The 2012 Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Anti-Subsidy Removal Strike Action and Its Implications for Development Communication

This chapter focused on the national strike organized by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) at the dawn of the year 2012 to protest the removal of petroleum subsidy in Nigeria and it explored its implications for development communication. By using documentary research method, the study reviewed relevant literature and discussed the findings. In line with the theoretical framework on which the study is anchored, it observed that the media are powerful medium for carrying development messages to the grassroots. Besides, it also performs watchdog function so as to make the government responsible to the people and allow them to participate actively in the development processes. Therefore, the chapter recommends that government at all levels in Nigeria should ensure adequate participation of the people in the initiation, planning and execution of development projects and policies.

A Review of Theoretical, Conceptual, and Methodological Issues in Public Health Communication

This chapter attempts a review of the dominant issues relating to theoretical, conceptual and methodological directions in public health communication discourse. Through a combination of descriptive and meta-analytical reviews, the chapter analyses evidences from past studies in the field of public health communication with the aim of summarizing findings in order to find a clear path for future direction of research in this area. There is, therefore, efforts in the chapter at reviewing the major theoretical foundations that have driven scholarly discussions in this field from individual to interpersonal, community and institutional perspectives. The chapter also discusses wide raging conceptual issues relating to reproductive health, maternal mortality, child survival, mental health, infectious diseases as well as accident, trauma and emergency. Diverse methods used in studying public health communication were also reviewed in the chapter.

Don't Talk Back!

Founded on the philosophy of advancing the course of democracy and acting as a stimulus for socio-cultural transformation at the community level, community broadcasting provides access to the public sphere by making its audience the main characters in the production and dissemination of its messages thus serving as a platform for the expression of the divergent views and opinions that exist at the community level. But almost a century after broadcasting was introduced to Nigeria as part of British imperialism, this grassroots form of broadcasting is yet to fully take off. Starting with a broad examination of public service broadcasting, this chapter discusses the state of community broadcasting in Nigeria, using Habermas' concept of the public sphere, and recommends its improvement given the crucial roles of community broadcasting in the society.

Rethinking Media Engagement Strategies for Social Change in Africa

Media engagement is a powerful strategy of achieving development outcomes in society. This has resulted in the deployment of different media platforms and processes (including the mass media, community media, mediated media and social media) by development agencies for social change. This chapter examined the imperatives for and the diverse approaches by development organizations in mobilizing the media for social change in Africa. While such media engagement processes have contributed to influencing public and media agenda in line with organizational mandates, they also heavily integrate corporate promotion and individual organizational positioning. Our analysis demonstrates the absence of a collective media engagement strategy aligned with the overarching global and continental development goals among development agencies. Drawing on insights from contemporary development frameworks such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Agenda 2063 of the Africa Union, the study calls for a rethink of existing media engagement approaches in achieving social change in Africa. It also recommends actions to enhance issue positioning and advocacy journalism.

Media Campaign on Exclusive Breastfeeding

Research has proved that Exclusive Breastfeeding is vital in achieving optimal infant and child health, growth and development; and so there have been media campaigns in support of the initiative. This chapter explored the relationship between the media campaign for exclusive breastfeeding and mothers' decision to comply based on Symbolic Interactionism, Diffusion of Innovation, Social Responsibility, and Gate-keeping Theories. The questionnaire survey, conducted among 400 mothers in Anambra state, Nigeria, revealed that despite the enormous benefits of exclusive breastfeeding that have been well established and enormous campaign which has created tremendous awareness on the need to exclusively breastfeed babies, social structure of communities and social interaction within the community influence mother's perception and acceptability of the message. The study, therefore recommends that view of the opinion leaders and people with decision-making power should be sought after to know their stand on the issue of exclusive breastfeeding. Appropriate communication strategies should be developed to get their support for the idea since they are the custodians of the culture and have great influence on the people.

Evaluating the Development Potentials of Community Radio

Most developing nations lack the means of disseminating worthwhile information required for physical and human development. This, particularly, has contributed to the issue of marginalisation and low development Africa. This study, examined the development challenges facing most Third World countries, the media options available, and identified community radio as most vital to development. The study utilized the Democratic-Participant and the Development Media theories and evaluated the effectiveness of community radio through literature search, interview, observation, and empirical survey of the programming and operations of the University of Lagos community radio. Findings indicated that community radios are efficient means of carrying development messages to the grassroots. This idea is realized through participation in conception, packaging and communication of information. This in-turn serves to engender community development process through the provision of localized information, training and skills. These qualities delineate this radio form as distinct from other media form.

In Search of Women-Supportive Media for Sustainable Development in Nigeria

As women all over the world keep advocating for the advancement of women's rights and allied matters, it becomes imperative to undertake relevant reviews. In line with this thought, this chapter investigated the likelihood of women-supportive media's coverage on two incidents: The Ugborodo women's protest of 2002 in the Niger Delta as well as the anniversary of International Women's Day in 2015. Interestingly, women from all over the world chose the same year to resolve on Planet 50-50 as a landmark commemoration of the Beijing Platform for Action, BPFA of 1995. Guided by the social responsibility theory of the media, the research methods used were both qualitative content analysis and in-depth interview. For content analysis, two national newspapers currently edited by women, The Sunday Punch and Saturday Punch newspapers were examined to ascertain the selected titles' reckoning for women's issues. Interviews were also conducted with women in the media, academia and civil society groups. The findings revealed that the selected newspapers, though edited by women, still needed some support to ensure inclusivity as it concerned women.

New Media Technology and Development Journalism in Nigeria

News consumption today is not the same as pre-satellite era when people waited for their newspapers or wait for an appointed time for the evening news on television but now people tune in to events happening around the world through 24-hours television news channels. More recently, readers, viewers and listeners are going online for their news. Television, newspapers and radio are still in Nigeria but there is a growing competition from interactive online media. The high technological revolution has significantly altered the way the public obtain its news and information, and has deprived the mass media of its traditional monopoly. Today various computerized sources are regularly being used in media organizations. This chapter seeks to explore how the new media technologies are helping journalists in gathering, packaging and dissemination of news on economic development and the challenges being encountered by the journalists in the use of the new media technologies.

Media Regulation and Freedom of Expression in Black Africa

Since the 1990s, Black African states have been subjected to endogenous and exogenous political pressures which have compelled them to variously adopt a number of pro-democracy reforms. Though lauded in a number of quarters, these sweeping political reforms have merely been on paper. This is so as, cardinal democracy indexes such as freedom of expression, press freedom, freedom of thought and political pluralism among others, have remained more a myth than a reality in these countries. Using a comparative analysis of the political situation in Cameroon and Nigeria, this chapter argues that press freedom and liberal democracy are still mere ideals, not yet backed by evidential political will in both countries. The same multifaceted abuses of the press still prevail in the two states. This chapter however, underscores the vibrancy and political maturity of the Nigerian press which differentiate it from its counterparts in other African countries, notably in Cameroon.

Confronting Africa's Economic Downturn Through Broadband Investment

This paper examines the prospect of broadband infrastructural investment by African countries in the light of the current economic recession. It observed that oil reserves unlike before can no longer sustain economies as it is evident in some oil producing African countries presently undergoing economic recession. The paper further observed that Broadband Infrastructural investment has been employed as a counter-cyclical tool to create jobs and provide the foundation for economic recovery and long-term sustained growth by most countries that once experience recession. Hence, having observed that, there are compelling statistics which show that there is a correlation between broadband and economic growth, the study is of the opinion that broadband infrastructural deployment in developing countries especially in Africa can help guaranty speedy recovery from economic recession and help ensure sustainable development. However, to ensure maximum return on investment, there is need for a robust Broadband Investment Policy Framework.