APPLICATION OF NEW MEDIA IN JOURNALISM PRACTICE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1             
Background
of the Study

The media have
been undergoing transformations from one phase to another since its inception.
As the generations have evolved over the years, people have been able to access
the media in many different ways such as television, newspaper and internet due
to technological advancement (Heather, 2011). These evolving technologies
continue to drive the development of the mass media. The media have been in
existence since humanity has been attempting to develop methods of
communication and extending the reach of voices around the world (Amanda,
2000).

 Ajanta (2012) categorized the evolution of the
mass media into six different phases starting from the early years to the book
era, newspapers, telegraph and telephone, radio and television and finally the
internet and smart phones.Ajanta explained that the perfection of the Egyptian
hieroglyphics in 3300 B.C. marked the early years of the mass media.
Hieroglyphics was a writing system based on symbols which preceded the
introduction of alphabets with consonants in 1500 B.C. and vowels in 800 B.C.
The book era took off at the evolution of printing technology in Europe when
Johannes Gutenberg, a German goldsmith, invented the moveable type printing
press in 1400 A.D. with the first book printed in 1453 A.D. William Caxton
produced a book with the first printed advertisement in 1468 A.D. and since
then, many more books were printed in Europe.The newspaper came to lime light
around 1600A.D. In the late 1690, Benjamin Harris printed the first colonial
newspaper in Boston and by the end of 1900, and print media took the form of
books, pamphlets, magazine, and newspaper which provide necessary information
about theworld for people at remote locations. The newspaper era was
immediately followed by the invention of telegraph in 1858 and telephones in
1876 by Samuel Morse and Graham Bell respectively. This revolutionized the
field of communication as people were then able to sit in the comfort of their
homes and communicate with others across the globe. In the twentieth century,
the emergence of electronic media resulted in the print media losing
popularity. The radio which became a prominent source of entertainment for the
public was invented by Guglielmo Marconi in 1894 and television was invented in
1925 by John Logie Baird. The mass media since then have progressed with
development in technology until the internet surfaced in the late twentieth
century. The internet and its related technologies such as e-mail technology
developed in the 1970s, World Wide Web (www) coined by Tim Berners-Lee in 1990,
etc. has since its introduction been a useful tool in providing information and
connectivity.

The media which
refer to the many forms of communication that allow idea transmission among
large numbers of people have described to have developed through history
starting with Newspapers at the beginning of the 17th century
through film in the late 1800 and radio in 1922, television in 1929 to the new
media in the latter part of the 20th century (Hubpages, 2011).It is
therefore obvious from historical record and documentations that the media have
evolved over time and based on careful analysis of the evolution history from
different records, the media can be said to have metamorphosed from the print
media era (Newspaper, Magazine, Books etc.) to the conventional electronic
media (Radio and Television etc.) and finally to the emerging new media era in
which we are today, which depends on the internet and its related technologies.

New Media as a
broad term in media studies came into being in the late part of 20th century.
It could be described as a generic term for the many different forms of
electronic communication that are made possible through the use of computer
technology (Terry, 2002, cited in Nwammuo&Ekwugha2013).The growth rate and
adoption of new media technologies around the globe is rapidly on the increase.
Brain (2005) states that ten years back, 60 percent of American adults
regularly watched one of the big tree evening news casts, now only a third do.
Also, one in five Americans get their news from talk radio, two in five from
cable TV, and 30 percent of Americans now get their news online which is a
dramatically increase from it percent in 2000.

It is also
important to state that while the internet and its related technologies have
infiltrated the media, it is only supplementary. The conventional or old media
was not totally phased out but was enhanced and is still being enhanced by the
new media. For example, television and radio have not gone extinct but new ways
of broadcasting such as the interactive TV, internet radio etc. have surfaced
with technological advancement.

The introduction of new
media technologies is changing the way in which the media operate. Global
emphasis is gradually shifting to online and real-time reportage of events
(Vineet, 2014). This of course will affect the traditional form of journalism
because it is impossible for the mass media realm to be changing leaving
journalism behind. Journalism must also adopt to the change. The digital age
now seems to be re-writing the role of journalism.In the words of Vineet (2014,
para 6);

 Today the environment in which journalists
work –across various media platforms of print, radio, television and online
–have begun to rapidly change in response to innovation and technology,
increasingly competitive and fragmenting markets for reader and audiences,
government media policy and changing audience requirements for news and the
ways in which it is presented and delivered. The high-tech revolution have significantly
altered the way public obtains its news and information, and has deprived mass
media of its traditional monopoly.

Lawrence (2012) presents an excerpt of a MultiChoice
Media Workshop held on 23rd March 2014 at the Golden Tulip Hotel,
Amuwo-odofinFestac,Lagos, Nigeria. The workshop’s objective was to equip
journalists in Nigeria, with necessary skills to excel in an age of
technological advancement. Experts in the workshop advocated the need for
journalists to tap into the resources of the new media in order to enhance
their trade. They further established that a 21st century journalist
has no choice but to keep abreast of information technologies that have
encroached and impacted on the practice of journalism.

The digital technologies which are classified as New
Media include textual blogs, photoblogs, videoblogs, wikis, products, mablogs,
email, facebook, twitter, youtube and even digital cellular phones or  Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) (Fredman,
2005 &Rymer, 2009 cited in Nwammuo&Ekwugha, 2013). Integrating these
media technologies in journalism practice enhances the profession among other
benefits. How has Radio Niger, Minna integrated these new media technologies in
the practice of journalism? This question is the focus of this study.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

New media, as the name implies are emerging media technologies.
Because of their newness, the question of whether the Nigerian media have fully
embraced and harnessed this emerging technologies remains a concern. According
to Vineet (2014), the media and the practice of journalism, however, have been
slow to adjust to the internet and the global ramifications produced by the new
information technology. Uche(n.d), quoted Dr. JideoforAdibe , a media analyst
and publisher of London based journal, African
Renaissance, that some African media organizations are yet to fully embrace
information technology in their operations, even when such technologies can now
be easily and cheaply sourced and accessed.

Similarly, Nwammu&Ekwugha
(2013) state that many journalists around the world have adopted new media
forms in their daily operations in the area of research, information gathering,
and dissemination, but as for the Nigerian journalist, no one knows whether
these new media forms have been embraced in practice. Although they state that
these technologies have been embraced and utilized substantially in developed
countries, the case with developing countries like Nigeria is not certain. This
study will therefore determine the utilization of these new media technologies
in the Nigerian media industry, with particular reference to Radio Niger,
Minna, Niger State.

1.3       Aim and Objectives of the Study

This study is aimed at emphasizing
the use and importance of emerging new media in journalism practice by
assessing their application in Radio Niger Minna. This will help in creating
more awareness of new media, and encourage its utilization in journalism
practice in Nigeria. The objectives of the study are as follows:

I. To find out if
journalists in Radio Niger, Minna are aware of the new media technologies used
in journalism.

II. To find out if
journalists in Radio Niger,Minna apply new media for journalism practice.

III.
To find out the new media technologies mostly used by Journalists in Radio
Niger, Minna.

IV.
To find out the factors that promote or militate against the use of new media
technologies by journalists in Radio Niger, Minna.

1.4       Research Questions

I.
Are journalists in Radio Niger, Minna aware of the new media technologies used
in journalism?

II.
Do journalists in Radio Niger, Minna apply new media for journalism practice?

III.
What are the new media technologies mostly used by Journalists in Radio Niger,
Minna.

IV.
What are the factors that promote or militate against the use of new media technologies
by journalists in Radio Niger, Minna.

1.5       Research Hypothesis

H0:
Journalists in Radio Niger, Minna have not substantially utilized New Media
technologies for journalism practice.

H1:
Journalists in Radio Niger, Minna have substantially utilized New Media
technologies for journalism practice.

1.6       Justification for the Study

This study will capture the mindset
of journalists to the existence, importance, and applications of new media in
their profession. It will help the station to understand the new media tread
and how it operate in other to foster productivity. Itwill also encourage the
station to make adjustment of their shortcomings in the area and also maintain
and improve the good aspects.

The outcome of the study will guide
curriculum planning in institutions where media related course especially mass
communications are offered. It would serve as a reference material for both the
students and other researchers, who will want to embark on the same study.

1.7       Delimitation of the Study

The scope of this study covers the
activities of journalist in Radio Niger Minna, Niger state. This study is
limited only to journalism activities. It does not consider the activities of
other professionals aside journalists in the media establishment. This is because
new media technologies may also be used by other professionals such as
engineers, non-linear editors, etc. in the overall operation of the media.It is
also important to state that radio (Radio Niger, Minna) was the only media that
was considered.

1.8       Operational Definition of Terms

Application:
This has to do the utilization of new media technologies by journalists in
their profession.

Journalism
practice: This involves all professional
activities of journalists pertaining to news gathering, processing, and
dissemination.

New media:
This includes the different forms of electronic communication that are made
possible through the use of the internet and its related technologies, such as
world wide web (www), E-mail, Usenet, IRC, Telnet, Multimedia, etc.

Radio
Niger Minna: This is a state owned Radio
station in Minna, Niger state