FoI Act, Mass Media and the Civil Society in the Fight Against Corruption in Nigeria

This study explores the relevance of the Nigerian Freedom of Information Act (FoIA) to the fight against corruption in the country. It examines the awareness of the Act by both journalists and the civil society who need it to effectively expose corrupt practices and complement the efforts of anti-graft agencies in the fight against corruption in the country. Libertarian press theory, which advocates for total freedom of speech and of the press to operate in society, serves as the theoretical framework for the study. Descriptive survey design has been adopted, with uniform questionnaire items issued to a sample of 260 respondents comprising journalists as professionals and members of the civil society across various disciplines and professions. These have been selected using purposive sampling method within Jalingo metropolis, the capital city of Taraba State. The resulting data have been analysed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Findings reveal that residents of the surveyed population are aware of the existence and provisions of the FoIA. However, the Act has not been effectively utilized to fight corruption due to fear of harassment and intimidation, corruption among journalists who are after ‘brown envelope’ and personal interests among other reasons. The study recommends that adequate security measures should be put in place to safeguard the lives of those who expose corruption. Also, journalists are charged to put national interest first above personal interest, and desist from the act of begging for financial rewards from public office holders. This will make them to be independent, and place them in a better position to expose corruption in the country. Keywords: FoI Act, Mass Media, Civil Society, Corruption and Nigeria

Business English and Socio-Economic Transformation of Urban Societies

This paper examines the socio-economic impact of Business English in transforming urban societies. The paper is built on the Speech Act Theory. Through methodical exploration of literature, the researcher established that efficient use of Business English has the potency of creating a suitable atmosphere for business transaction. Therefore, the  researcher recommend among other things that Business English should be incorporated as part of academic curriculum in tertiary institutions to be studied as a general course and that more researches should be carried out on the subject matter so as to come up with new approaches on teaching. Keywords: Business, English, Socio-economic, Transformation, Urba

Media and Ethical Issues in Photo-Journalism

The media profession is characterized by entrants of untrained personnel or trained personnel who are not really educated. This crop of vocationally low esteemed persons, who have radically burrowed themselves into the fabrics of this noble profession, have continued to constitute aberration to the profession and bastardized the image of practitioners. Such ‘journalists’ who should conduct themselves as watch dogs of society, have ironically not only availed themselves as instruments for compromising professional standard, but have also exacerbated societal problems by using their pen to deepen disunity. What could have been responsible for this irony? Are there no existing laws in the profession that impel every member to obedience? This paper contends that there are, but outright disregard for these ethics, either because of poor education, interest or sentiments must have been responsible for the abuse. Through exploration of contents (corpus) material, the writers provide a subtitle definition to media, ethics and photo-journalism where abuses are glaring in areas such as portrayal of violence and photo manipulation. The specifically highlight political and economic manipulation of the media as bane of society. The writers suggest among other things that journalists should go back to the drawing board and observe their professional ethics in order to bring back the required sanity. Keywords: Media, Ethics, Photo-journalism, violenc

NOVA MÍDIA E DEMOCRACIA NA NIGÉRIA: UMA AVALIAÇÃO DAS OPORTUNIDADES E AMEAÇAS NO TERRENO

Democracy in Nigeria no doubt gains momentum recently. This development coincides with an era of increased access to information by the masses courtesy of the new media and its numerous platforms and communication opportunities. Today, each member of the audience who is connected to the new media can not only access information, but can also create and share same on the various platforms for mass consumption. Democracy, which entails popular participation in the process of governance benefits immensely from this trend. This study explores the role new media plays in the consolidation of democracy in the country, with keen attention on the communication channels of the 2015 general elections, where new media championed the spread of information about the election, and the aftermath of the election period that paved the way for the present administration. Anchored on the Social Responsibility Theory, the study interrogates the extent to which new media platforms liberalize the process of political communication in the country, and the opportunities and threats which they harbor for democratic consolidation. The central argument in the study is that the new media presents a useful tool in the hands of activists and concerned citizens to participate in the government of the day and effectively play the watchdog role, a privilege which, hitherto, was far from reality. Sadly, however, several abuses exist that are threatening to rubbish the opportunities of the platform such as the prevalence of hate and dangerous speech, increased intensity of lies, mischiefs, falsehood and negative propaganda, and the use of comment sections to attack, verbally assault, bully and demonize co-discussants of political matters raised in the news via the numerous online platforms. To this end, the paper recommends a ‘cautious’ incorporation of the new media in the democratic process to pave the way for more participation.A democracia na Nigéria, sem dúvidas, ganha impulso recentemente. Este desenvolvimento coincide com uma era de maior acesso à informação pelas massas, cortesia da nova mídia e suas inúmeras plataformas e oportunidades de comunicação. Hoje, cada membro do público que está conectado a nova mídia pode não apenas acessar informação, como também criar e compartilhar as mesmas nas várias plataformas de consumo em massa. Democracia, que implica na participação popular no processo de governança, se beneficia imensamente desta tendência. Este estudo explora o papel que a nova mídia desempenha na consolidação da democracia no país, com grande atenção nos canais de comunicação das eleições gerais de 2015, quando a nova mídia defendeu a divulgação de informações sobre as eleições, e as consequências do período eleitoral que preparou o caminho para a administração atual. Ancorado na Teoria da Responsabilidade Social, o estudo questiona até que ponto as novas plataformas de mídia liberalizam o processo de comunicação política no país, além das oportunidades e ameaças que elas abrigam à consolidação democrática. O argumento central da pesquisa é que a nova mídia se apresenta como uma ferramenta útil nas mãos de ativistas e cidadãos interessados em participar do governo e de efetivamente desempenharem o papel de vigilantes, um privilégio que, até agora, estava longe da realidade. Existem, entretanto, vários abusos que, infelizmente, ameaçam desperdiçar as oportunidades da plataforma, tais como prevalência de ódio e discursos perigosos, aumento na intensidade de mentiras, erros, falsidade e propaganda negativa, além do uso de seções de comentários para atacar, intimidar e demonizar os outros debatedores de questões políticas levantadas nas notícias, através de inúmeras plataformas online. Por fim, o artigo recomenda uma ‘cautelosa’ incorporação das novas mídias no processo democrático para abrir caminho a uma maior participação

Hedging and Blending of Advertising Design Elements in Nigerian Newspapers: An Aesthetic Analysis

The study made aesthetic judgments on four select newspaper advertisements employing the visual analysis approach and hedging it on subjectivity and universal validity planks of Kant’s theory. The ads were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively using a modification of the Likert scale which helped reduce the elements of background, colour, layout, typography, words and message into measurable terms. It found that aesthetic experience are better heightened with a dynamic blend of textual matters and visuals, while colours should play the role bleeding to help intensify the message rather than adding expressive ‘beauty’. Class of the consumers as influenced by content of the advertisements, context for consuming the advertisements as well as cognition were found to be very significant is saying which advertisement was ‘good’ or ‘very good’. However, all four advertisements had different level of appeals. It recommended amongst others a dynamic blend of the advertising elements so as to maximize the aesthetic experience of the individual and ultimately meaning construction and sharing. Key words: aesthetic, advertisements, ad elements, taste, appeal, meaning construction

NOVA MÍDIA E DEMOCRACIA NA NIGÉRIA: UMA AVALIAÇÃO DAS OPORTUNIDADES E AMEAÇAS NO TERRENO

Democracy in Nigeria no doubt gains momentum recently. This development coincides with an era of increased access to information by the masses courtesy of the new media and its numerous platforms and communication opportunities. Today, each member of the audience who is connected to the new media can not only access information, but can also create and share same on the various platforms for mass consumption. Democracy, which entails popular participation in the process of governance benefits immensely from this trend. This study explores the role new media plays in the consolidation of democracy in the country, with keen attention on the communication channels of the 2015 general elections, where new media championed the spread of information about the election, and the aftermath of the election period that paved the way for the present administration. Anchored on the Social Responsibility Theory, the study interrogates the extent to which new media platforms liberalize the process of political communication in the country, and the opportunities and threats which they harbor for democratic consolidation. The central argument in the study is that the new media presents a useful tool in the hands of activists and concerned citizens to participate in the government of the day and effectively play the watchdog role, a privilege which, hitherto, was far from reality. Sadly, however, several abuses exist that are threatening to rubbish the opportunities of the platform such as the prevalence of hate and dangerous speech, increased intensity of lies, mischiefs, falsehood and negative propaganda, and the use of comment sections to attack, verbally assault, bully and demonize co-discussants of political matters raised in the news via the numerous online platforms. To this end, the paper recommends a ‘cautious’ incorporation of the new media in the democratic process to pave the way for more participation.A democracia na Nigéria, sem dúvidas, ganha impulso recentemente. Este desenvolvimento coincide com uma era de maior acesso à informação pelas massas, cortesia da nova mídia e suas inúmeras plataformas e oportunidades de comunicação. Hoje, cada membro do público que está conectado a nova mídia pode não apenas acessar informação, como também criar e compartilhar as mesmas nas várias plataformas de consumo em massa. Democracia, que implica na participação popular no processo de governança, se beneficia imensamente desta tendência. Este estudo explora o papel que a nova mídia desempenha na consolidação da democracia no país, com grande atenção nos canais de comunicação das eleições gerais de 2015, quando a nova mídia defendeu a divulgação de informações sobre as eleições, e as consequências do período eleitoral que preparou o caminho para a administração atual. Ancorado na Teoria da Responsabilidade Social, o estudo questiona até que ponto as novas plataformas de mídia liberalizam o processo de comunicação política no país, além das oportunidades e ameaças que elas abrigam à consolidação democrática. O argumento central da pesquisa é que a nova mídia se apresenta como uma ferramenta útil nas mãos de ativistas e cidadãos interessados em participar do governo e de efetivamente desempenharem o papel de vigilantes, um privilégio que, até agora, estava longe da realidade. Existem, entretanto, vários abusos que, infelizmente, ameaçam desperdiçar as oportunidades da plataforma, tais como prevalência de ódio e discursos perigosos, aumento na intensidade de mentiras, erros, falsidade e propaganda negativa, além do uso de seções de comentários para atacar, intimidar e demonizar os outros debatedores de questões políticas levantadas nas notícias, através de inúmeras plataformas online. Por fim, o artigo recomenda uma ‘cautelosa’ incorporação das novas mídias no processo democrático para abrir caminho a uma maior participação