people acquainted with the adoption of measures to ensure healthy environment. The
broadcast media is very effective in promoting environmental health issues. Mass
media is generally a powerful means of mobilising and sensitizing people towards
maintaining a proper and adequate environmental health practice. However, the barrage
of well packaged and designed messages on environmental health issues has not
affected some people positively. Some people are still seen with harmful environmental
health practices.
Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations have been
made:
 Regular information dissemination, public education and enlightenment and up-
to-date sources of information and effective communication about environmental
health issues are of paramount importance and should be maintained by the
media.
32
 Government and stakeholders in media industry should ensure specialized
training for disseminators of environmental health information.
 The public should also be made aware of the legal implications and consequences
of not obeying environmental laws, rules and regulations.

33
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