ASSESSMENT OF AUDIENCE PERCEPTION OF MEDIA COVERAGE OF APRIL 2011 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

ASSESSMENT OF AUDIENCE PERCEPTION OF MEDIA COVERAGE OF APRIL 2011 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

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Background to the Study

Development in all its ramifications is a product of peace. Society without unity, peace and understanding between and among its inhabitants cannot boast of development. Peace is integral and very central to the development of any nation. Development is simply an increase, improvement, and growth for the better. Development is a self-generating and self-sustaining phenomenon. Therefore, development is conceived in human term as the maximum satisfaction of basic human needs of adequate and decent food, water, electricity, shelter, education, modern social infrastructural facilities (Development administration, 1998, Yunusa & Okene, 2008).

The word ‗media‘ comes from the plural of the Latin word medium and it is used as a collective noun to refer to television, radio, newspapers, magazines, films, the international networks (internet) etc. The media, in both specific and general terms (the Newspapers, Television, Magazine, radio, social media and the internet as a whole) has always played and is still playing very prominent role in national growth and development. Media helps to develop societies by gradually changing and making them to become more advance, greater, stronger, larger, successful and impressive entities.

Apparently, media exert a powerful influence on its audience, their actions and inactions; also exert same on the perceptions of the world around them. The role of the media is to report and disseminate authenticated and objective information. This information must be factual, accurate and balanced and fair representation of divergent views, to allow the audience or larger public to make well-informed choices (Coffman et. al, 2006) and judgment. The media plays a wide range of roles in our lives. Some of these roles are constructive and some are destructive.

Media is often described as a double-edged sword. When employed positively, media can become an instrument of conflict resolution and a catalyst for peaceful change. However, when employed as a means to propagate intolerance and hatred, and to incite violence, media becomes a negative force among efforts to foster peace (Coffman et. al, 2006). It has remained an indisputable fact that the mass media or media of mass communication are among, if not the most effective and powerful means of disseminating information all over the world. Countries that are seen to be powerful or developed are perceived as such, largely owing, among other things, to the powerful media they possess and control (Bello, 2005:177).

Media owners and professionals decide what they think the public or some target audience want to see and hear. A common journalistic principle is: ―If it bleeds, it leads.‖ That means violent conflict will be headline news, not news of cross-cultural dialogue and understanding. The media mostly covers conflict, not peace building. This tendency to cover conflict and violence distorts reality and leads many people to think that conflict is pervasive and peace is abnormal. History has shown that the media can incite people toward violence. Hitler used the media to create an entire worldview of hatred for Jews, homosexuals, and other minority groups. Rwanda‘s radio RTLM urged listeners to pick up machetes and take to the streets to kill what they called ‗the cockroaches.‘ Broadcasters in the Balkans polarized local communities to the point where violence became an acceptable tool for addressing grievances. The media‘s impact on the escalation of conflict is more widely recognized than the media‘s impact on peace building (Bratic and Schirch, 2007).

Journalism does not need justification for its existence. Its service to society is justification in itself. Journalism can not only help to distribute information but also counter hate-speech and create an environment of balanced opinions, and information equilibrium. For

the media it can be problematic to find a balance between preventing harm caused by speech and protecting individual expression. Being able to find this balance however is important especially in conflict situations. Responsible journalism does not just re-publish press releases but is truly concerned with a truthful, balanced and fair account of events (Kuusik, 2010). In order to achieve this journalists have to stay clear of judgemental representations and describe reality without embellishment. If democracy is to work properly, society needs access to news and information; analysis of the status quo, debate, practical information and exchange as well as entertainment are needed and provided by the media (Kuusik, 2010).

Experience has shown that mass media in Nigeria since independence have dissipated much of its energies in creating political dichotomy among diverse ethnic nationalities rather than building consensus, broadening policy dialogue, raising aspirations, setting agenda as well as widening the horizon of the membership of Nigeria society. The facts remains that, most media operators, proprietors and practitioners in Nigeria have not only grossly mislead, misdirected and misapplied media resources but have also failed to bring the good potentials offered by the mass media to bear on national development (Okoye, 2009:321).Whatever the society in which the media operates, certain basic factors are responsible in the way they influence changes and development. Every medium has a message, it has a target audience, it aims at influencing changes and decisions, and it also influences attitudes, perceptions and general behaviour.

A professional and vigorous media is a very central component for stable plural democracies. As the fourth-estate of the realm; the media acts as agenda setter, gatekeeper, peace promoter, watchdog, policy maker, diplomat and the guardian of interest. Revealing abuses of state authority and defending the democratic rights of citizens. In this regard, it is assumed that strong and well-grounded democracies are less prone or vulnerable to conflict (ISAI/ IMS, 2004:9). Thus, conflict is the source of a vigorous and dynamic society. A society without stress, internal tension, rivalries, disputes, or discords seems to be unimaginative, uncreative, and unproductive (Nwanko & Nzelibe, 1990:253).

Conflict is an inescapable factor in human life. According to Imoh (2008:33) it is neither a positive nor a negative phenomenon. It exists in various forms and intensities between persons, groups, and nations. The complex and heterogeneous nature of individual attitudes, behaviours, and perceptions precipitates the human inability to coexist without conflict. Conflict may be either beneficial or destructive to the people and communities involved. But whatever the outcome of a conflict, the process assumes a dynamic path which, in retrospect, provides avenues to knowledge enrichment and experience acquisition for dealing with future events (Nwanko & Nzelibe, 1990:253). According to a recent finding, ―at least one fifth of humanity lives in countries experiencing significant violence, political conflict, insecurity and societal fragility. Such conditions form a major obstacle to development, with lasting implications for societal well-being. No country affected by violence or fragility has achieved a single MDG target. Countries with major violence have poverty rates more than 20 percentage points higher than the average‖ (Preis and Mustea, 2013:2).

Conflicts do occur at various levels and in various forms. According to Adeyanju (2004:70), these levels include intrapersonal, interpersonal, intra group, inter group, intra organizational, inter organizational. On the basis of their causes and effects, conflicts may be classified as communal, institutional, ethnic, family, gender, intergenerational, interpersonal, intra and inter group, labour, armed, environmental, technological and personality. Conflict can be seen as positive because it can lead to positive result, changes or decisions that lead to improved relationships between two conflicting entities or parties involve in the conflict. Many scholars and researchers agreed that conflict is a severe form of crisis (Gusau, 2005:17), and looking from the realist lens inter-group or intra- state, conflicts are inevitable. This is essentially because the state is made up of groups that are defined by, among other variables, ethnicity, religion, politics, class, socio-economic problems and aspirations. These groups, as in the case of this study are heterogeneous with competing and consequentially, conflicting interests and values. Besides, society is dynamic and changes -weather economic, political or social- all these are major sources of conflict (Gusau, 2005:17).

Journalism can play a role in escalating conflicts, which also demonstrates the potential for positive purposes. The media have the power to defuse tensions before they even reach a critical point and keep a critical eye on government, opposition and society. Apart from international media covering conflicts, local media are a recognized part of society with the ability to accelerate and magnify fears or reduce them. By supplying credible information and reaching a large audience, the media help in managing conflicts and promoting democratic principles. In the aftermath of a conflict, reconciliation and societal development can be encouraged as well.

Statement of the Research Problem

The nature of political disorders/competition in Nigeria has reached the stage of mass participation among the bulk of Nigerians who are not literate in the acquisition of education, but that does not mean they are by any means of no political weight. This frequent occurrence of ethno-religious crises has remained a source of concern to the government and the citizenry.

According to Abah, Okwori, and Alubo (2009), Kaduna experienced 24 Muslim- Christian conflicts between 1977 and 2002. The conflicts of 2000 were particularly bitter, resulting from an attempt to introduce Sharia law as a governing principle in the state. The accusations are always borne out of misperception as well as misconception of the role of the media in the society. There is also the lack of sufficient and accurate, independent and balanced coverage by the media in the society. The lack of professionalism in the media has seemingly fuelled rumours and misperception in conflict times with often disastrous consequences. This research seeks to identify the crucial role media can play in preventing or reducing conflict in our society. Religious leaders, conflict and peace mediators or managers have for too long neglected the role the media can play in society before, during and after any violent conflict by exposing to the society the risk of such conflicts which are often avoidable and their pains mitigate able. There is a serious need for re-awakening in Nigeria on insecurity due to careless, inconsiderate and insensitive role of media in our society.

​​​​​​​Objectives of the study

The main objective of this study is to examine the Analysis Of Audience Perception Of Media Coverage Of April 2011 Presidential Election.

The specific objectives for this study are therefore:-

1. To find out the extent of audience exposure to media messages on conflict management and reconciliation.
2. To determine the perception of general audience on the role of media in conflict management and reconciliation.
3. To investigate the extent to which both local and foreign media of communication impact on conflict, peace and reconciliation.
4. To examine the perception of pressmen, religious leaders, peace and conflicts practitioners on the role of the media in conflict management and the implication of such conflicts to security and national development.
5. To provide recommendations on the best media practice(s) during any violent conflict.

​​​​​​​Research Questions

The aim and objectives will be achieved through the use of the following research questions.

1. What is the extent of audience exposure to media messages on conflict management and reconciliation
2. What has been the general audience perception of the role of media in conflict management and reconciliation
3. What is the impact of local and foreign media of communication on conflict, peace and Reconciliation?
4. How do pressmen, religious leaders, peace and conflict practitioners perceive the role of the media during conflicts management and what could the implication of such conflict to security and national development

Significance of the Study

The study is significant because it exposes the value of communication on our social, economic and political life and provides information for managing conflicts in our societies. Media contents on conflicts management is hoped to influence positive social behaviour change in the interaction and attitude of individuals or groups in any given society by trying to influence positive societal values and development. The perception of the media and its content/ messages is a prerequisite to achieving peace and conflict reconciliation.

This study examines the roles of the media, before, during and after the 2011 Presidential elections and is hoped to contribute to body of literature on audience, perception, communication, media, conflict study and conflict management, electoral process and also election violence because it explored the positive and negative roles of media in election process, democracy and national development.

One of the significance of this study is that it will provoke further researches or studies on communication, perception and media in the field of peace building, conflict resolution and reconciliation by exploring the underlying causes and effects of such conflict and at the same time serve as a reference point in terms of awareness of literature and theories that support genuine media and conflict management practice, its experiment and where we are presently.

This Research also exposes the grave and negative implication of violent political, ethno- religious and socio-economic conflicts on security and national development. It will also add to the existing body of knowledge on perception of communication and their possible influences on attitudes and behaviour change.

​​​​​​​Scope of the Study

Obviously, the topic is very wide in its scope; therefore, analysis was limited only to perception study of the audience on the role media in conflict management and reconciliation in the given area, South-east states. Media is a very broad term which cannot easily be discussed in any given research of this nature with limited time and scope.   This study focuses on the perception of audience of mass media messages (readers, listeners and viewers of national and international Newspapers, Radio and Television stations) on conflict management and reconciliation as it relates to Nigeria in general and South-east states in particular.

The attempt by various media to report conflict in an objective, balanced and unbiased manner was examined. However, due to the limited time and resources only issues relating to the subject were discussed. This study focus primarily on the perception of the audience on the role of media of communication in conflict management and reconciliation, the types of messages communicated during conflicts, and the reaction of audience to such messages during and after the 2011 post elections in South-east states..

​​​​​​​Justification for the Study

The world has shrunk and no doubt we are in the global village as was earlier predicted by Marshall McLuhan in the 1960s. It is interesting to note that beyond the ordinary value of information, democracy cannot thrive without free and independent media of communication to provide checks and balances to institutions and governments at all levels. Likewise, the media cannot be effective in maintaining peace and preventing conflict if they are not responsible by being free from all sorts of sensationalism, propaganda and biases in their coverage of events or situations. In post conflict situations and peace building, reconciliation is a key component, a key element in preventing the recurrence of violent conflict. Recognizing the importance of the emerging conflict prevention paradigm, this study examines the utility of reconciliation processes in areas of latent or potential conflict for preventing conflict manifestation.

Since independence in 1960, Nigeria has witnessed several ethnic and religious disturbances, which are so devastating and have resulted in colossal loss of lives and massive

destruction of property. Recently, after 2011 general elections some states were terribly affected by political cum religious violence. These have ravaged the societal wellbeing of Nigeria and the study was necessitated, as it focus more on finding and suggesting long-term and feasible solutions for conflict management and reconciliation.

​​​​​​​Definitions of Terms

Audience: Audience includes all those who are actually reached by particular media content or media ‗channels‘. Audience can be defined according to the relevant media and content or in terms of their social composition, location or time. The audience can exist as an imagined 'target' or intended group of receivers. Media audiences are not fixed entities and may only be known after the event as statistical abstractions (e.g. 'the rating'), with a known probability of recurrence.

Conflict management: this refers to intervention or efforts towards preventing the escalation and negative effects, especially violent ones, of on-going conflicts. These conflicts will then are reduced, curtailed, downgraded, coped with, especially since conflict are hardly completely resolved.

Conflict: Spanler and Burgess (2005:1) States that conflict" involve deep- rooted moral or value differences, high-stake distributional questions, such as who dominate whom, fundamental human psychological needs for identity, security and recognition are often an issue as well, adding that "people will not compromise fundamental values".

Media effect: is the consequences or outcomes of the working of, or exposure to mass media, weather with intention or not. They can be sought at different level of social analysis. There are many types of effect, but it is usual to distinguish at least between effects that are behavioral, attitudinal (or affective) and cognitive.

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