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Raising a new Generation of Leaders

 Early Colonial Newspapers
1. Iwe Irohin fun Awon Ara Egba ati Yoruba by
Rev Henry Townsend (1859)
- Issues:

• Church news
• Local politics

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2. Anglo-African by Robert Campbell (1863).

• Local stories
• Import duties
• Government and post office notices
• Wielded support for colonial government out of
personal and economic interest.

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3. Lagos Times & Gold Coast Advertiser by Richard
Beale Blaize.

• Wholly devoted to advertisements

• Was said to have pitched the first press war between
Nigerian nationalists fighting for independence and
British colonial administration.

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4. Lagos Observer by Bemjamin Blackall (1882).

• Exposed social and public evils

• Championed struggles for nationalism
• Advocated for provision and improvement of social
amenities

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Impacts of Early Colonial Newspapers

The early papers up till independence engaged in the following:

• Encouraged cultural consciousness, by stimulating greater interest

in African history, language, name, dress, life, religion and art
forms.
• Showed that Townsend’s fight against Crowther and the loss of
respect for traditional era produced a significant disgust in the
minds of educated Africans.

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• Denial of effective political participation of Africans
further fueled the agitation for self government.

• Promotion of commerce by publishing news and

advertisements on trade and agriculture was an early
pre-occupation of the early print media.

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• The early newspapers were characterized by non
professionals. Most practitioners at the time were not
trained professionals. They only embraced journalism
as a convenient way to satisfy the prevailing
circumstances.

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• Most of the early newspapers had short lifespan. This
was due largely to lack of expertise, inadequate
financial resources, and most times hostilities from
colonial administrations

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The Nigerian Press at Independence

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Before independence, newspapers in Nigeria had
developed into regional media.

Newspaper ownership reflected ethnic origin and

political interests. Each region had a dominant
political party and loyal newspaper.

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• The northern region had Gaskiya Tafi Kwabo and
Nigerian Citizen later became New Nigerian in 1966
established the air the voice of northern elites,
mobilize them to achieve set goals and fight the
northern cause at the centre.

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• The eastern region government established the Eastern
Outlook in 1949, to project the views of the easterners
on every issue to the entire nation.

• The west had Allied Press which was later reinforced

with the Daily Sketch in 1964.

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• As regional governments articulated their interests with
their papers, the Federal government saw the need to
promote its own policies and programmes, and
established the Morning Post in 1961, which also
published Sunday Post.

• The newspaper was managed as a public limited

company, through the Public Relations department of
the Ministry of Information.
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At independence, intentions that had been subdued
by nationalist struggle became manifest.

The hitherto unanimous press, that had one voice

against the colonial government, became partisan and
pushed for sectional rather than national integration.

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 The editorial content and activities of the press were
prompted and directed by the following:
• Funders of newspapers and their interests
• The region within which they operated and its interest.
• The local political party and its interest
• The subtle religious influence prevailing
• The dominant ethnic group and its aspirations.

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• Even the Federal Government’s Morning Post was no
better.

• It failed to understand that as a nationally oriented

newspaper, it must maintain the truth in its content,
especially on sensitive and controversial national
issues.

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• For example in 1964, the paper reported that a strike action
embarked upon by civil servants was called off when it was
not.

• The Post became defunct early1973, because the audience

revolted against reading government press releases and
bulletins, which it contained.

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• The press was so polarized that some regional
governments and local councils barred some
newspapers from circulating in their areas.

• The NCNC controlled the eastern Nigerian

government and banned the circulation of the Daily
Times, Morning Post and the Daily Sketch, in the
east.

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• The western regional government also banned the
circulation of the Pilot and Morning Post.

The Nigerian press at this time was unable to provide

a free flow of information among political structures
and between society and policy.

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It operated primarily to strengthen the grip of regional
leaders over their followers and the fragmentation of
the country.

Hence, the first republic collapsed under the weight of

ethno-religious politics, which was fuelled by the
press.

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Nigerian Press During the Military

The press under the military were critical of the

government over corruption, waste in government and
sundry other issues.
However, presss campaigns against corruption and
mismanagement were taken as incitements of sectional
interests and undermining national peace and security.

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• In 1974, the government of General Yakubu Gowon laid a two-
hour siege on the premises of Sketch Newspaper, on the excuse
that the activities of the paper were embarrassing.

• Nigerian observer’s correspondent, Minere Amakiri reported

factually on Governor Diete-Spiff’s birthday at a time when
workers in the State were on strike to demand better pay and
working conditions. Amakiri was brutally flogged, on the orders of
the military Governor and had his head shaved with a broken
glass.

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• The military government under Olusegun Obasanjo in 1976
arrested Chris Okolie, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Newbreed
magazine and banned it. The actions bordered on issues of
government probity and accountability.
• In 1984, two Guardian Newspaper journalists, Tunde Thompson
and Nduka Irabor were arrested and detained without explanation
over a report on ambassadorial appointments.
• Eleven days after the arrests, the government enacted the Public
Officers protection Against False Accusation Decree No. 4 of
1984.

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• The Babangida administration recorded the highest number of
media house closure, mass harassment, arrests, detentions and death
of journalists never experienced before in the history of Nigeria.
• On October 19, 1986, about one year into that administration, first
Editor-in-chief and co-founder of Newswatch Magazine, Dele
Giwa, was killed by a letter bomb. The press reported that the parcel
delivered to his home bore the seal of the Presidency.

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• The administration of late General Sanni Abacha never granted
interview to any media. Instead, many journalists were in several
prisons across the country despite several local and international
calls for their release.
• His successor, General abdulsalami Abubakar however, released
some of the journalists in prison.
All through the military era, the private press remained relentless
and stringent in their anti-military stance. Military hostility against
the press gave rise to underground or guerrilla (rebellious)
journalism.

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27
The Press and the Law

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From colonial days, as the British consolidated their
hold on the colony, the government became hostile
toward the press. Then the government of the Lagos
colony and southern Nigeria protectorate felt the need
to pay formal attention to the press.

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This led to the signing into law of the Newspaper
Ordinance No.10 of 1903. this was the first attempt at
regulating newspaper publication by law.

The law made prospective newspaper owners sign an

affidavit (oath)containing the real names and
addresses of its proprietors and printers.

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The law insisted that newspaper publishers paid a
deposit of 250 pounds as deposit for compensation to
members of the public, in case they were injured by
the activities of the newspaper.

Newspaper publishers saw this as an attempt to

interfere with freedom of the press.

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In addition, it militated against the financial prosperity
of the press. The 250 pound bond made newspaper
business in Lagos more expensive.

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The same law required the delivery of signed copies to
the government as frequently as the newspaper was
published.

This was the first comprehensive attempt at regulating

newspaper publication by law.

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• After independence in October 1960, Decree1 and
other regulations were promulgated to control and
repress the press.

• Newspaper (Amendment) Act of 1964, the Sedition

Law of 1964 and the Newspaper Prohibition of
Circulation Decree of 1967 were among the several
decrees of the government.

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Several cases of arrests have been documented where a
number of journalists have been arrested, intimidated and
jailed for news reports the government considered
embarrassing.

For example, Nduka Irabor of the Guardian newspaper,

Femi Akande of Fame Magazine, Nosa Igeibor, Kola Ilori,
Onome Osifo-Wiskey and Ayodele Akinkouotu of Tell
Magazine were locked up while discharging their
journalistic duties.
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It was also recorded that, police attacked and arrested
members of the press of The Observer, The News and
Daily Independent from 1999 – 2003 of Obasanjo
civilian administration.

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 Generally, there are some laws journalists commonly
allegedly fall short of. They include:

• Libel: a false and defamatory attack in written form, on a

person’s reputation or character. Broadcast defamation is
also libel because there is usually a written script. The script
can take the form of headlines, photos, cartoons, film, tape,
records, signs, stickers and advertisements.

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• Oral or spoken defamation is slander. If defamatory
statements are published whether online or in print,
they can still be considered libelous.

• The key factors to consider are whether you published

untrue information that hurt the reputation of an
identifiable person, and whether you were either
negligent or reckless in failing to check the accuracy
of your information.

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Defense against libel:
(1) Privilege : apart from truth, privilege is a defense in libel suits. And it comes in two
forms – absolute and qualified.
•Absolute privilege: means that public officials, including law enforcement officials can
make statements in the course of their official duties without fear of being sued for libel.
This form of privilege extends to court proceedings, legislative proceedings, public and
official meetings and contents of public records.

•Qualified privilege: as a member of the media, you have qualified privilege. You may print
defamatory statements made by people who are absolutely privileged as long as you are
being fair and accurate, and the information is from a public proceeding or public record.
But if your report contains errors, you could lose that protection.

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(2) Fair comment: an opinion is protected. Editorials, analysis,
reviews and other criticisms may express opinions, but
should not state inaccurate facts. Otherwise, it will be
libelous. To qualify as fair comment, a comment must
generally be on a matter of public interest, it must be based
on facts known or believed to be true, and it must not be
malicious or made with reckless disregard for the truth.

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• Invasion of privacy
Issues of privacy involve ethical decisions, not matters of accuracy.
Damage is usually considered the mental anguish that results from
wrongfully revealing to the public some parts of a person’s life.

Truth may not be enough defense in privacy cases. Courts have

identified four grounds for invasion of privacy lawsuits: intrusion,
public disclosure of private and embarrassing facts, false light, and
misappropriation of a person’s name or image without permission.

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Copyright
Copyright laws protect everything published which
includes online or print information. However, the
laws allow you to copy portions of materials under a
doctrine known as “fair use”. The law favours
academic use of portions of works if the copied
material does not deprive the creator of profits.

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Plagiarism
Copying the works of other writers without giving credit
to them is plagiarism. It is a cardinal sin in journalism.
Even if you paraphrase information you receive from
other publications and you do not attribute it, you are
plagiarizing.

Plagiarism is ground for dismissal in many media

organizations. If you take information from a written or
online source, make sure you attribute it.
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44
Professionalism in the Media

There is no single set of criteria for categorizing an

occupation as a profession, in the same way as law,
medicine and priesthood which are regarded as
traditional professions.

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 However in principle, these old professions subscribe
to the need for:

• A certain level of education

• Specialized skill
• Prescribed standard for admission of new entrants
• A code of ethics

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 Debates on professionalism in journalism have put
forward various ideas about what the mass media are
or should be. These ideas are that professionalism is:
• First, an implied contract that the newspaper shall
serve the public interest, defend the interest of the
public against corrupt and incompetent public
officials, censor the government, be honest, just,
courageous, clean and have a conscience and good
manner.

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• Second, media will depend upon public acceptance of
their programmes in competition on all forms of
entertainment and information, and can best serve the
public through the free play of competition and with
minimum government regulation.

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• Third, media constitute a nation’s greatest unifying
force in peace and war, and are therefore entitled to
the privileges of other free institutions.

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Two critical issues relating to the functions of any
profession are:
• Its professed service to the public
• The protection of its members

The second function is fulfilled through training,

acquisition of new skills and regulation of entrants
into the profession.

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Regulation and control of professional journalism is
done in Nigeria both internally and externally.

Internal regulation is done by professional journalism

associations such as the Nigerian Press Organization
(NPO), Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria,
Nigerian Union of Journalists and Nigerian Guild of
Editors.

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External control comes in form of government
regulation and forced cooperation through imposition
of press councils such as the Nigeria Press Council
(NPC), National Broadcasting Commision (NBC) for
broadcasting. These bodies control through policy, like
the National Mass Communication Policy.

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 In 1959, UNESCO grouped the activities of
professional journalism associations into three
categories:
• Those that promote freedom of information
• Those that promote improvement of facilities for
professional training.
• Those that are concerned with the establishment of
professional standards.

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54
 Canons of Journalism
These are principles or standards that should be
present in journalistic codes of ethics. They are:

1. Responsibility
2. Freedom of the press

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3. Sincerity, truthfulness and accuracy
4. Independence
5. Impartiality
6. Decency

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 Ethical issues in Nigeria Media Industry
1. Sensationalism: giving undue emphasis to an issue,
blowing up issues. (storm in a teacup).

2. Invasion of privacy:
four grounds for invasion of privacy: intrusion, public
disclosure of private and embarrassing facts, false
light, and misappropriation of a person’s name or
image without permission.
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• When does it become unethical?
• Where do we draw a between private life and public
life of public officials?

3. Deliberate falsehood.

4. Cheque book journalism: paying news sources to

get scoop.
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5. Brown envelope journalism: when is it right for
journalists to take money from news sources?
For logistics?
The amount?

6. junkets: taking journalists on trips.

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7. Terrorist journalism: blackmailing news sources.
Threatening the source to meet certain demands to
avoid image damaging.

8. Advocacy journalism: in an effort to advocate for a

particular person or group, journalists can write
stories that are one-sided. However, a journalist is
supposed to be objective.

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9. Gossip or cocktail journalism: taking tips from
gossips or parties to publish as facts.

10. Puff journalism: presenting advert matters as news

stories. Such stories cannot be balanced.

11. Confidentiality of source: at what point does

disclosure of source become necessary?

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12. Witholding information: when is it justified?

13. Journalistic deception: disguising

14. Afghanistanism: reporting what is happening in

another country, and leaving out more pressing isues
or similar issues in one’s country.

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15. Moonlighting: keeping two jobs at a time; two jobs
that can cause conflict of interest. For example, a
journalist taking up the job of a special adviser to
the governor – this will affect his watchdog role.

16. Sycophancy: flattering rich and powerful people.

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17. Cartel journalism: journalists forming beat
associations, for example, state house or energy
correspondents of Nigeria.
They report stories from a unanimous standpoint
(they take the same slant), either for or against the
news source.
They collectively bargain in their favour.

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News as commodity
Commodity is an economic term, usually used with
other market forces like demand and supply. That is, in
economics, when commodity is mentioned, the
thinking is that it is something which can be
demanded and supplied at a price.
As expected of every commodity, news goes through a
process of production, at the end of which it is sent out
to serve human needs.

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This is however an unethical form that journalistic
practice has taken on for decades in Nigeria.
In order to maximize their chances of profit, media
organizations commercialize news that should
ordinarily be covered under public service
considerations. Hence, reporters accept payments from
sources. News organizations publish advertisements in
the guise of news.

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The Print Media Enterprise
In Nigeria, newspapers are published as national or
regional dailies with their Sunday editions, while
magazines are published weekly, monthly or quarterly.

They strive to satisfy both their readers and proprietors

through their formats and content.

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 Print media all over the world are owned either by
individuals, organizations, institutions and or
governments. In democracies, media ownership by
government is an indicator of lack of press freedom.
Hence, ownership is concentrated in private hands.

In Nigeria, newspapers must first be registered with

the Minister of Information before they can go into
operation.
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But before the paper is registered, the newspaper
company must be registered or incorporated with the
Corporate Affairs Commission. That is, if the
proprietor is a private person or legal entity, and not
government.
Newspapers and magazines can be registered as one
man business, partnership, joint venture or a limited
liability company.

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The trend in Nigeria seems to be towards joint
ventures and limited liability companies, because
newspapers are run as one-man business or
partnerships, and usually have short lifespan.

Crucial at the stage of registering a newspaper is its

name. The name should aim at selling the newspaper.
It should be short, easy to pronounce and must not be
confused with existing titles.

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71
 Normative Theories of the Press

The four theories of the press were developed to

describe how the media operate and function in
various countries under different forms of government.
They are also referred to as systems of the press or
philosophical perspectives.

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Each theory is a complex explanatory essay describing
how the news media were shaped and organized and
how they operated at various times in four different
kinds of societal and political contexts.

An important aspect of the normative theory essay was

the proposition that the press always takes on the form
(in terms of structure) and disposition of the social and
political structure within which it operates.

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Authoritarian theory:
Under this system, the mass media, are subordinate to the
state as represented by the Head of Government. Such heads
of government are always autocratic leaders- dictators who
use the resources of the mass media to sustain themselves in
power.

Thus, the authoritarian philosophy sees the mass media as

existing only for the interest of the despotic leader and those
within his elite circle.
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The authoritarian model of the press requires that all
information that is received by members of the society
via media be first screened and authorized by
government representatives before being
disseminated, otherwise there was the danger that
those who received unauthorized information would
form unwanted opinions and beliefs that could erode
the power of government.

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For that reason, media that disseminate news and other
forms of information to the public were allowed to do so
only under rigid rules designed and implemented by those in
positions of power.

Hence, various methods were used to impose relatively

strict governmental procedures of licensing and censorship,
in addition to the basic laws of defamation (libel and
slander), obscenity and privacy that restrict the actions of
media men and women, and of media organizations.

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Soviet Communist theory:
this system of the press obtained in the former Soviet
Union, and continues to obtain in areas where
communism still exists, China for example. Under this
theory, the mass media have clear and explicit mandates
as to their primary objectives.
They are committed to carrying government policies to
the masses, rallying support for the communist party,
which is the only one allowed, and raising the general
cultural level of the people.
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The party and the government exercise strict control
over the media and their operation. The media are part
of the communist machinery and know exactly what to
do and how to do them in order to be seen as
propagating the communist ideology.
Therefore, they are not subject to harassment, but
censorship and vetting are a key part of what must be
done before any news material gets to the public.

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Libertarian theory:
This is the system of operation that obtains in many
Western countries, particularly valued in the united States
of America where very strong emphasis is placed on the
freedom of the media, especially from government
control.

Freedom in this context means unhindered access to

information, free expression and free dissemination of
information.
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However that it does not mean there are no restrictions
and regulations affecting the operations of the media
under this theory. The laws of defamation and privacy
still obtain. But such laws are seen as universal laws
aimed at safeguarding the public, not for the purpose
of punishing the media.
Under this theory, the media can publish virtually
anything, anywhere, anytime and anyhow.
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Social Responsibility theory:
This theory places due emphasis on the moral and social
responsibilities of persons and institutions that operate
the media of mass communication. Such responsibilities
include obligations to provide the public with
information and discussion on important social issues
and the avoidance of activities that could be harmful to
public welfare and the security of the state.

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This system of the press admits no censorship, but rests
squarely on the maturity of reporters, editors and proprietors.
It recognizes the right of the people to information, and thus
the right of media personnel to provide such information.
But it also acknowledges the right of the nation to security.

That is why Moemeka (2000) submits that its major tenet is

“striking a happy balance” between freedom of the media
and of the people to information and the right of the state to
national security.

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 Social responsibility is a conception that because of its
influence, the press had social responsibilities. Thus, it
performs the following specific functions:

• Servicing the political system by providing information,

discussion, and debate on public affairs.
• Enlightening the public so as to make it capable of self-
government.
• Safeguarding the rights of the individual by serving as a
watchdog against government.
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• Servicing the economic system, primarily by bringing
together the buyers and sellers of goods and services
through the medium of advertising.
• Providing entertainment.
• Maintaining its own financial self-sufficiency so as to
be free from the pressures of special interests.

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 However, because the mode of mass media operation
in most developing countries does not fit well into any
of the above theories, two additional theoretical
perspectives were developed. They are:
• Development Media theory
• Democratic-Participant theory
These two perspectives reflect the conditions under
which the media of mass communication function or
should function in developing societies.
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Development Media theory:
This was intended to recognize the fact that societies
undergoing a transition from underdevelopment and
colonialism to independence and better material
conditions often lack the infrastructure, the money, the
professional skills and even the audiences needed to
sustain media institutions comparable to those of
developed societies, in which the four theories could
take root.

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This theory argues that unless a nation is well-
established and its economic development well
underway, media must be supportive rather than
critical of government. Journalists must not pick apart
government efforts to promote development but rather
assist government in implementing such policies.

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Democratic Participant theory:
The democratic participant media theory advocates decentralisation and
democratisation of the media to allow for easy access and popular
participation. It advocates the decentralisation of the communication
process to allow for grassroots access and participation in the media.

The central tenet of the democratic participant theory is that the needs,
interests and aspirations of the audience must be the guiding principle
for media operation. The theory states that individual citizens and
minority groups have right of access to media (right to communicate)
and the media should serve them according to their needs.

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It calls for the establishment of ‘small media’ by local
communities and groups so that they can meet their own needs
and that potential users of the media can have easy access to them.
It is believed that it is such media that can raise the people’s
aspiration to self-actualisation and grassroots development.

The assumption is that the gauge for measuring real development

should be the level or the standard of living of the
underprivileged. So it favours horizontal communication, that is
interactive and participatory, rather than vertical communication.

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