CHAPTER ONE

Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

Marshall McLuhan, popularized the concept of the “global village” in his

books The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man (1962) and

Understanding Media (1964), in these books, McLuhan describes how the globe has

been contracted into a village by electric technology and predicted the Internet as an

"extension of consciousness”.

The term global village can be used to describe the Internet and World Wide

Web. Physical distance is less of a hindrance to the real-time communicative

activities of people through the aid of the Internet, thus, social spheres have been

greatly expanded by the openness of the web and the ease at which people can search

for online communities and interact with others who share the same interests and

concerns.

The Internet have brought about the explosion of the new media and a hyper

utilization as well as improvement to the old media thus upgrading them to the status

of the new media, the internet also has brought about the social media which now

pose a great threat to conventional sources of news, thus questioning the relevance of

long existing sources of news.

News agencies provide copy for news media with few reporters which appear

to have increased the importance of wire services in the daily news cycle. This stance

1
has been corroborated by Frijters and Velamuri (2009) note that due to economic cut

backs, most major newspapers rely on “recycled news” from wire services or from a

decreasing number of mobile journalists.

The news agencies also called wire services, news syndicates or news services

have been a silent source of news to the public over the years as they have been

serving as a reliable source of news to news media for various reasons over time.

However, the use of the Internet and subsequently social media has become

widely recognized by people of all ages and geographical dispensations (Kim, 2010).

Groneberg,(2007) expresses that people rely on the Internet as a source of

information, and as a way of getting fast information.

In this era of new media explosion and social media saturated society, the

question now is, do the news media actually have much need for the news agencies

now if compared to the past?

Wikipedia (2014) defines news agency as an organization of journalists

established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and

radio and television broadcasters which subscribes to it. Such an agency may also be

referred to as a wire service, news syndicate or news service, press agency or press

association. It is an organization that gathers, writes, and distributes news from

around a nation or the world to newspapers, periodicals, radio and television

broadcasters, government agencies, and other users. It does not generally publish

news for direct consumption of the readers or listeners or viewers, but supplies news

2
to its subscribers, who, by sharing costs, obtain services they could not otherwise

afford. All the mass media depend upon the agencies for the bulk of the news, even

including those few that have extensive news-gathering resources of their own

(Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014).

The origin of news agencies can be traced to Boston, Massachusetts’

coffeehouse in the early 1800s. There the tavern owner kept a ‘news ledger’ in which

he wrote report from merchants who arrived from England in their ships.

The oldest news agency is Agence France-Presse (AFP) originally called

Agence Havas founded in 1835 by a Parisian translator and advertising agent,

Charles-Louis Havas. Two of his employees, Paul Julius Reuter and Bernhard Wolff,

later set up rival news agencies in London and Berlin respectively. In 1853,

Guglielmo Stefani founded the Agenzia Stefaniin Turin, that became the most

important agency in the Kingdom of Italy, and took international relevance with

Manlio Morgagni.

In order to reduce overhead and develope the lucrative advertising side of the

business, Havas’s sons, who had succeeded him in 1852, signed agreements with

Reuter and Wolff, giving each news agency an exclusive reporting zone in different

parts of Europe.

News agencies are corporations that sell news (e.g. Press

Association,Thomson Reuters, and AHN). Other agencies work cooperatively with

large media companies, generating their news centrally and sharing local news stories

3
the major news agencies may chose to pick up and redistribute (i.e. AP, Agence

France-Presse (AFP) or American Press Agency (APA)). Commercial newswire

services charge businesses to distribute their news. Government controlled news

agencies were also founded in China (Xinhua), Canada, Russia (ITAR-TASS) and

other countries also had their government-funded news agencies which also utilized

information from other agencies.

The major news agencies generally prepare news stories and feature articles

that can be used by other news organizations with little or no modification, and then

sell them to other news organizations by subscription. They provide these articles in

bulk electronically through wire service (originally they used telegraphy; today they

frequently use the Internet). Corporations, individuals, analysts and intelligence

agencies may also subscribe.

New media in the present age of information revolution are the modern,

technologically sophisticated devices which are dependent on the Internet to function

as platforms for media contents of various forms.

Some scholars have made various attempts to define the concept “new media”,

but have found it difficult to pin the concept to a single definition because of the

dynamic nature of the concept that keeps changing from time to time. It has been in

use since 1960s and has kept changing and expanding according to the dictates of

technology (McQuail 2010, p.39).

4
 Some authorities have, however, provided some definitions to justify the

concept. Odofin (2011, p.80) sees the new media as encompassing all modern media

and communication devices that have startlingly redefined, reshaped and restated

geographical distances in innovative ways.

According to him, they include cyber culture, ranging from blogging to social

networks to online multiplayer gaming. On his part, Salau (2012, p.25) citing

Otufodunrin states that new media are “interactive forms of communication that use

the Internet”. Included as examples are podcasts, Rich Site Summary (RSS) leads,

social networks, text messaging, blogs, Wikis, virtual words etc. McQuail (2010,

p.136) opines that the new media are Internet-based activities especially the public

use of the Internet which includes online news, advertising, broadcasting, the World

Wide Web, forums etc.

New media are web- based /digital computer technologies which can be

interactive and networkable such as; the internet, website and so on. According to

Croteau and Hoynes (2003), new media, “radically break the connection between

physical place and social place, making physical location much less significant for

our social relationships”.

Moreover, Logan (2010) sees new media as a term that will in general refer to

those digital media that are interactive, incorporate two-way communication, and

involve some form of computing as opposed to “old media” such as the telephone,

radio, and TV.

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 With the coming of the new media, people who have long been on the

receiving end of one-way mass communication are now increasingly likely to become

producers and transmitters. From Indymedia to the future BBC, the distinction

between information producers and consumers will become increasingly difficult to

draw (Creeber and Martin, 2009; Bennett, 2003).

New media are extremely de-centralized, require very low investment, provide

greater interactivity and public participation and are much more difficult to control

(Banerjee, 2008).

Going by the above postulation, it is evident that since new media require low

investment with regards to its news generation potential, the continued relevance of

the news sources will be a subject of debate, also the ways in which these news

sources have been affected by the new media is also to be considered.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

News agencies have been one of the reliable news sources for media

organizations ranging from print to electronic media. They have been a silent reporter

who is rarely acknowledged in the actual news report by the media.

The news agencies have remained in business as they have large subscriber

bases (media organizations) that pay a prescribed fee to gain access to news copy for

their news reports.

New media especially social media have created new possibilities of reaching

audiences as well as clients all around the world. This also means that news

6
 distribution itself has to face a new environment: Readers, listeners and viewers are

not passive consumers any more but actually engage with news sources.

Despite the speed new media and social media offers to news agencies as

regard delivery of copy to their subscriber bases, it also pose a challenge of continued

relevance for the agencies, because the new media especially social media enable

citizen journalist to upload news as they break online at no access cost to the media

organization.

However, it is important to know that news agencies are still in business today

despite this new media explosion. So, how can news agencies use the new media and

social media and yet maintain their core business of selling news on a subscription

basis.

It is based on the aforementioned that this research work will examine the

impact of new media/social media on the effectiveness of news agencies, paying

particular attention to the News Agency of Nigeria.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

With the above stated problem of the study, the following objectives would

guide the execution of this research work.

I. To establish if news agencies utilize new media/ social media.

II. To know how the news agencies use the new media /social media.

III. To determine whether the activities of new media / social media have any

effect on the subscribers’ base of news agencies.

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IV. To ascertain the extent to which news agencies organizations generate news

from new media/ social media platforms.

1.4 Research Questions

In completing this research work the following question will be answered.

I. Do news agencies utilize new media / social media?

II. How do the news agencies use new media / social media?

III. What effect does the activities on new media / social media have on the

subscriber base of news agencies?

IV. To what extent do news agencies generate news from new media/ social media

platforms?

1.5 Significance of the Study

This work will attempt to add to existing knowledge about the topic being

discussed, thus promoting research and learning.

This work will also reveal to news agencies as well as media organizations

how to effectively utilize the new media for optimal performance.

Media scholars, professionals and students can also get an insight to the nature

of the news agencies and media organization as well as how they utilize the new

media in their respective businesses.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This work will focus on the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to represent news

agencies. The work will examine how new media especially social media have

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affected the activities of NAN. The coverage of this work will be limited to

newspaper organizations in Nigeria.

1.7 Limitations to the Study

Access to online resources which are major sources of literature review stood

as a big challenge to this work. Combination of this research work and academic

work is another limitation to the researcher who is a student at the time of conducting

this research. This work had little library material and reviews to constitute the

secondary data for the work. Finance is a major challenge this work faced as every

online source of information and mobility to human sources require money.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

News agency: is organization that gathers, writes, and distributes news from around a

nation or the world to newspapers, periodicals, radio and television broadcasters,

government agencies, and other users.

New media: are all modern media and communication devices that allow interactive

forms of communication via the Internet.

Impact: it is the effect or influence new media / social media has on news agencies.

Assessment: a detailed examination of the effect of new media / social media on

news agencies

Social media: is the social interaction among people in which they create, share or
exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.
News media: any organization that produces and disseminates news for public
consumption.

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 CHAPTER TWO

Literature Review

2.1 Review of Relevant Literature

In this chapter, relevant previous works are reviewed in compliance with

research culture as no researcher is a reservoir of knowledge. The essence of any

research is to add to existing knowledge, thus previous works in the research area

would be reviewed to form a background for the research in question. Dogo (2002,

p.57) states: “somehow, somewhere, somebody must have said or did something

related to your work. Perhaps yours is an in-depth study of what has been superficial”.

At the latter part of the chapter, relevant available works will be empirically

reviewed as related theories will be discussed.

The Concept of The New Media

The term new media cannot be succinctly pegged to a particular definition.

New media has been in use since 1960s and has kept changing and expanding

according to the dictates of technology (McQuail 2010, p.39).

Odofin (2011, p.80) sees the new media as encompassing all modern media

and communication devices that have startlingly redefined, reshaped and restated

geographical distances in innovative ways. He further explained that they include

cyber culture, ranging from blogging to social networks, to online multiplayer

gaming. In similar vein, Salau (2012, p.25) citing Otufodunrin states that new media

are “interactive forms of communication that use the Internet”. Such as podcasts, Rich

10
Site Summary (RSS) leads, social networks, text messaging, blogs, Wikis, virtual

words etc. McQuail(2010, p.136) opines that the new media are Internet-based

activities especially the public use of the Internet which includes online news,

advertising, broadcasting, the world wide web, forums etc..

Moreover, Logan (2010) simply defines the new media as those digital media

that are interactive, incorporate two-way communication, and involve some form of

computing as opposed to “old media” such as the telephone, radio, and TV.

New media are web- based /digital computer technologies which can be

interactive and networkable such as the Internet, website and so on. According to

Croteau and Hoynes (2003), new media, “radically break the connection between

physical place and social place, making physical location much less significant for

our social relationships”. Corroborating the above Ikpe and Olise, (2010), have this to

say, “…The new media are new communication technologies that combine computer

and telecommunication technologies which are used as channels of information,

dissemination to heterogeneous audiences without the constraints of time, space or

distance”

The new media, which hallmarked the integration and convergence of

computer and telecommunication technologies, revolutionized the face of human

communication especially in the 21st century. The new information technology

“provides near limitless possibilities of increasing the quantity and enhancing the

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quality, speed, and availability of information in a complex but increasingly

interdependent world …” (Soola, 1998, p.86).

New media has been copiously defined as “a generic term for the many

different forms of electronic communication that are made possible through the use of

computer technology. New media includes: web sites, streaming audio and video,

chat rooms, e-mail, online communities, web advertising, Digital Video Disc (DVD)

and Compact Disc-Read Only Memory CD-ROM media, virtual reality environments,

integration of digital data with the telephone, such as Internet telephony, digital

cameras, mobile computing.” Paxson (2010) adds that the new media include Internet

websites such as MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Flicker, and other social networking or

social media, and sharing sites, as well as blogs, video games, virtual worlds, mobile

telephones, text messaging devices and Global Positioning System (GPS) devices.

One common thread that runs through all the definitions of new media is that

new media in the present age of Information Revolution are the modern,

technologically sophisticated devices which are dependent on the Internet to function

as platforms for media contents of various forms.

McQuail (2010, p.39) enunciated the specific features of the new media that

distinguish them from old ones as interconnectedness, accessibility to users both as

senders and receivers, interactivity, multiplicity of use, open-ended in character,

ubiquity and “delocatedness”. He also observed that new media audiences are in

control with respect to which, how and when to consume media contents.

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News

Anatsui and Adekanye (2014) define news as a record of the most interesting,

important and accurate information obtained about the things man thinks, sees,

describes plans and does. Schramm [1948] makes it clear that people are exposed to

news because they get something out of it. He proposed two basic motivations for

information seeking: an ‘immediate reward’ motivation to acquire information which

provides immediate gratification and a ‘delayed reward’ motivation for information

which provides gratification when it is least expected. News is important to everyone

because it satisfies our curiosity and concern, and provides us with basic facts which

enable us to make up our minds, thereby joining in the discussion which leads to

community action and national development.

Attributes of News

Anatsui and Adekanye (2014) highlight the following as attributes of news

Proximity: Proximity is the nearness, which means that the closer the event or

incident is to the people, the more they will be interested in the story, due to the fact

that people want to know what is happening in their neigbourhood, places of work

and the world around them.

Immediacy/Timeliness: This means that people are interested in stories that are

timely and have a sense of immediacy. Timeliness has to do with the newness or the

13
recent nature of the news. Readers are interested in what is happening or what is

about to happen or has happened and as well as want to be the first to know.

Oddity: People are interested in learning about anything that has not happened

before. They are interested in the unusual, the abnormal things that are rare, a new

way of life, a new dress style, new profession etc.

Prominence: Readers are always interested in things and people that are popular and

familiar to them. They desire information about celebrities, stars, personalities, top

politicians and places of great importance

Functions of News

Oloyede [2001], explains that news performs the following functions

Information: The major role of the news is to inform the society that is to be the

earliest and most current intelligence of the day’s events without the government,

parliament, the court, etc and be made the common property of the society.

Education: News is more than informing the society; as such, it also serves as a

teacher and educates the society on various subjects affecting humanity.

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Entertainment: The news plays a major role in the entertainment of the society. It

facilitates and amuses society through comical and satirical content such as cartoon,

jokes and fun-oriented features.

Commercial Role: The news is a veritable instrument for fostering commerce and

industry, and as well as supplies a multitude of commercial information vital to the

very survival of the economy through publication of advertisements, sales of goods

and services etc.

Cultural Role: The role which news plays in the transmission and advancement of

culture is generally beyond the question. It constantly feeds both the adult and the

young generation of a country with acceptable modes and norms of social behaviour.

A Mirror of Society: As an imitator and reflector of the modes of human

apprehension and judgment, the news mirrors the society. The nature and perception

of every community is easily perceived through the news. News dissemination is a

forum of the free expression of opinions and ideas, the pillar of public opinions and

above all as most indispensable instrument of governance.

15
News Agency as a Concept

In an attempt to explain the term news agency, Thomas Curley, CEO,

Associated Press states “You may not know us well, or perhaps haven’t even heard of

us. We don’t publish a newspaper or run a TV or radio station; what we do is provide

the news to those who do for a world insatiable for information.” (AP, 2007, p. 17).

News agencies exist to sell their journalism – news stories – to the media. Indeed it

has been suggested that agencies view “news as property” (Correy, 2009).

Wikipedia defines news agency as an organization of journalists established to

supply news reports to news organizations such as newspapers, magazines, and radio

and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service,

news syndicate or news service. News agencies, according to Encarta [2008], can be

defined as an organization that gathers information about current events and supplies

it to the media. News agencies are organizations that deal with the collection,

transmission, and distribution of news to newspapers, periodicals, television stations,

radio and other journalistic and mass communications media.

News agencies are established to service the media organisations both print

and broadcast media that subscribe to them by ensuring dissemination of newsworthy

information to numerous media outfits. International news agencies have been

responsible for the provision of ‘imported’ news to news media and this has been so

as a result of the financial constraint these media outfits have found itself in. As a

result, the importance and prominence of these news agencies have grown

16
considerably. Furthermore, Johnston and Forde (2011) opine that …the need to be

“first with the news” is leading to greater reliance on news agency’s copy than

perhaps any other time in the history of media organisations.

News agencies provide copies to newsrooms with diminishing journalistic

staff which appears to have enhanced the importance of wire copy in the daily news

cycle (Johnston and Forde, 2011).

Upholding Johnston and Forde’s view, Joseph (1994) describes wire service as

the eyes and ears for local newspapers and broadcast stations that cannot afford to

have people stationed all over the country where they operate. Affirming this, (APC

Adjudication, 1383 (sic)) state that news agencies or wire services, can lay claim to

journalistic resources that most news organisations could not sustain.

Moreover, Högerl (2010, p.4) pointed out in a paper presented at the Reuters

Institute of Journalism, University of Oxford, that news agencies have built their

reputation on breaking news, being first with a story wherever it happens. Chris

(1998:82) also states that news agencies can be seen as “agenda-setters” as they are

the first to decide how and or if international stories will be covered. Trends over the

past 50 years have seen news organizations shed journalists; conduct less original

investigative journalism; and look to syndicated news, public relations firms, and

news agencies for an increasing amount of news content (Johnston and Forde, 2011,

p.2).

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 Press agencies gather, write and distribute news from around a nation or the

world and deliver it to their clients – newspapers, broadcast stations, governments and

other users. The association does not publish news itself but supplies news to its

subscribers, who by sharing costs obtain services they could not otherwise afford.

Within the range of different media forms, news agencies were sometimes presented

as among the “least glamorous or interesting” (Högerl, 2014). Paterson (2006, p. 15)

expresses that it was the role of news agencies to provide words for news services

which cannot first-hand cover an event or issue.

Providing other reasons why the services of news agencies are necessary,

Baird (2009) opines that news agencies were (sic) key to news gathering in conflict

zones and international locations. Supporting him, Paterson ( 2006, p. 5) said, “in the

realms they know best, like conflict zones and developing regions of the world, the

news agencies frequently break stories other major media miss” .

Early, implicit theorisation saw news agencies as “powerful, but hidden, and,

because hidden, perhaps even more powerful than commonly suspected”. Palmer sees

them as “information vendors” and agenda-setters: “Their advice on customising the

material so that clients access pertinent information helps set the international news

agenda for media and non-media-subscribers” (Abdulfatai, 2014).

The oldest news agency is Agence France-Presse (AFP). It was founded in

1835 by a Parisian translator and advertising agent, Charles-Louis Havas as Agence

Havas.

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 The major news agencies generally prepare hard news stories and feature

articles that can be used by other news organizations with little or no modification,

and then sell them to other news organizations. They provide these articles in bulk

electronically through wire services (originally they used telegraphy; today they

frequently use the Internet). Corporations, individuals, analysts and intelligence

agencies may also subscribe.

News agencies can be corporations that sell news such as Press Association

and Thomson Reuters. Other agencies work cooperatively with large media

companies to centrally generate their news stories, the major news agencies may

chose to pick up and redistribute. Commercial newswire services charge businesses to

distribute their news. Governments may also control news agencies such as Nigeria’s

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), China’s (Xinhua), Canada’s, Russia’s (ITAR-

TASS) which also use information from other agencies.

News Agency and the New Media

The advent of new media aided by the Internet is changing the conventional

one way flow of communication in the news media. With the coming of the new

media, people who have long been at the receiving end of one-way mass

communication are now increasingly likely to become producers and transmitters.

The distinction between information producers and consumers will become

increasingly difficult to draw (Creeber and Martin, 2009). Rodman (2009, p.37) adds

19
that the presence of goggle news, twitter, facebook and other social networking media

are also changing the phase of journalism.

The news agencies are not left out as the new media are considered a threat to

the existence of news agencies. Högerl (2010, p. 4), dwelling on challenges facing

news agencies in this era of Internet, states that the use of internet and mobile phones

have given birth to "citizens journalism" where people now use their gadgets to

gather and disseminate news, even faster than the conventional media professionals.

… in recent years a number of news stories have been broken first by citizens armed

with mobile phones, digital cameras and Internet connection. For example, news

about the earthquake in Haiti, the emergency landing of a Quantas A380-plane in

Singapore or the Iran elections were first broken by citizens. Even if a news agency

has a foreign correspondent in the country, he may not be as fast as an ordinary

citizen involved or seeing it happen …(Högerl 2010:4).

The activities of citizen journalist have been so pronounced that one will want

to question the continued relevance of news agencies. According to Hogerl (2010: 4),

never in history has it been so easy for ordinary people to broadcast their own

opinions and new worthy events. Abdulfatai (2014) also agrees with Hogerl’s view

as he states that citizens publish on the micro-blogging-service Twitter, on their

weblogs or on social networks like Facebook, Linked-in, Twitter and the rest. In the

real sense, any person can access the content uploaded by these citizen journalists at a

reduced or no cost provided they have access to new media gadget or platform.

20
Stanley and Dennis (2009, p.47) express that in the middle and late 19th century,

popular demand for cheap media content by large urban populations drove the

development of several new media.

Rosenstiel (2005) also opines that people are now free, and have the

opportunity to create their own news as well as to get the other side of the story by

getting news from the Internet which is seen as free from control.

This demand for cheap media content can definitely cause a decline in the

patronage of news agencies (which are providers of media contents). Benneth and

Iyengor (2008), traced decline in consumption of mass media content to the new

media and much attention has not been paid to this perceived problem as observed by

Högerl (2010, p.4) … that less well covered is the impact of citizen journalism on

news agencies - a hugely important part of the news ecosystem …”.

But can these cheap sources of media content be as credible as the news

agencies that are known for accurate and credible news? Pearson and Brand (2001)

explain that wire services are the most influential and trustworthy news medium,

because they don’t make mistakes and that’s usually the first priority. Australian

Press Council, (2008, p.7) confirms this by stating that “news material from wire

agencies appears largely immune from serious scrutiny”.

Boyd-Barrett and Rantanen (2009) opine that “It seemed as new digital tools

allowed other competitors to enter the field that the Internet initially appeared to be

21
“more threat than opportunity for news agencies because it reduced the costs of

market-entry for news-gathering and distribution”.

Knight (2007, p. 20) however holds a counter view as he believes the Internet

only helps to showcase news agencies’ reliability in the business of providing

accurate and credible news. “When people call up breaking news, more often than

not [it] is agency news they are reading. The reason for that is that agencies are

specialists in accurate, real time reporting … Those sorts of skills and abilities are just

as highly prized in the world of the Internet. That fact that the Internet is there,

showcasing these skills, is more an opportunity than a threat”.

Some researchers like Currah (2009) think that the new media have expanded

the possibilities of news agencies to allow provision of multimedia content to their

clients. According to him “wire agencies [...] are an increasingly critical element of

the digital transition as they provide access to a trusted and geographically extensive

newsgathering operation, which is adept at generating text, video and photography.”

Therefore the relationship to the wires “is becoming one of greater dependence”.

(Currah,2009). Boyd-Barrett and Rantanen (2009) believe that major news agencies

have always been at the forefront, sometimes the pioneers, of new communication

technologies. They succinctly expressed their argument thus;

“By 2007, the larger news agencies had successfully accommodated to a

multimedia universe. All the major news agencies now ran Internet news and

information services for direct client access, as well as news and information

22
packages for client Web sites and mobile telephone services. Thus, the Internet had

greatly expanded the number of potential clients for agency services, increased

agency flexibility in generating novel information packages, and reduced the costs of

distribution so that a greater proportion of expenditure could be dedicated to content

and service quality”.

Paterson (2006) trusts that Digital technologies have made news agency

production more efficient, and their (technological) convergence has permitted easy

access into new markets through the creation of products tailored to new media, built

from the same agency words and pictures upon which traditional media have long

depended.”

Another benefit of the new media to news agency is news gathering as

revealed by Social Media Editor of Associated Press (AP) Eric Carvin, in his word,

AP uses social media first and foremost as a tool for newsgathering. “We simply

needed to start using social to be competitive – indeed, to stay ahead of the

competition, as I feel we’ve established some of the industry’s strongest procedures

and standard in the area of digital newsgathering”. The new media, especially social

media, are also used to actively search for news sources or try to gather insights in

what people want to know about a certain topic, Carvin explained.

Mass media news outlets are struggling with changing gate-keeping standards

due to demands for interactive content produced by audiences themselves. Ordinary

citizens are empowered to report on their political experiences while being held to

23
high standards of information quality and community values.On the long run, these

tendencies may be the most revolutionary aspects of the new media environment

(Bennett, 2003). On how this challenge could be addressed, Carvin of AP says: “the

agency is constantly scouring the social Web in search of news tips, witnesses,

sources and user-generated content, which needs to be carefully verified”.

Griessner (2012,) reinforcing Carvin’s view, states that, there seems to be no

way around social media – whether to use it as a news source, to connect with the

audience, clients and experts, to share information about new developments and

services within the company or simply to distribute stories, images or videos. Agence

France-Presse (AFP) reveals that the service of AFP now includes text, video,

graphics and images as well as mobile or web solutions to show the level at which

news agencies have embraced the new media.

In similar vein, Griessner (2012) concludes that tools like Facebook or Twitter

have become crucial to access certain information, to stay competitive in a newly

shaped media environment and provide active ways to search for news and

information via different networks. This also includes the use of information provided

by citizen journalists as everyday people break news on social media when it comes

to event-driven news.

Raward & Johnston, (2009) state that, despite the emergence of new

information sources, notably the Internet, Australian Associated Press was still

24
regarded as the most reliable and often the fastest supplier of breaking and developing

news.

Griessner (2012), concludes that, newsgathering value alone is huge, and news

agencies, along with their individual journalists, are shooting themselves in the foot if

they aren’t using the tools at their disposal.

Global Mission and Vision of News Agencies

Anatsui and Adekanye (2014) describes Mission is the task being carried out

while vision is the set goal to be achieved in future in line with the mission. In the

light of the above, they identified the mission of news agencies as “to provide timely

information about current events and supply them to the media in record time”. While

the vision of news agencies is “to actively engage every individual and gear them up

for receiving of information that will be gathered for their benefit and the benefit of

the world at large; thus bringing about sensitization for the need for information and

total development across the world.

Objectives of News Agencies

The objectives that are generally and globally recognizable in relations to

news agencies are:

I. To monitor the goings on in the environment

II. Gather relevant information and news stories

III. Disseminate or transmit the information gathered

25
IV. Distribute the information that was monitored, gathered and transmitted to

various media.

Types of News Agencies

The two traditional types of news agencies are corporations that sell news,

such as the New York-based Thomson Reuters, or cooperatives that share news with

one another, like Associated Press (AP) or AAP (Griessner, 2012), owned, financed

and controlled by a group of newspapers and other news media in U.S.

Anatsui and Adekanye (2014) listed the followings as the two major types of

news agencies:

I. Foreign News Agency

II. Local News Agency

Foreign News Agencies are international organizations that deal with the collection,

transmission, and distribution of international news to newspapers, periodicals,

television stations, radio and other journalistic and mass communication media

outside the shores of the country from which they operate.

Some examples of foreign news agencies are:

I. Associated Press [AP] formed in 1848

II. Anadolu Agency [Turkey]

III. Emirates News Agency [UAE]

IV. Yemen News Agency [DABA]

V. The Organization of Asia-Pacific News Agencies [OANA]

26
 VI. Xinhua News Agency [China]

VII. Kyodo News [Independent Japanese News Agency]

VIII. Korean Central News Agency [N. Korean]

IX. Pakistan News Agency [APP]

X. Thailand News Agency

XI. Vietnam News Agency etc.

Local News Agencies are local organizations that deal with the collection,

transmission, and distribution of local, regional, state or national news to newspapers,

periodicals, television stations, radio and other journalistic and mass communication

media.

Some examples of local news agencies are:

I. News agency of Nigeria, [NAN]

II. Voice of Nigeria, [VOA]

III. Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, (FRCN)

IV. Nigerian Television Authority (NTA)

V. African News Agency

VI. Pan- African News Agency, [PAN] etc.

“National news agencies vary in size, scope and purpose. At one end are small

ones that exist primarily to redistribute international news collected by the

international agencies. At the other end are national agencies employing a number of

27
foreign correspondents – agencies that do not confine their reporting to events of

importance only to their country...”(Dare, 1983, Pp.1-3)

Need for Local/National News Agencies

Onabajo [2000,p.7] asserts that the media of developed nations have continued

to portray the regions of the developing world as areas inflicted with natural disasters,

dictatorship, military coup d’état, economic chaos, conflict, hunger, political

instability, AIDS, malaria, official corruption, etc. The western media’s onslaught

against Nigeria and Africa in particular has continued to barter and dent the image of

the people of the black world as lesser beings. Dare (1983) also expresses that it was

expected that a Third World news agency would emphasis news of development over

news of conflict, crime and disasters, focus its reporting on processes rather than

events, and diversify its sources of foreign news to achieve greater balance.

Going by the above, the quest for a national news agency was made official in

April, 1970 by Chief Anthony Enahoro, the then federal commissioner for

Information and Labour. Presenting his request, Enahoro pointed out that the non-

existence of a Nigerian national news agency has caused concern, both within

government circles and among the enlightened section of the Nigerian community for

several years.

The significance of a national news agency has been keenly felt in these years

of national conflict, when foreign news agencies have, by and large, either distorted

news concerning the Federal Military Government or completely ignored important

28
items and starved it of global dissemination. It has, in consequence, grown

increasingly clear that only a national news agency can serve the purpose of ensuring

the widest circulation of news and features to buttress Nigeria’s growing role in

regional, continental and international affairs (Onuora 1994:7).

London based, British news agency, Reuters-one of the news agencies heavily

patronized by the Nigerian media was dismissed in the country on the basis of biased

and prejudiced reporting of events in Nigeria to the world owing to the military coup

d’ etat and counter coup that led to the death of General Murtala Mohammed in 1975

(Onuoha and Chidiebere, 2012).

Foreign news agencies that provide news or copies to local news organisations

with limited staff may not cover the story from an angle that will suit the local

audience or journalist. Increasingly in a globalised world, newspapers develop

relationships with overseas publications with which they share articles on a reciprocal

basis. In contrast to the maintenance of overseas bureaus, such stories can lack the

context that the local journalist working in a foreign country can provide. The current

claim is that the greater reliance on outside sources for news has led to a dwindling in

news quality. (Australian Press Council 2008).

Arya (2011, p.13) also dwells on the MacBride report on the new world

information and communication order (NWICO) in order to draw attention to the

yearnings of the developing countries “to bring about a paradigm change in the

29
alarmingly disproportionate news flow from the North to South, which has seriously

impinged upon their sovereignty and development”.

It is important to shed light, a little on the MacBride report as Arya (2011:13)

puts it:

“…There was an outcry from the developing

world that their reliance on the modernised nations of the

North for hardware and software in the information

sector as well as the alarmingly disproportionate news

flow from the North to South were seriously impinging

upon their own sovereignty and development.

The above were some of the rationale for the establishment of the News

Agency of Nigeria (NAN) which is a national news agency

Significance of National News Agencies

Boyd-Barrett (2001) in the report of a workshop “The Future of National News

Agencies in the Era of the Internet” opines that national news agencies remains

significant because they provide affordable services of domestic and international

news to national and local media; their news portfolios typically aim to be

comprehensive with respect to the representation and interests of the major different

constituencies of the nation state. They are important and privileged sources of news

for political, economic and financial institutions. They serve as a conduit for services

30
of international news agencies to local domestic media, and also feedback local and

national news to the international news agencies and thus can influence the

international representation of their individual nation states. They are typically more

driven by goals of public service than of profit maximization.

Boyd-Barrett (2001,p.4) states further that local news agencies are often

regarded by governments as tools of national development and as vehicles that offer

positive or at least balanced images of their respective countries for international

consumption. The disappearance of national news agencies would likely lead to

increasing fragmentation and unreliability of news sources. It would diminish the

contribution of the media to the construction of a public sphere; and it would reduce

the tools at a government’s disposal for national development and identity.

Challenges Facing National News Agencies

Boyd-Barrett (2001,p.4) explained that the challenge facing national news

agencies included rifts between agency owners - be they politicians, bureaucrats or

media managers - and agency executives; conflicts of interest between agencies and

their own members and clients over such matters as subscription fees and access to

new or traditional services for new clients; increasing competition from independent

local agencies, from international agencies and from other media systems that have

gone ‘wholesale’ in some way; and difficulties in raising finance for electronic or

Internet web services, or simply for support of adequate levels of news coverage and

or to maintain the organisation’s workforce.

31
 Owing to lack of independence of local news agencies, they are always

expected to act as mere appendage to government policies. The comment of

Mwakawago (1976), who was Minister for Information when Shihata (the national

news agency of Tanzania) was first established in1976, asserts that, what is required

of our media is the making of great efforts at offering news items which will help in

advancing the ruling party’s aspirations and policies. This suggests that news agencies

in most African countries are created to articulate and advance government policies

and programmes.

History of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), as the name implies, is a national news

agency established and funded by the Federal Government of Nigeria (News Agency

of Nigeria Act of 1976 - The Complete Laws of Nigeria). The need to create a

Nigerian national news agency was first mooted in 1957. It was to be a cooperative

that was to be controlled by leading broadcast and newspaper interest groups in the

country. The proposal dates back to the signing of a subscription agreement between

Nigeria and Reuters in 1957, according to Onuora (1994:1). This proposal, however

collapsed when the Daily Times withdrew on the grounds that the estimates and costs

were unreasonably low and the proposed subscriptions were too high.

But the government interest in setting up a national news agency was aroused in 1961

at a conference organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

32
Organisation (UNESCO) held in Dakar, Senegal where a meeting of the committee of

African and Malagasy States (an intergovernmental organization created on 12

September 1961to promote cooperation among former French colonies in Africa but

went defunct in 1985) was summoned to examine how to create an inter-African

Press Agency.

The Nigerian delegation to the conference returned home fully convinced that

a Nigerian national news agency was desirable. The report submitted by the delegates

to that conference led the government to direct the Federal Minister of Information, in

1962, to explore the possibilities of establishing a Nigerian national news agency.

That report and series of reports from other meetings, culminated into the

basic foundation for the eventual establishment of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

Another early attempt to float a national news agency came up when

representatives of newspapers and broadcast interests met with the acting Director of

Information in February, 1963 to discuss the proposed agency and recommended a

final memorandum to the Federal Government.

Series of meetings and setting up of different committees were made all

through the decade until 1970 when the Federal Government finally took a stand to

establish a news agency. In April, 1970, the then Federal Commissioner for

Information and Labour approached the Federal Executive Council requesting

approval to establish a Nigerian national news agency (Onuora 1994:7).

33
 In presenting the request, the then minister, Chief Anthony Enahoro pointed

out that the non-existence of a Nigerian national news agency has caused concern

both within government circles and among the enlightened section of the Nigerian

community for several years.

The significance of a national news agency has been keenly felt in these years

of a national conflict, when foreign news agencies have, by and large, either distorted

news concerning the Federal Military Government or completely ignored important

items and starved it of global dissemination. It has, in consequence, grown

increasingly clear that only a national news agency can serve the purpose of ensuring

the widest circulation of news and features for buttressing Nigeria’s growing role in

regional, continental and international affairs.

“A national news agency would play a far reaching

role in Nigeria’s domestic affairs in enabling news and

information of all kinds to circulate effectively between

receiving and transmitting points all over the Federation.

The agency would in this manner, foster national

consciousness, facilitate awareness and understanding

within the Nigerian community itself and promote

unity……”(Nzekwu 1994:7).

34
 There was a lull in activities leading to the establishing of a national news

agency, between December, 1971, when Alhaji Tatari Ali, the then Permanent

Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Information examined the form the agency would

take and September, 1975, when the Federal Commissioner, Mr Edwin Clerk, decided

to approach Federal Executive Council for a fresh mandate to work towards

establishing the news agency.

How the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Operates

Joseph (1994:294) explaining how wire services work has this to say:

"... A correspondent covers a local news event,

such as a fire disaster. He or she reports the event to the

bureau chief of the local wire service. If the bureau chief

thinks the story is newsworthy enough, the chief will

send it on to the state bureau to go out on the state or

regional wire.

The state bureau chief then decides whether to

send it on for inclusion on the national wire. All in all,

the wire services are the eyes and ears for local papers

and broadcast stations that cannot afford to have people

stationed all over the country…".

According to him, the operation of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) is not

different from the above explanation. NAN has its headquarters in Abuja, the Federal

35
Capital Territory (FCT), but operates from all the 36 states of the federation, an

annex headquarters in Lagos and six zonal centres in Ibadan, Enugu, Port Harcourt,

Jos, Kaduna, and Bauchi. It also has district offices in strategic local government

areas. Reporters from all the states and district offices cover news events and file their

reports into the NAN portal on its website.

These stories are edited by senior editors in the second line of gate-keeping.

From the editors, the stories pass to the control level where they are further

scrutinized and sent to the subscribers’ platform as the last stage of news processing

in a typical news agency setting like NAN” (Abdulfatai,2014).

News Agency of Nigeria Decree

Consequently in May, 1976, Nzekwu (1994, pp.11-12) states that the Federal

Executive Council approved the draft decree on the establishment of the News

Agency of Nigeria and agreed that it should be promulgated by the Head of the

Federal Military Government. The decree establishing the News Agency Nigeria

(NAN) is Decree No. 19 of May 10, 1976.

Following the promulgation of the decree establishing the agency, the Federal

Commissioner submitted to Council for consideration in October 1976, proposals for

the Agency’s organisational structure and staff requirements. The proposals were

based on a two-phase implementation programme.

The first phase was devoted to building up the Nigerian domestic

infrastructure and service. The second phase was to consolidate the achievements of

36
phase 1, extend the distribution of its daily newscast to Nigeria’s neighbours and

transmit a daily newscast to strategic Nigerian Missions abroad for information

including the various media in world capitals.

The News Agency of Nigeria Implementation Task-Force was launched by the

Federal government on March 1, 1977. The Executive Secretary of the Task-Force,

Mr Horatio Agedah, set out its terms of reference as highlighted in the inaugural

address of the commissioner were:

1. To act with despatch to provide the structures and establish the News Agency

of Nigeria bearing in mind the time constraints imposed by the desire to synchronise

the take-off of the News Agency of Nigeria within the overall Third National

Development Plan and to the Federal Military Government‟s political programme;

2. to ensure that the existence of a news agency that is reliable, dependable,

credible and systematically collects and disseminates information on Nigeria for both

home and external consumption is a must by October, 1978. Therefore, the News

Agency of Nigeria is not only to take off but must by this date cut for itself a profile

that commands and inspires everyone‟s confidence;

3. to provide a news service of the highest quality by putting out fearless, truthful

and prompt reports of news and events on a commercial basis bearing in mind the

need to operate without prejudice to national unity, security and Nigeria‟s territorial

integrity;

37
4. to provide a free flow of credible, reliable information, news and features in

order to change the apathy and intransigence of people to a progressive force in public

policy formulation and execution;

5. to recruit, appoint, train and deploy staff who, not only possess relevant

professional qualifications and technical competence but also demonstrate the highest

sense of national responsibility borne out of characteristics of properly seasoned

national orientation, sense of patriotism and personal integrity that is beyond public

reproach;

6. to adapt, after careful examination, in consultation with the Ministry of

Communications, the plans of the News Agency of Nigeria‟s communication

network;

7. to establish, after due consideration, any relationship with other news agencies

in pursuance of the exigencies of this assignment;

8. to appraise all administrative problems, e.g. accommodation, staffing, etc;

9. in the process of implementation, to cooperate fully with the mass media in

Nigeria and other news agencies and harmonise NAN’s operations with Nigeria’s

communication policy and cultural development, and

10. to make contributions to the creation of the much talked of pan-African News

Agency and the Non-aligned Nations News Agency Pool.

The task force, chaired by Mr. A.E. Howson-Wright recorded successes in the

areas of formulating and setting philosophy for NAN with a six-point policy

38
statements; office accommodation, staff establishment, finance, visits to other news

agencies, telecommunication facilities, and NAN’s logo and Telegraph Address

(Nzekwu 1994:13-16).

On March 16, 1978, the first Board of Directors comprising ten members was

inaugurated for the News Agency of Nigeria, with late Prof. Alfred Opubo (a former

Head of Department, Mass Communication, University of Lagos) as its chairman.

(Nzekwu 1994:17).

Administrative Structure of the News Agency Of Nigeria

The 1978 amendment to the News Agency of Nigeria Decree changed NAN

from a public trust to a Federal Government owned parastatal. It is supervised by the

Federal Ministry of Information and Culture (as the ministry was structured then).

The administration of the News Agency of Nigeria takes the structure of a

Pyramid with the commands of authorities flowing from top to the bottom.

The Agency has five departments as follows:

I. Managing Director’s Office,

II. The Editorial Department,

III. The Marketing Department,

IV. The Technical Department, and

V. The Administrative and Finance Department.

Source: (Nzekwu, 1994)

39
 NAN began operation in 1978 with a tentative organisational structure. In its

first four years, it witnessed a rapid growth because it needed to make a quick impact

on an already well-established media scene and fulfil its objectives. This growth did

not only sharpen the problem of recruiting and retaining the desired calibre of

personnel, it also rendered inadequate NAN’s initial structure.

Early in 1980, NAN submitted to the Ministry of Establishment, through the

Ministry of Information, an elaborate organisational structure which was designed to

take care of the unplanned growth of the Agency over another ten years (Onuora

1994:61).

As of today, the administrative structure takes the following shape:

The Board of Directors

At the top is the Board of Directors, which consists of a ten membership team,

headed by a chairman. Members of the Board are appointed by the Presidency on

recommendation of the Federal Ministry of Information.

The first Board of Directors was inaugurated in March, 1978. It was headed by

late Prof. Alfred E. Opubor and was in office until May, 1982 when the second board

was inaugurated.

The Managing Director’s Office

According to the story of NAN (2007, p.11), the Agency has a management

team, headed by a Managing Director. The office of the Managing Director is in

charge of the day-to-day administration of the Agency. In addition to its executive

40
functions, it operates four viz: the Board Secretariat which is headed by a

Secretary/Legal Adviser, the Internal Audit, the Corporate Affairs Unit and the

Monitoring and Evaluation Unit.

The Editorial Department

The Editorial Department is headed by the Executive Director/Editor-In-Chief.

He is assisted by some Deputy-Editor-In-Chiefs (DEIC) and Assistant-Editor-In-

Chiefs (AEIC). There are various editorial desks, headed by AEIC.

Marketing Department

Marketing Department is headed by a Director. The department is responsible

for the marketing of all NAN media mix and other non-media services being provided

by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

The initial reception of NAN news service was slow. This was partly because

the service was new and untested and partly because there already existed, a well-

developed press. Onuora (1994:54) recalled that 1979 witnessed an upsurge in interest

in the Agency’s service. While to some, this development was an indication of a

general awareness of NAN’s ability to fulfil its assigned role, to the Commercial

Department, it only marked the beginning of a challenge for it to strive towards

winning more clients and keeping them.

41
 The responsibility of scouting for subscribers for the old and innovative media

contents rest on the shoulder of the Marketing Department. At the start of the Agency,

it was known and designated as Commercial Department.

Finance and Administration Department

This department is headed by an Executive Director who oversees all affairs

relating to personnel, administrations and finances of the Agency. This department is

also responsible for the personnel recruitment and pension matters.

Technical Services Department

The Technical Services Department is headed by a Director. This department

shares primary function of the Agency with the Editorial Department. While the

Editorial Department gathers and processes news, the Technical Services Department,

which is made up of seven units – Project Design; Planning and Implementation;

Computer Service; Data/PABX/Lines; HF & VHF

Radio/Traffic; Electrical/R & A Workshop; Motor Workshop; and Area

Maintenance Centre – provides and maintains the Agency’s news transmission and

news processing equipment. The Data/PABX/Lines and HF & VHF Radio Traffic

units have been phased out as the Agency now uses satellites to transmit news

products to client on internet.

The efficiency of any news agency is determined by the effectiveness of its

telecommunications and news processing network. This has propelled the Agency to

embrace modern communication technology with a paradigm shift from the old

42
telecommunication feature of HF & VHF Radio Traffic to internet based transmission

gadgets.

Products Portfolio

The profile of NAN (2010, pp.6-18) clearly states the products mix in terms of

contents as being classified into two main categories - media and non-media. The

media products are essentially news services designed and packaged for the needs of

media organisations – print and electronic.

This category is further segmented into seven categories of specialisation:

General News Services (GNS)

The general news service (GNS) is an omnibus package of news on general

events across the nation and beyond. It debuted on October 2, 1978 with a 1670-word

cyclostyled news bulletin in Lagos. The GNS encompasses socio-political, cultural,

educational, crime, diplomatic, judiciary and legislative events. Its scope is, indeed,

unlimited. The GNS, the flagship of the Agency’s news products, has tremendously

assisted in enriching the content of print and electronic clients which include national

newspapers and radio/television stations in Nigeria with timely and accurate reports

from over 350 reporters.

NAN Econs

The NAN Economic News Services was launched in May, 1983. It deals with

news from oil and gas, agriculture, mines, energy, manufacturing, maritime,

commerce, finance, insurance and tourism industries. Among its core competence is

43
its incisive daily coverage of the nation’s money and capital markets. Subscribers to

this service cut across the news media, banks and allied financial institutions,

insurance and manufacturing companies.

NAN Sports

The NAN Sports news service debuted at the same time with the NANECONS

in May, 1983. It is a wholly sport news (local and foreign) package that meets the

daily needs of the Agency’s media clients. Particularly, this service places emphasis

on grassroots sports developmental news without diminishing its national and

international fervours. The regular coverage of international sports events, like the

Olympics and FIFA World Cup series, makes this service a permanent ally of the

local media. It has greatly assisted the nation’s national and regional media outfits in

sourcing up-to-date news on the international sports circuits.

NAN Features

The NAN Features service has also carved a niche for itself in the Nigerian

print media industry.

Beyond the basic elements of news stories, the NAN features provide all

necessary perspectives to news events without being self-opinionating. This service is

also being patronised by corporate organisations for specialised features on their

major events.

44
NAN-Photo Service

The NAN-Photo service was introduced in April 1985 to improve the photo

content of the nation’s newspapers and magazines. From the black -and-white print

mode, the NAN-Photo Unit prides itself as one of the nation’s richest photo archives.

It also has a photo gallery on the NAN website through which it service its clients.

Niger Delta News Service

In view of the strategic position of the Niger Delta region in the nation’s

economy, NAN places a special focus on its socio-economic activities and

programmes. This led to the establishment of its Niger Delta Bureau in 2006 with the

support of the Delta State Government. This bureau provides in-depth coverage of the

nooks and crannies of this oil-rich region, thus making NAN the most authoritative

source of news on the Niger Delta. Daily news dispatches in this vital oil and gas

region is available on NAN website.

Multi-media Products

To remain the largest media content provider in Nigeria and Africa, NAN

ventured into multi-media service provision in 2007, serving audio (clips) to many

radio stations across the nation’s six geo-political zones. With the completion of an

ultra-modern multi-media studio at the Abuja corporate headquarters, the agency has

added video services. NAN also provides ticker tapes for television streaming since

the last quarter of 2008. This has opened a new vista for the agency and placed it in

the league of multi-media international news agencies like Reuters, AFP, XINHUA,

45
and AP. The nation’s local broadcasting organisations have been the better for this

initiative. With the installation of necessary software, broadcast stations now receive

the agency’s audio visual services.

The other category of product mix is the Non-media products

Non-Media Products

Since information services are not restricted to media organisation alone, the

Agency has an array of some non-media products for corporate organisations and

government ministries, department and agencies (MDAs). These non-media products

are:

NAN Press-Release Wire Services (NAN-PR wire)

The NAN-PRwire is a professionally packaged press release service which

links corporate organisations with the nation’s print and electronic media, cost

effectively. The service offers the former a unique opportunity to get their company

news sent electronically, to the more than 130 media clients to NAN, simultaneously,

for usage, after necessary professional touch. With the news exchange agreements

between NAN and many top international news agencies like AP, Reuters, AFP,

XINHUA and PANA, organisations which subscribe to this service also have the

benefit of giving global exposure to their company news.

46
NAN On-Line Advertising

Online advertising is another non-media product of NAN. Organisations,

private and public, are deriving huge returns from advertising on the NAN website:

www.nanngronline.com

With the dependence of many Nigerians (at home and in the diaspora) and

foreigners on NAN for authentic news about Nigeria and its growing economy, the

website has grown to be a constant attraction to web users.

NAN Bizcom:

The NAN Bizcom Nigeria Limited is a subsidiary company of the Agency

which has, over time, developed adequate capacity for training management,

consultancy, ICT supplies, property development and management. It was first

registered in 1994 as a business centre located on 32, Bode Thomas St., Surulere,

Lagos, following the 1992 amendment of the NAN Act which mandated it “to engage

in commercial enterprises that are ancillary to the objectives of the Agency. In 2007,

it was upgraded into a limited liability company and backed with a fully automated

50-seat Training Centre in NAN House, Abuja.

2.2 Theoretical Framework

There are many communication theories but for the purpose of this study

Technological Determinism theory is used to explain the topic being investigated.

This theory forms the theoretical framework of this study.

47
2.2.1 Technological Determinism Theory

This theory states that media technologies shape how we, as individuals in a

society think, feel, act and how a society operates as we move from one technology

age to another from tribal, to literate, to print and to electronic. Griffin (2000, pp.313-

325) elaborate McLuhan’s theory of 1963 that we learn, feel and think the way we do

because of the message we receive through the current technology. McLuhan (1962),

in Talabi (2011, p.2), explains that the radio requires us to only listen and develop our

sense of warning (sic). On the other hand, television engages both our hearing and

visual senses. We then transfer those developed senses into our everyday lives and we

want to use them again. The medium is then our message. McLuhan (1964) cited in

Asemah (2011) states that the media not only alter the environment, but the very

message they convey.

Considering the improvement in technology from tribal – literate -print –

electronic and now new media, the way the society thinks, feels and acts is now a bit

different from what was obtainable some years ago. Before the popularization of the

new media, Talabi (2011,p.3) explains that news is information about events that are

currently happening or that have happened recently, but now new technologies allow

news to be more current as audiences are virtually transported to the scene of the

event. This is to show the way the new media have been changing the phase of news

delivery.

48
 Talabi (2011, p.1) asserts that the Internet has virtually revolutionized the

process of news and information gathering, processing, publishing, distribution of

products and services. Thus the process of news gathering, processing and

distribution of NAN’s product and services to its subscriber’s base have also had to

change because of the Internet which enables the new media.

News agencies are known to sell news items considered as fresh (timely) or

breaking news to its subscribers, but the advent of the new media technology have

reduced the news agencies prospect of breaking news and as such the value of the

agencies’ copy could be drastically reduced, justifying Talabi’s (2011, p.3) assertion

that the Internet has removed the barriers of space and time on human interactions

hence information can easily be obtained at a relatively low cost.

On a final note it is important to state that new technologies are making the

activities of news agencies more efficient and also opening more possibilities for

them as put by Paterson (2006) that Digital technologies have made news agency

production more efficient, and their (technological) convergence has permitted easy

access into new markets through the creation of products tailored to new media.

Currah (2009) also posits that the new media has expanded the possibilities of news

agencies to allow provision of multimedia content to their clients.

49
 CHAPTER THREE

Research Methodology

3.0 Introduction

This chapter deals with the method and procedures adopted in carrying out the

study. The chapter focuses on the research design, area of the study, population,

sample and sampling techniques, research instrument, method of data collection and

method of data analysis.

3.1 Research Design

This study being a qualitative research adopts a descriptive survey method.

The findings from this work can be best analysed using the description or explanation

method of analysis. The required information to justify this work will be obtained

from the office of the News Agency of Nigeria NAN.

3.2 Area of Study

The area for this study is the operational zonal headquarters of the News

Agency of Nigeria in Akure, Ondo State.

3.3 Population of the Study

The population for this study is the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). NAN is

assumed to represent the entire population which is the operational news agencies at

the global level.

50
3.4 Sample Size and Sampling Techniques

The sample for this study is NAN, Ondo State office, located in Akure, the

Ondo State capital. The office of the Editorial Department and Marketing Department

were purposively selected to provide answers to the research questions raised in the

interview guide.

3.5 Instrument of Data Collection

The instrument used to collect data for this study is indepth interview. An

interview guide was drawn to assist the researcher. The Executive Director/Editor-In-

Chief of the Editorial Department and Marketing Director of the Marketing

Department were the target for the interview.

3.6 Method of Data Analysis

The researcher analysed information gathered from the interviewees by

objectively documenting the most relevant answers the interviewees have provided

using the discussion method. The analysis will be done answering the entire questions

one after the other.

51
 CHAPTER FOUR

Data Presentation and Analysis

4.0 Introduction

This chapter deals with presentation, interpretation and discussion of data

obtained from the research questions administered adopting indepth interview. The

discussion and explanation method will be used to analyse the data. The major

instrument used for data collection is indepth interview.

Background of the Respondents

The respondents for this work were, Mr. Adetunji Adediran, the state

correspondent for News Agency of Nigeria, Akure zonal office, Ondo state, Mr.

Adediran responded to questions bothering on the editorial department and Ms.

Omolabake Akindeko, the Marketing officer for NAN Akure zonal Office responded

to questions relating to the marketing department.

Analysis of Research Questions, Interpretation and Discussion of Findings

This section deals with analysis of answers supplied to the research

questions by respondents.

Question One (1):

Does NAN utilize new media / social media, that is does NAN news room
and marketing department have any new media presence?

52
 Mr. Adediran explained that NAN is just incorporating the new media into its

operation, “the NAN portal is going through an upgrade now so that it can

accommodate social media platforms such as facebook and twitter, specifically now

we are on facebook and twitter”, he expressed that this will go a long way to enhance

a better feedback mechanism between NAN and its subscribers.

On the other hand Ms. Akindeko revealed that the marketing department does

not utilize any new media/ social media platform in the marketing department, she

said her department only use the Internet that is used to power NAN portal which is

used to distribute news and other materials to their subscribers. Akindeko revealed

that, there are no other new media services used in the marketing department.

The submission of Mr. Adediran Ms. Akindeko shows that NAN has not been

using the new media in both the editorial and marketing department.

Question Two (2)

What type of new media platforms do you use in the editorial and marketing
department?
Mr. Adediran revealed that for now, the editorial department of NAN does not

use any new media or social media platform for its editorial operations, but use the

Internet which its reporters sometimes use to send reports to the office, and the office

always use the Internet powered portal to send their reports to the headquarters in

Abuja. The marketing department on the other hand revealed that it does not use any

new media platform in the marketing of NAN’s products and services.

53
 The above shows that NAN does not use any new media or social media for

any of its operations but use the Internet to facilitate sending of stories to the editor-

in-chief and the subscribers through NAN’s portal.

Question Three (3)

What type of new media related services do NAN editorial department and
marketing department render respectively?
The editorial department revealed that, apart from story copies which is always

in text form, NAN also distribute picture, audio clips as well as video clips which are

multi-media contents to its subscribers base which includes radio and television

outfits.

The marketing officer said her department renders no specific new media

related services apart from marketing the new media or multi-media related content

that is generated and made available by the editorial department.

Question three reveals that NAN also supply photographs, audio clips and

video clips to it subscribers which includes broadcast outfits.

Question Four (4)

What is the level of NAN’s news room and marketing department new media
presence?
Mr. Adediran stated that NAN does not have any new media presence as at

now, because the news agency is just trying to adopt the new media platforms starting

54
with Facebook and Twitter accounts that are still very much underutilized. “Just three

months ago NAN started an upgrade on its portal so as to accommodate Facebook and

Twitter” Adediran said.

Akindeko response shows that the marketing department does not use any new

media or social media platform and as such does not have any new media presence.

The above findings show that NAN has no new media presence at all as

confirmed by the editorial and marketing department.

Question Five (5)

How does NAN use the new media / social media in the editorial and marketing
department?
The editorial department uses only the Internet to send its stories to the editor-

in-chief in Abuja who is the final gate keeper. The Akure office is equipped with a

satellite receiver and a well furnished computer room to enable prompt sending of

news and other editorial items to Abuja.

The reporters who go out to cover assignments also are equipped with internet

enabled devices which allows them quickly turn in their stories to the office, Adediran

revealed that NAN usually make soft loans available to its staff to enable them

purchase new media gadget to enhance their efficiency and prompt reportage, but

most of the staff members are now alive to their responsibilities, as they do not wait

for any soft loan before they go ahead to buy the gadgets or equipments they know

will enhance their jobs.

55
 It was also revealed that the social media helps to hint their journalist on news

worthy events, rumours fly on social media platforms and these rumours are hints that

our reporters sometimes follow up to get good stories.

Adediran also divulged that NAN provide every of its staff with a postpaid

phone so as to allow easy communication between staff members, reporters also use

this phone to relay news report to the office.

On the other hand the marketing department said it does not use any new

media or social media in its operation, apart from the Internet which it uses to power

the portal used for marketing.

The result reveals that NAN only uses the Internet as a new medium as it

ensures Internet facilities and a well furnished computer room is provided for the

Internet related operations of NAN. Postpaid mobile phones are also made available

to NAN staff to aid efficient and prompt communication and reportage.

Question Six (6)

Do you consider the activities of the new media as a threat to NAN’s news room
and marketing operations?
The NAN State Correspondent, Mr. Adediran said the activities of new media

does not pose any threat to NAN’s news room operation as NAN has established itself

as a reliable news source for media outfits. He revealed that despite the fact that new

media and social media allows citizen journalist upload contents that may be news

56
worthy, the question of factuality sets in and as such NAN still enjoy the patronage of

media outfits because of the professional touch and factuality of NAN stories.

Adediran further revealed that the new media and social media only break the

news or give shallow reportage, but NAN will always give indepth reportage of

events and this still give NAN an advantage over the new media and social media

platforms.

Ms. Akindeko, revealed that the new media especially the social media affect

the marketing department of NAN because, at times when subscribers are having

problem with accessing NAN’s copy through the portal, the subscribers readily turn

to the Internet World Wide Web (WWW) for news to use and at times they turn to

social media especially twitter, where they get alternative sources, and at the end of

the month, the subscribers are reluctant to pay their subscription fees on the account

of inability to fully access NAN’s copy.

The findings here reveals that the new media poses no threat to the editorial

department as they remain credible source of news to news media, but to the

marketing department, the new media pose some threat because some subscribers

source news from the WWW or other new media sources.

Question Seven (7)

Do the new media in any way alter or modify the reporting or writing
pattern/style of NAN?

57
 Mr. Adediran expressed that the new media does not affect the way NAN

reporter and editorial staff write or report it stories, because NAN does not publish or

broadcast any news, but write for all media outfits and as such maintain a simple style

of writing or reporting of events.

The finding here shows that the new media has not caused NAN to modify or

alter its style of writing.

Question Eight (8)

What effect does the activities on new media / social media have on the
subscriber base of NAN?
The marketing officer revealed that despite the fact that NAN subscribers

explores other alternative sources of news, the subscribers’ base have continued to

improve because every media outfit always want to be at the forefront in news

reportage and because they cannot have reporters and correspondents in all states and

communities of the nation they will sill subscribe to NAN for factual and authentic

stories.

Result here shows that the activities of the new media has no impact on the

subscribers base of NAN.

58
Question Nine (9)

Do you utilize new media in the distribution of NAN’s copy to your subscribers?

Ms. Akindeko responded that the marketing department does not use any new

media platform in the distribution of NAN’s copy, stating that the news agency’s

portal with the aid of the Internet is the only means used to distribute NAN’s copy.

The only medium used for distribution on NAN’s copy to subscribers is the

Internet that powers NAN portal.

Question Ten (10)

Do media organizations still patronize NAN as they do in the past?

The marketing officer revealed that NAN still enjoys patronage from media

organizations that depend on NAN’s copy for factual stories which they cannot get

themselves because of shortage of staff.

Answer to question ten reveals that NAN still enjoys patronage from media

outfits as it does in the past.

Question Eleven (11)

Do the activities of new media/ social media coupled with the operation of citizen
journalism affect the subscription fee of NAN?
Ms. Akindeko, revealed that the activities of citizen journalism does not affect

the subscription fees NAN charges because the fees have been highly subsidized by

the Federal Government so as to allow media organizations no matter their size afford

to subscribe to NAN’s services.

59
 The findings here show that NAN fees have remained unaffected by the

activities of citizen journalism.

Question Twelve (12)

With the advent of social media which is encouraging more citizen journalism,
does NAN still break news to its clients?
Mr. Adediran revealed that NAN is still very much in the business of breaking

news to its subscribers because it has a very large staff advantage, as its reporters are

situated in all states of the federation, unlike newspapers that only have few

correspondents in states outside their base stations, thus NAN has an advantage to

break news to its clients. He further revealed that NAN is a credible authority in news

reportage and a s such media organizations still look out for NAN’s news to confirm

the veracity of news break on the social media by citizen journalist.

Result here reveals NAN is still breaking the news despite activities of citizen

journalism, because NAN is a credible news source.

Question Thirteen (13)

Does the editorial department generate news from new media/ social media
platforms?
Mr. Adediran said the policy of NAN does not allow NAN reporters copy

stories or write stories from Internet sources, NAN is an authority and as such is not

allowed to cite sources, and instead NAN should be attributed as sources of news.

60
Also NAN operates a Today’s News Today (TNT) policy, which forbids NAN from

distributing news from the previous day.

He however stated that, news on new media platforms could tips NAN about news

worthy events that could be followed up to get facts.

Result here shows that NAN does not generate news from the new media or

social media as the policy of the agency does not allow this.

Question Fourteen (14)

Has the revenue NAN generate dwindled, improved or remained constant with
the advent of new media?
Ms. Akindeko disclosed that NAN generated revenue has been improving just

as the subscribers’ base have been improving because of the need for factual, credible

and timely reports NAN is always able to provide.

Findings from the marketing department show that NAN revenue has been

improving because more organizations seeking factual news subscribes to NAN.

Discussion of Findings

Based on response of the interviewees, it is evident that NAN does not

effectively use the new media in any of it operations either at the editorial or

marketing departments, this is further confirmed as they have no new media or social

media presence even on facebook or twitter which are the most utilised social media

platform.

61
 It is also seen that the activities of the citizen journalism poses no threat to the

editorial department of NAN but raise some concern to the marketing department as

some clients are beginning to turn to the social media especially twitter to source

alternative news source.

The activities of new media coupled with citizen journalism has little or no

impact on the subscribers base of NAN or subscription fee and the revenue generated

by NAN as these subscribers see NAN as credible news sources that cannot be done

away with.

Findings also revealed that NAN remains a force to reckon with as far as

breaking the news is concerned regardless of the new media because many media

organizations still wait for NAN stories to confirm news that may have gone viral on

the new media platforms, thus NAN still breaks news to it subscribers.

On a final note the News Agency of Nigeria does not generate content from

the new media or Internet, because NAN cannot afford to lose it place as a credible

news source and also NAN does not release news from the previous day to it

subscribers, they only distribute news of the day.

62
 CHAPTER FIVE

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations

5.0 Introduction

This chapter deals with the summary, conclusion and recommendations based

on the findings of the study. It also treats the contribution of this study to existing

knowledge as well as suggestions for further study.

5.1 Summary

This work investigated the impact of the new media on the performance of

the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) using the Akure zonal office as its case study.

The objectives of the study were achieved using some research questions that were

raised in line with the research objectives.

Available past work in the areas of news agencies, News Agency of Nigeria,

new media and the relationship between news agencies and new media were reviewed

to provide a scholarly background for the work being investigated. The digital

determinism theory is the theory this work was built on.

The survey research method was adopted for this work and indepth interview

guided by a well structured interview guide was used to solicit information from the

editorial and marketing department of the Akure zonal office of NAN.

Discussion method was used to analyse information gathered from the

interviewees based on the questions raised in the interview guide. Some of the

findings from the interviews are: NAN does not utilize the new media in any of it

63
operations except the Internet that is used to power the NAN portal; the activities of

the new media does not pose any threat to the operations on NAN as subscribers base

and revenue generated keeps increasing; NAN’s reputation as a credible news source

has made them still relevant and trusted for breaking news despite the fact that new

media are quick to spread information which sometimes are false.

The last chapter in the work allowed the researcher to give an overview of the

entire work and objectively reach a conclusion base on the findings of this research.

Recommendations were also given based on the research findings.

5.2 Conclusion

The conclusion this researcher was able to reach based on the findings

gathered from this work are that: the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) does not use

the new media in any of its operations and does not have any new media presence; the

activities of the new media and citizen journalism pose no threat to the News Agency

of Nigeria as it still maintains its subscribers base and the revenue generated. The

News Agency of Nigeria does not generate news reports from the new media or social

media platforms and also NAN is still a force to reckon with as far as breaking the

news to their subscribers is concerned.

5.3 Recommendations

The following recommendations are made based on the findings of the study:

64
1. The News Agency of Nigeria should set up a new media and social media

team that would effectively use the new media to promote the activities of

NAN.

2. The News agency of Nigeria should promote their news items through the new

media platforms, as this can draw the attention of prospective clients from

within and outside the shores of Nigeria.

3. The news agency of Nigeria should create means through which feedback

could be made possible by making the NAN portal an interactive one.

4. The new media is important for NAN as it will enable it share Nigerian news

to the global community which is not part of its subscribers base, this will help

to correct the imbalance in the news flow between the developed and

developing nations.

65
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 APPENDIX I

IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF THE NEW MEDIA ON THE EFFECTIVENESS

OF THE NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA

Department of Mass Communication

Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo,

Ondo State.

28th August, 2014.

Dear Respondent,

I am an HND II student of the above named department working on my final

year project entitled “Impact Assessment of the New Media on the Effectiveness of

News Agency of Nigeria”.

I would be grateful, if you could respond to the following questions below. Be

assured of confidentiality of your response.

Thanks you very much for your anticipated assistance.

Yours faithfully,

Oluodo Adedayo C.

EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT

INTERVIEW GUIDE

i. Does NAN utilize new media / social media, that is does NAN news room

have any new media presence?

70
 ii. What type of new media platforms do you use in the editorial department?

iii. What type of new media related services does NAN editorial department

render?

iv. What is the level of NAN’s news room new media presence?

v. How does NAN editorial department use new media / social media?

vi. Do you consider the activities of the new media as a threat to NAN’s news

room operation?

vii. Do the new media in any way alter or modify the reporting or writing

pattern/style of NAN?

viii. With the advent of social media which is encouraging more citizen journalism,

does NAN still break news to its clients?

ix. Does the editorial department generate news from new media/ social media

platforms?

71
 APPENDIX II

MARKETING DEPARTMENT

INTERVIEW GUIDE

i. Does NAN utilize new media / social media, that is does NAN’s marketing

department have a new media presence?

ii. What type of new media platform do you use in the marketing department?

iii. What type of new media marketing service does NAN render?

iv. How does NAN use the new media / social media?

v. What is the level of NAN’s new media presence?

vi. Do you consider the activities of the new media as a threat to the marketing

operations of NAN?

vii. What effect does the activities on new media / social media have on the

subscriber base of NAN?

viii. Do you utilize new media in the distribution of NAN’s copy to your

subscribers?

ix. If yes, which of the new media?

x. Do media organizations still patronize NAN as they do in the past?

xi. Do the activities of new media/ social media coupled with the operation of
citizen journalism affect the subscription fee of NAN?
xii. Has the revenue NAN generate dwindled, improved or remained constant with
the advent of new media?
xiii. What can you identify to have caused this?

72