CHAPTER ONE

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

1.1       Background to the Study

Science and technological reporting is a form of specialized reporting in Mass Media whose history in Nigeria is not researched. The Mass Media in Nigeria generally give less attention to the coverage of science and technology development when compared with other beats such as politics, sports, commerce, crime, economy, education etc (Williams & Clifford, 2019).

In every newsroom, reporters are reluctant to take assignments dealing with science and technology. Most experienced journalists feel that science is invading the mass media or intruding into their newsroom while science reporter are considered as rare people who undertake “odd” jobs not included in the mainstream reporting (Ryan, 2019).

However, the Nigerian media are being compelled by external forces into covering an area ignored for a long time. They have found themselves embarrassed when, for instance, officials in the ministries of health, agriculture research, science and technology request for meaningful coverage (Venue, Amorin&Massarani, 2018).

In most cases, the media still continue themselves to speeches by ministers or those made during special ceremonies. Even in such cases some of the speeches are written by experts who use technical language, the fear of which results is inadequate reporting omission of important information. There are also examples when various organizations or groups dealing with science beats send press release on their activities to the mass media and invite journalists to interview the heads of such organization (Nelkin, 2017).

The dearth and poor coverage of science and technology news by the Nigerian Mass Media are partly attributed to the kind of journalism education offered in region. Journalists and communication educational institutions pay very little attention to science reporting in their programmes. Students with science background are often considered as unusual candidates for journalism training institutions, especially of the pre-university and undergraduate levels, include in the curricula courses in History, Philosophy, International Relations, Law, Administration, Government, Economics and Sociology. There are hardly courses in Science and Technology reporting except recently that attention is being given to it (Williams & Clifford, 2019).

So, most practicing journalists were not properly prepared to deal with issues of science reporting. They have simply found themselves in a world that is being rapidly overwhelmed by science and technology issues. The ability or desire to deal with science and technology issues declines when journalists find themselves covering politics, courts, sports, commerce, education, economy, and related events, which seem to make headlines or front page news (Bauer, 2012).

The situation is made more complex by the fact that most scientists consider it almost unethical to be quoted in the mass media which seem to be the domain of politicians. Thus, the few journalists who are interested in the field have dealt with the reluctant and unwilling sources of information. The result of this is that issues on science are technology are under-reported in our mass media (Geopfert, 2017).

Nigerian mass media audience are denied their rights to know the trends and development in the areas of science and technology. Hence, such trends and development pass without catching the attention of journalists whose duty is to inform, educate, entertain, mobilize, and integrate them on daily occurrences and development.Nigeria as a developing country needs more science reporter, who will through their news reports, articles, features and programmes arouse people’s interest in the science and technology fields. It needs the science writers for the reports and analysis on local and foreign scientific analysis on local and foreign scientific inventions in Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Agriculture, Communication industries, Medicine, Aviation, Computers, Aerospace, Subterranean etc. and how they affect the lives of the people (Williams & Clifford, 2019).

This study is geared towards an exhaustive assessment of the attitude of Nigerian journalists to science and technologyreporting, a study of Yabatech Herald Newspapers. It sets out to answer the question on why the Nigerian journalists show indifference in their attitudes towards science and technological reporting when compare to their attitude to other areas or beats. This is in contrary to what is obtainable in other developed world.

 

 1.2      Statement of the Problem

Science and technology reporters in Nigeria are not many and some of our journalists do not show interest in this new field of reporting. This specialized area of reporting is still new, unpopular among Nigeria journalists. Many Nigerian journalist shy away from this area and prefer beats such as politics, sports, economy, courts etc, to science and technology beat. This results in under-reporting of developments, events and science and technology in the country. The mass media audience in Nigeria have the right to be adequately informed on issues and developments in science and technology in the country and the outside world. And, it is the duty of journalists to keep people abreast of new developments on every aspect of human endeavor (Ryan, 2019).

On this note, this study intends to look at the attitude of Nigerian journalists towards science and technological reporting. It is to unravel whether the difference behavior by Nigerian journalists to science and technological reporting is positive or negative. It will also examine the circumstances that make the attitude of Nigerian journalists negative or positive as the case may be.

 

 1.3            Objectives of the Study

            The primary objective of this study is to examine the attitude of Nigerian journalists towards science and technological reporting. The specific objectives of the study are:

1. To examine why the Nigerian journalist shows an indifferent attitude to science and technological reporting.
2. To examine the problems of Nigerian journalist in science and technological reporting with a view to knowing whether the problems influence their shaky attitude to science and technological reporting.

• To determine why science and technological reporting has not become popular among the Nigerian journalists at a time when their counterparts in other parts in the world have made significant advancement in this beat.

 

 

 1.4      Research Questions

These research questions are guided and were extracted serve as objectives for the researcher in the course of this study. The research questions are as follows.

 

1. Why did the Nigerian journalist show an indifferent attitude to science and technological reporting?
2. What are the problems of Nigerian Journalists in the areas of science and technological reporting?

• Why is science and technological reporting not popular among the Nigerian journalists at a time when their counterparts in other parts in the world have made significant advancement in this beat?

 

1.5             Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study intends to examine the attitude of Nigerian journalists towards science and technological reporting with reference to Yabatech Herald Newspapers. This study could have covered the whole media firms in Nigeria but was limited to the above study location as a result of financial constraint, time and some logistic problems. The researcher could not afford enough finance to widen the scope of the study and visit the study locations regularly so as to generate much data. Time also have its share as this study was carried out during the period of lectures.

 

1.6       Significance of the Study

In this study, the researcher has set out to examine attitude of Nigerian journalists towards science and technological reporting with a view to highlighting the inherent problems encountered by the Nigerian Journalists in science and technological reporting.

This study is timely and interesting because Nigeria as a developing country requires much of application of science and technology to stimulate the desired development. Also one of the ways to popularize the knowledge of science and technology in Nigeria is through the mass media. This implies that journalists in Nigeria mass media must be involved in the promotion of scientific and technological knowledge in the country if that knowledge must grow and properly be utilized in the country.

Since, science and technological reporting is still unpopular among Nigerian Journalists, this study aims at finding out why it is so, the best approach to understand the reason behind the lack of interest in science and technological reporting is by studying Nigerian Journalists’ attitude towards this very important area or beat.

This study is important because its outcome will assist the media executives to understand Nigerian Journalists’ plight towards this beat of reporting at this jet-age, cannot be over emphasized.

In addition, the result of this study will assist the media houses to re-order their priorities in terms of ensuring adequate coverage of events and achievements in the fieldof science and technology.

This study will also benefit our policy makers and how they make allocation of funds. Nigeria spends huge percentage of its annual income towards the promotion of scientific and technological fields and growth of the nation and without adequately keeping the masses abreast of the new developments would not be a healthy development.

Finally, this study will also help to serve as literature to individual or corporate bodies who want to carry out further research on the role of accounting in the control of public expenditure in Nigeria.

 

1.7         Operational Definition of terms

Nigerian Journalists: theseare the people trained and are actively involved in informing, educating and entertaining the people in the mass media.

Development: a multi-dimensional process involving changes in structure, attitudes and institutions, as well as the acceleration of economic growth, the reduction of inequality and the eradication of absolute poverty (Todaro, 2016)          

Attitude: way of feeling or behavior of Nigerian Journalists to science and technological reporting.

Science: knowledge acquired through systematic observation and testing of facts and assumptions.

Technology: this refers to application of scientific knowledge in industry for creation of materials and machines.

Science and Technological Reporting: This means reporting science and technology issues in mass media for the ultimate benefit of the media audience and stimulation of national development.

Beat: specific area of coverage to a trained journalist for a period of time to enable him attain efficiency.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

 

2.0       Preamble

Science and technology have always played an important part in man’s existence from time immemorial. Even though our ancestors may not had called their knowledge and