Abstract
This paper examines the patterns of media ownership in Nigeria. It analyzes the impacts of ownership patterns on media freedom and professionalism. It argues that the media ownership climate in Nigeria is very cloudy, and not conducive for optimum operations, especially for private media. Government uses its regulatory agencies to frustrate media freedom. The scenario is not a lot different from centralized control. Government is urged to encourage free enterprise and allow a level playing field for private and public media firms.
Introduction
Mass media are a creation of technology. They have moved on for ages spurred by technology. New media technology herald each age in human history ever since man perfected the art of writing. As creations of technology, mass media have become an integral as well as an indispensable aspect of human society. A society without the mass media is unthinkable. The world owes the mass media great gratitude for making social, worldwide interactions possible. The place of the mass media in modern mass society is easily clear.
Interestingly, most societies have spent huge amount of time and resources to work out effective system for using the mass media. Some societies have, however, left the media at the whims of rulers as they come and go. The mass media will remain a useless lot unless there is an effective system to harness and use them as instruments of social communication.
The concern therefore is examining and analyzing patterns of media ownership in Nigeria in a bid to draw useful conclusions. This will help establish a correlation among media ownership, media freedom and professionalism.
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