CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Two powers which make modern society different from the previous one are the power of industrial technology and mass media of communication, of which the newspaper is a part when Dexter (1964) made this statement, little did he know that the mass media of communication will create some problems for modern society.
However, this news and information from the mass media has never flowed in a balanced way. It has always been lopsided – this imbalance in information flow has been one pertinent issue both in international and national communication in the global scale, the information imbalance has reached the stage, according to Nwosu (1986) when “a demand for adrastic change I the present pattern of information flow between and among nations should gather momentum.
The third world nations are complaining that “not only is every little said about them but also that every little said about them but unfavourable’. (Masmond,1979). Such information about the third world is usually about disaster, crime, coup detect tribal war. Etc.
This unequally distributed and badly used information /news made some see the reason to demand for the new world information and communication order (NWICO). So far, so much effort and resources are being spent in the call for NWICO. The demand of the third world of which Nigeria is a part, for a balanced flow of information, is perhaps best delineated and forcefully argued in the so-called NWICO (mgbemena & Onwura, 1980).
Moreover, the western nations go to any length to defend their nations. Stephenson (1990), for instance, argued that “the attention given to disruptive news in the third world is characteristic of all, media system, particularly those of the third world it self.
In re – affirming what Stephenson said, meil (1990) says that if western journalism is quality of bias, sop is journalism all over the world. He said apply that “certainly much global coverage can be said to contain basis –but all reporting can be so indicated”. However, are the allegations of the western nations right? It is a fact that Nigeria is an outspoken nation among the third world nations demanding or this new balance and free flow of information between two parties.
The result of some researchers and expressed opinions did not exonerate Nigeria from the imbalance flow of information, which it accuses the western media of. After all, imbalance flow of information has the same ill consequences, whether it is at international or inter – national levels. Imbalance within a nation is equally unacceptable as imbalance between nations (Agba,1997) one may ask, what is the situation of Nigerian journalism? Is it guilty of imbalance flow of information among and between different sectors of the country.
1.2 THE ROLE OF NEWSPAPERS IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT
The print media of which newspapers is an outstanding parti-plays an important role in rural development. According to general system theory, which has an important influence on system level analysis of mass media effect, “social system’s usually change their structures to higher level of complexity (development) (cawallader, 1968). This process of elaboration according to general system theory “is a result of information exchange element of social systems” (DEUTCHE,1968).
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