CHAPTER ONE
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Television services were introduced in Nigeria on October 31st 1959 by the then Western Regional Government. Television is a mass communication medium used for transmitting sounds with moving images in monochrome (black and white), coloured, or in three dimensions. Television has always played an important role in the society especially in the 21st century. Television is most recommended for the dissemination of information because of its visual component. Television provides information, education and entertainment which are the major roles of any communication medium. Thus, television can be said to be the most relevant medium of communication.
The role of television therefore, cannot be under estimated in our society today, especially in deepening our democracy and shaping our social lives because of its pervasive nature. Akpabio (2011) stated that, “television has a role to play in securing the people’s mandate”. This statement basically explains that the television has a duty not only to defend our democracy but to deepen and sustain our democratic experience especially based on the dividends of democracy. This shows the power of television as a medium of communication which combines both sounds and visuals.
According to Akpabio, the power of television was seen in the killings at Dogo Nahawa in Plateau State, where people, most of whom were women and female children were killed. This incident was not perceived as grievous when it made pages in the newspaper and reported via other media of mass communication. But when the footage was flashed on television, people felt the impact and many, including I, wept uncontrollably at the sight of over five hundred women and girls who were maimed in cold blood. This clearly illustrate the power of television because when there is an information accompanied by images, people will not only ‘hear but see’ and this creates a better understanding as images enhance communication. “Television does not just move the world’s conscience but has become the conscience of the world”.
Asemah (2009) defines television a “an audio-visual device used for conveying messages from a source to a large heterogenous audience”. He further described television in a layman’s language as “I can hear and I can see”. Asemah went further to describe television as “the most efficient means of communication that brings pictures into billions of homes all over the world.
Encyclopedia America (1981) describes television as “a medium of communication which is primarily used for broadcasting visual impressions of reality through space and is the most effective medium of mass communication known to mankind. It also stated that after about eight years of development, television has made it possible for millions of people to share single experience”. An example is the 2015 General Elections in Nigeria.
Ebo (1996) stressed that “the general pattern in standard of living literacy and exposure is enhanced and affected by the media particularly, television and this effect can be positive or negative”.
McCombs (1997) et al has defined agenda setting as the process which involves the media telling us what to think about, based on their study of the media’s role in the 1968 presidential elections”. The notion of agenda setting can be traced to Walter Lippmann (1920) who pointed out that the media dominates over the creation of pictures in our minds, it is believed that the audience really do not react to actual events but to the pictures on our minds. This statement means that the media pre-determines what issues are regarded as important and at what time, in a given society.
Iyengar (1991) holds that “the mass media have a great influence on their audience because they choose what stories to consider news worthy and how much prominence and space given in respect to an event” The 2015 General Election was mostly viewed on NTA Jos station because its audience believed that the station will offer better update on the election. The mass media has a lot of avenues through which it can set agenda or give importance to an issue. The television as a medium usually gives a purposeful information to its viewers. This research work intends to concentrate on the Agenda setting role of the television with reference to NTA Jos coverage of 2015 General Elections.