User:Amdauwal2014/sandbox

NEWS WRITING AND REPORTING By A.M.D Auwal
'''NEWS WRITING AND

REPORTING

'''

AHMAD MUHAMMAD AUWAL

'''CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION  News: A Conceptual Clarification''' News as a concept has no universally agreed definition. Due to its elusive nature, the term “news” is said to be a “new story.” Scholars have provided definitions of the concept from different perspectives and points of views. Before delving into the crux of this work, it will be germane to trace the origin and background of news in Nigeria and the universe as a whole, thereby identifying the wide-ranging perspectives.

Brief Historical Background of News The original sense of news was “new things.” Since the 15th century, news has been used to mean “tidings;” “the report of recent events,” “new occurrences as a subject” or “report.” According to Shrivastava (2003:1-2) “the concept of news have existed even before the beginning of the era of mass media.” The author adds that “before the era of newspapers and electronic media, news was communicated by word of mouth.” Though, the practice of news writing is very old, the word “news” as we have it today, is relatively recent. Within the English community, the word first appeared as “newis” in 1423 and later changed to “newyes” in 1485. Because of its importance and the extent to which it travels, news was originally spelled as “newes,” the term that first appeared in a London paper – the Weekly Newes, in 1922. The word “news” as we have it today is an embodiment of four letters, often described as representing the four cardinal points of the world (compass): North, East, West and South (N+E+W+S = NEWS). This interpretation was given to the term due to the relevant and important role it plays in giving account of events happening within all directions of the world.

Scholarly Perspectives on News Over the years, efforts have been made by communication scholars and media practitioners to define this concept. Researchers have given varying postulations of what news is. However, there still has not been a single definition of the term that tends to provide solution to its elusiveness. Shrivastava (2003:2) buttresses this assertion when he points out that; “today, there is no universally agreed definition of news.” Woleseley and Campbel (1957) add that; “whole books have been written in an effort to explain news, but there still is no concept for description of it that satisfies the world of mass communication.” This investigation seeks to examine the varying definitions of the concept as provided by communication scholars and media practitioners. According to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2005), news is defined as “information about important or interesting recent events, especially when published or broadcast.” The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary made it clear that news is anything important and interesting that has happened or occurred recently. On the other hand, for an event to be reported as news, it must be published or broadcast through the various channels of communication such as, radio, television, newspaper or magazine. The Microsoft Encarta Dictionary says news is “a communication on current event which is presented by print or broadcast, internet or words of mouth to a third party of mass audience.” The opinion of Encarta Dictionary on news tries to explain or clarify the fact that for a story or information to be news, it has to be coded in a form of message usually transmitted through the channels of mass communication, capable of reaching a large number of audiences, often referred to as “third party.” From the view point of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), news is defined as “the report of an event which not only the reporter but also, the editor considers good enough for publication.” NAN identifies news as anything the chief editor, the print or broadcast reporter considers as vital and significant for public consumption. This further explains the gate keeping role of the media in the dissemination process of news; where worthy stories are selected, while worthless ones are rejected. Not all the events covered are newsworthy or acceptable for publication; the editor does his or her job through the screening and approval of the worthy stories before publication or broadcast. By these, the media limits the information we receive as news through its roles of editing, selection and rejection before dissemination. Defluer and Everett (1988) posit that news is “a report that presents a contemporary view of reality with regards to a specific issue, event or process.” From these scholars’ perspectives, news must be a reality, something specific, so as to prevent the reported event from misleading or misinforming the target audience. Richard Roth, a New York based correspondent of Cable News Network (CNN), defines news thus: “news can be many things but news is something we (journalists) think that the general public would find important.” Roth’s definition is centred on the important and significant values attached to an event. Many things happen daily which the general public might be interested in knowing about, the general public only gets such when these stories are considered news worthy by journalists. What the journalists consider significant is what gets through the media. News is an accurate, unbiased account of the significant facts of a timely happening that is of interest to the readers of the newspaper that prints the account. Unbiased, timely, significant and factual reports are more preferable and interesting to the general public than biased and stalled reports. Okoye (2006:3) defines news as “the timely and factual account of an interesting event which the public must know because it is important, as it helps them to live their lives meaningfully.” News makes life more meaningful. A society without information will be deformed, demeaned and destabilised. News is an accurate account of the unusual and unique facts that are of interest to a large number of people. Public interest is one of the most important determinants (elements by which news stories are evaluated) of news. The accuracy of facts in a news report is an important element of consideration in news writing and reporting. Unusual and unique events tend to gain more attention and interest from the wide reading and listening public than events happening frequently. A newsworthy story must be accurate, must interest the public, and must affect a large number in the society. Akinfeleye (2011:9) states that “just like the word ‘journalism,’ definitions of news are as numerous as those that writes news.” Akinfeleye defines news as; “an account (story) of what the public wants to know, what it ought to know, what it must know and have the right to know.” Journalism satisfies the curiosity of man and his need for news through its frequent reportage of happenings within our immediate society and beyond. Man always has the curiosity to know of events happening within and outside his community, state, nation and the world at large in order to be informed, enlightened and educated. News is what the general public wants to hear about. It is what they must know and have the right to know. News is an unusual and unexpected happening that shocks, amazes, arrests and affects a large number of people. When people are involved and affected in large number with an unexpected, amazing and or shocking scenario, it attracts others to find out how it happened, when it happened and why it happened, and it makes news. Mencher (1984) cited in Sambe (2008:16) defines news as “information about a break from the normal flow of events, an interruption in the expected.” Obstruction in the normal setting of a community or society makes news. It would make the biggest headline on the front pages of almost all the Nigerian dailies if for example, the year 2014 does not witness either rainy or dry season. Folarin (1998) cited in Wakeel (2010:12) sees news as “the account of any real happening that may have an interest for, or effect on people such as accident, fire, crime, celebration, and so on.” Mac Dougal (1982) in Wakeel (2010:13) argues that; “nothing is news, no matter how important or when it happens until it is reported.” Idemili (1987) cited in Wakeel (2010:12) summarises the central idea running through these definitions, indicating that “news must be something of interest for significant number of readers, viewers or listeners.” Hodgson cited in Wakeel (2010:13) defines news as the “first disclosure (in the mass media) of any story, fact about an incident or event no matter the circumstances.” Charnley (1966:31) defines news as the “timely report of facts or opinions that hold interest or importance, or both for a considerable number of people.” Coates (1980:125) of the University of New Mexico asserts that news is “what interests the readers, the viewers, the reporter, the editor, the producer, their spouses and their neighbours. News is what affects their diets and their lives.” News serves as the first diet to many people in the society. In Northern part of Nigeria for example, the first thing majority of people wake up to do at 06:00am is to switch on their radio sets and tune to Voice of America (VOA Hausa) to listen to morning news. At 06:30, they tune to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Hausa) to have its own version of the news. At 07:00am they tune to Radio France International (RFI Hausa); Deutche Welle International (DW Hausa) between 07:30-08:00am. Whether educated to the average level or not, they listen to news from these international broadcasters in their native language (Hausa) to be informed on current happenings not only in Nigeria but the regions from which those stations operate and the world at large. This, they do routinely on a daily basis to serve as their first diet. Akpunonu (2010:109) says “radio news transcends both language and illiteracy barriers because it is translated and broadcast.” Itule and Anderson (2007:129-130) buttress that:

People get up in the morning and want to know what happened since they went to bed. They read a morning newspaper, turn on the morning news or check the Internet. They switch their car or office radios to the news during the day to find out the latest happenings. When they get home, they turn on the evening news, read a newspaper or go online for a recap of what happened during the day.

Bodgart, cited in Wakeel (2010:12) more than a century ago, uttered the famous dictum; “when a dog bites a man (depending on who he is), it is not news, but when a man bites a dog, that is news.” Bodgart’s perspective dwells on the prominent and eminent status of personalities who are involved directly or indirectly in an event or occurrence. Some individuals are socially, economically and politically ahead of others in the society. People of the high class in society are given more priority than the poor and those of the lower class. It would make news when a dog bites the Secretary to the Federal Government or a Local Government Chairman because of their political status, and as members of the high class in the society, than when a truck-pusher or an orange hawker falls victim of such. Sam Zelman (1980) cited in Akpunonu (2010:11) is of the opinion that “news is what people need to know, and what they want to know, because of its impact on the society.” In essence, news constitutes the main but not the sole content of newspapers. The definitions of news are as many as the thousands of journalists we have in every county. In fact, every journalist has his own way or method of defining the term “news.” ''' CHAPTER TWO

AN ASSESSMENT OF NEWS TYPES

Straight News''' According to Ogunsiji (1989:29), straight news story is “the product of the usual routine reporting. Most of the stories published in our commercial newspapers are straightforward.” Straight news are reported objectively and anchored on facts. Ogunsiji adds that “the reporter adds or subtracts nothing from the facts on which the story is based.” In a similar note, Ogunsiji (1989:29-30) state that “straightforward news may be hard or soft news or human interest news.” Moreover, he adds that “straightforward news may be further classified into the categories of expected and unexpected news.” Okoye (2006:4) assert that “straight news is a story which has no embellishment. It is also called hard news.” To corroborate this view, this chapter would attempt an exposition of Ogunsiji’s classification of news.

Hard and Soft News Stories Itule and Anderson (2007:12-13) observes that “in today’s media-conscious world, news comes from many print, electronic and broadcast fronts. Sometimes news is bad; sometimes it is good. It can be hard; it can be soft. Most media strive to present a mix of hard and soft stories.” Accordingly, they remark that “a news story can be hard chronicling as concisely as possible the who, what, where, when, why and how of an event. Or it can be soft, standing back to examine the people, places and things that shape the world, nation or community.” Levin (2000:18) further lends credence these scholars’ view, thus: “hard news which is also called straight news is strictly factual reporting of news that is current and important while soft news is less current, entertains and informs while appealing to the reader’s emotions.” Hard News As the name describes hard news stories are reports on serious and timely events on important topics describing major crimes, fires, accidents, speeches, labour disputes, political campaigns or crisis and natural disasters, among others. Hard news is also referred to as “serious news.” Dominick (2007) cited in Asemah (2011:95) says, “hard news is news of important public events, such as government actions, international happenings, social conditions, the economy, environment and science. It has significance on a large number of people.” Timeliness, public interest and conflict are of immense importance in weighing hard news stories.

Soft News These are stories about trends, fashion, entertainment, personalities and lifestyles. The time element is not too emphasised in writing soft news stories. The main feature all soft news stories have in common is that, they interest and amuse the audience. Dominick (2007) cited in Asemah (2011:96) buttresses that, “soft news stories are entertaining and the audiences like them.”

Expected and Unexpected News Stories Burns (2002) cited in Asakitikpi (undated) categorizes news into two namely, expected and unexpected news. He adds that, expected news is a term used to describe the everyday events that journalists cover. These news items are made known through media releases, invitations and other forms of advance notice. Unexpected news on the other hand is used to describe the news that is collected as a result of regular monitoring of law enforcement institutions (such as police stations, court and so on) and government institutions (such as the Presidency, House of Assembly, government offices) and so on.

Expected News These are stories about scheduled events which are fixed in advance and usually prepared for. For example, wedding, convocation, birthday, festival, sporting events, symposium, conferences, among others. All these are classified as expected news stories because in some cases, invitation for such events are sent to the media to actively participate and gather information to write reports on. Expected or scheduled events include press conferences and news briefing organized by some government officials, ministries, agencies and parastatals to address certain issues of public concern on government policies and implementation.

Unexpected News These are stories of events happening unexpectedly. That is, no knowledge of such events before they happen. These include; plane crashes, crises, riots, earthquakes, deaths of prominent persons, murders, droughts, rapes, and several other forms of natural disasters. Unexpected news constitutes all those events that occur suddenly without any prior notice being given. Scholars have given different postulations on the classification of news reports. Levin (2000:18) postulates that news can be categorised into hard and soft news. Burns (2002) classifies news stories as expected and unexpected while other scholars classify news as follows:

i.	Straightforward news stories which is further broken into; a.	Hard news. b.	Soft news. c.	Expected news. d.	Unexpected news and e.	Human interest news. ii. Investigative news stories Investigative news reports as defined by Nwabueze (2009:93), is “that branch of journalism which consists of digging deep into happenings, events and developments to expose that which some people would prefer hidden.” Similarly, Nwabueze (2006) cited in Nwabueze (2009:91) notes that investigative news reporting is the “more aspect of reporting” because of the following reasons:

It makes a story more factual, more intriguing, more revealing, more complete, more credible, more controversial, more far-reaching, more result-oriented, more informative, more persuasive, among other ‘notes’ it provides. In fact, in investigative reporting, the more you ‘look’ the more you ‘see’.

This genre of journalistic writing has been described as “confrontational journalism” which deals with exposing unethical, immoral, and illegal behaviour by individuals, businesses and government agencies, involving complicated, time-consuming and expensive fact-gathering process to get to the root of an issue. Investigative news stories hinge on the pursuit of information that has been concealed. Investigative stories therefore require the digging out of facts. Asakitikpi (undated) identifies investigative news reporting as one of the major duties of a journalist when he note that; “one of the major duties of a journalist is to be a civic watchdog and achieving this often demands investigation and in-depth work.” Itule and Anderson (2007:397) buttress this assertion further when they state that; “all reporters are investigators who are trained to ask questions, uncover information and write the most complete stories possible.” According to Ansell et al (2002) cited in Asakitikpi (undated), the definition of investigative journalism comes out of the traditional view of journalists as ‘watchdogs,’ whose mission is to sniff out wrongs, point fingers at those to blame, and report in a way that brings about change. According to them, investigative reporting reveals scandals, shames and corrupt individuals. It uncovers secrets somebody wants to keep hidden. Randall (2000) cited in Asakitikpi (undated) states that:

Investigative reporting deals with original research into wrongdoings that go on in the society. The core of investigative journalism is to uncover information that is in the public’s interest.

Digging of facts to uncover and unravel hidden truth is the rationale for investigative reporting. Ansell et al (2002) cited in Asakitikpi (undated) itemise the following as elements of investigative reporting when they states that:

Investigative reporting has the following elements: investigative reporting is about digging deeply into an issue or topic; it is a process, not an event; it is original and proactive; it should produce new information or put together previously available information in a new way to reveal its significance; it should be multi-sourced; because of its in-depth nature, it calls for greater resources, team work and time than a routine news reporting, among others.

Investigative news stories go beyond the daily reports we read, watch and listen from the news media. They provide the public with all it needs to know pertaining issues, events or topics.

iii. Interpretative news stories Nwabueze (2009:83) defines interpretative news as; “an exposition and insightful presentation of the insideout version of news events in the society.” She adds that, “this form of reporting could be linked to an onion which is seen as one hold from the outside but when the inside is seen, several layers are exposed.” Investigative news creates room for media writers to analyse events, issues and topics based on facts available to them and the opinion of people involved in the issue or event being analysed. Shrivastava (2003:170) buttresses this fact thus: “attempt in interpretative story should be to use logic and background knowledge, conscious efforts should be made to keep personal bias away from the report.” In writing investigative stories, the reporter ought to use the opinion of experts while discussing an issue. Here, Shrivastava points out that:

The reporter uses facts available to him – interviews, opinion of experts and people involved in the issue being discussed, evidence in documents, and so on to support analysis and synthesis of the topic of discussion.

Interpretative stories require additional facts, detailed explanations and logical analysis. Nwabueze (2009:83) asserts that:

The interpretative aspect of journalism consists of giving meaning, significance and relevance to issues or developments in the society. It broadens the scope of news presentation; provides insights into the news behind the news.

Interpretative journalism involves the journalist’s ability to give meaning to daily events and its effect or impact on the receiver and their future. MacDougall (1963) cited in Asakitikpi (undated) posits that “the job of a reporter should not be limited to describing to the audience the what, who, when, where and how of a news event.” He adds that; “the reporter should be able to explain the why aspect of the issue being reported as well as the event to other events.” In a similar note, McNair (1998) cited in Asakitikpi (undated) explains further that:

For the journalist to be able to interpret the news he must be able to understand the news also. To understand means more than just the ability to define the jargon used by persons in different walks of life.

The intent of interpretative journalism is to provide clarification on issues that appear as confusing and controversial to avoid misinterpretation and misrepresentation of facts by readers, listeners and viewers and to enable them respond actively and knowledgeably to the directives of messages presented to them. Nwabueze (2009:85) buttresses this fact when she states that; “interpretative news does the basic job of enlightening the audience and providing an informed platform for the audience to make judgement about issues and development in the society.”

iv. In-depth news stories This is a complete quality news reporting. In-depth news needs full treatment and it needs backgrounding. It requires creative thinking and deep imagination on the part of the reporter and writer. Most news magazine stories are usually in-depth stories and there is little difference between an in-depth story and investigative story. In-depth stories are other forms of media analysis and debates on issues and events. In most cases, newspapers and magazines provide these kinds of news reports.

''' CHAPTER THREE

NEWS VALUES

Elements of News''' “News values,” “news determinants” and “news elements,” are terms used interchangeably to mean the elements considered in determining news worthy stories before being covered and disseminated. News values, like the definitions of the term, exist in varying perspectives. This book identifies and subsequently elaborates on the following news determinants.

i.	Timeliness – Timeliness is the most important of all news determinants. Breaking the news first determines the level of patronage a media outfit gains from its target audience. News, like fish is better fresh. Delayed news report is stale news. Bawul (2008) cited in Asemah (2011:93) agrees with this fact when he states that, “news is meant for immediate consumption by readers. Any delay in getting the story across to the readers may make it stale or useless.” News is a highly perishable commodity. Every medium competes to be first with the news. That is, every news organization tries to report the news first so as to gain and sustain public trust, patronage and credibility ahead of its competitors. Therefore, good news must be current; it must be something new and an event that has just happened.

ii. Human Interest – The news that affects many involves and calls the attention of many. Human interest is a significant determinant in news evaluation. Human interest stories are sometimes humorous, sensational and breath-taking. These are reports that touch human feelings and arouse emotions in persons who read them. For instance, a vast majority of Nigerian students might be more interested and curious to read details of news headlines such as “ASUU STRIKE: FG to Open Varsities With or Without ASUU Next week,” “ASUU Suspends NEC Meeting Over Iyayi’s Death,” “TUC, NLC, ASUU Meet President Jonathan to Decide Tomorrow,” “ASUU Holds NEC Meeting Tomorrow,” “ASUU, VCs Meet Today to Decide,” “ASUU Suspends 5-months old Strike,” among others appearing in any of the Nigerian dailies than the interest they may have in reading sports and other entertainment news stories despite the fact that majority of people attach more interest to reading the latter. Hence, in 2013, when the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarked on the over 5-months old strike, students showed special interest in knowing about the resolve of the union (ASUU) simply because the strike action affects not only a hundred but thousands of Nigerian students. In other words, students’ emotions were affected by the strike action. Many commented angrily on news reports that presents what did not appeal to their emotions. As at then, students used all sorts of abusive words on the federal government’s lack of concern and commitment towards improving the standard of education in Nigeria.

iii. Proximity – The closer an event is to us, the more interest we develop in knowing deep about such event. Sambe and Utor (2004) in Asemah (2011:93) clarify this fact when they state that, “stories about events and situations in one’s home community are more newsworthy than events that take place far away.” They state further that proximity is relative and it is either geographical or psychological. Geographical proximity means the nearness of the event to the reader in terms of physical distance. Whereas, psychological proximity on the other hand refers to the emotional attachment a reader has to the human beings involved in the events. Nigerians living within or outside the country for example will naturally show utmost concern to knowing about the Bamanga Tukur’s led People’s Democratic Party (PDP) crisis which resulted some members breaking up to form a new faction – ‘new PDP’ who subsequently joined the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the last quarter of 2013 than any political or administrative crisis in far Liberia, Syria or Somalia. In other words, an event that takes place in Lafia, the Nasarawa state capital for example, will be reported as a newsworthy story by the Nasarawa Broadcasting Service (NBS: Lafia and Keffi stations), Nigerian Television Authority (NTA: Lafia, Akwanga and Keffi stations), and Precious FM Lafia, and might also appear as top story in the state’s local dailies such as Eggon News, Nasarawa Express, among others because it is believed that the local communities of Lafia and Nasarawa state as a whole will be more interested in knowing about such an event even if the state’s surrounding communities like Kaduna, Plateau, Benue and FCT may consider such event as worthless. In a nutshell, the people of Plateau state for example, will be more interested in stories about the activities of their local government chairmen and members of the state’s House of Assembly because the activities of these individuals directly affect them than they may affect the people of Nasarawa and Kaduna States.

iv. Impact – This news determinant, otherwise known as significance, magnitude or consequence of an event also counts as an element in news evaluation. Uwakwe (2005) cited in Asemah (2011:95) posits that, “significance implies the importance of an event.” Uwakwe adds that, “stories concerning epidemics, disasters and the likes will certainly be of interest to the people who will be affected directly or indirectly.” Impact examines the worthiness of an event by considering to what extent such event affects or may affect the majority positively or negatively. This element determines the number of people affected or involved in scandal or the numbers likely to be affected. For example, consequence examines the number affected by earthquake, with a possibility of rise in death toll. An imminent outbreak of diseases that endangers the lives of women and children would also receive attention from journalists.

v.	Prominence – The involvement of prominent individuals in an event adds to its news value. Rabiu (2010:30) notes that; “eminent and prominent people are notable.” He adds that, “they are like houses upon a hill: visible to all but not accessible to all.” For example, when the late Nelson Mandela of South Africa fell sick, it was news all over the world simply because of his heroic contributions to South Africa as a an anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist who was considered an African nationalist and democratic socialist and his vibrant contributions to other international communities. The same applies as at December 5, 2013 when he died. The world over, the news of his death was transmitted as the leading story of the day on radio and television stations, and was published as a headline story in newspapers, magazines and the Internet at local, national and international levels. Some news organizations even extended the story through the week. Almost all of the world’s broadcast organisations suspended their scheduled programmes as at December 15, 2013 to show the live coverage of his burial rite to pay tribute and to show last respect to the gone hero. If it happens to the Mayor, it is bigger news than if it happens to the Monitor adviser. The public cares more about celebrities and prominent personalities in the society. If President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria goes jogging, reporters take pictures. If a farmer goes jogging, dogs bark, but no one else notices. There is the saying that “man pass man.” Even though men and women are created equal, some end up growing to be more newsworthy than others. An event which happens to a poor man may not draw the attention of the journalist, but if the same event happens to a prominent person, it becomes newsworthy. For instance, if the wife of the President or a Senator gives birth to a child today, the whole country will hear it, but if the wife of a poor farmer gives birth to her 18th child, it will not be heard, unless the child has four legs.

vi. Unusualness – Unusual events are unexpected, in some cases, these events appear to be extra-ordinary. Unexpected events make big news. Nwabueze (2009:11) notes that “people get excited when they read news about unusual events.” She adds that, events that are unusual or that are different from routine experience also get classified as newsworthy. Anything unusual, according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English (2005), means “something different and therefore interesting and attractive.” Unusual news stories are interesting and attractive. Asemah (2011:94) clarifies that “anything that makes somebody to stop and stare, is likely to be the unusual and therefore, makes news.” he adds that, if a man of twenty years old rapes a woman of seventy, it is strange and will draw attention. It would also be attractive and interesting to read when a newspaper presents a report stating that a man eats grass. It would appear unusual because grass is known to be eaten by animals. The same goes if a newly born baby is reported to have a complete set of teeth or if same baby starts walking from day-one.

vii. Conflict and Controversy – Conflict by its nature, holds a forceful attraction for the mass media. Owens-Ibie (2002) cited in Ijeomah (2009:92) succinctly states that; “the media are naturally attracted to conflicts.” According to him, conflict is hard to talk about without engaging the emotions of the discussants. Stories on war, crises, politics and crimes are the most commonly found in our dailies. People may want to know about anything that has to do with crisis. Nearly every story on each of the daily newspapers front pages are reports on conflicts and controversies. Conflict is a central feature of most news stories in Africa. The western media like Cable News Network (CNN), British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Voice of America (VOA), among others cover news stories about crises, wars, hunger and poverty in Africa than good or positive news. Sometimes it is physical, as in wars or sports; sometimes it is more subtle and sophisticated like political conflicts. Asemah (2011:93) notes that; “dramatic conflicts occur in four basic definitions: man versus man, struggle between individuals, women fighting for their rights, conflicts between person kicking against a particular action.” Similarly, Nwabueze (2009:9) observes that; “stories about controversies, quarrels, disagreements, frictions, challenges, struggles against odds, and so on get attention of reporters as newsworthy events, issues or topics.” Instances of recent events that attracted great attention from the mass media at local, national and international levels around the world include; the mass protest by Nigerians in almost all the states and streets of the federation, which followed the removal of fuel subsidy in January, 2012. This was considered an issue of national interest in the country. The public protest in Egypt for and against Mohammed Morsi which followed his removal from power and the suspension of the country’s constitution in July, 2013 by the Egyptian army chief General Abdul-Fatah Al-Sisi and the students’ protest over water scarcity in the campus of Nasarawa State University in February 2013 which led to the killing of innocent students and the subsequent closure of the University for months, are events that gainfully won the attention of pressmen at all levels and were considered newsworthy and reported frequently by the media because these events possess elements of conflict and controversy in them. These, on the other hand, are political and economic crises events that affect the interest of the majority. From the foregoing, it is pertinent at this point to clarify that for an event to be ranked or considered newsworthy, it must possess at least, two or more of these elements because they determine to what extent an event makes impact in the society to be either positive or negative. Therefore, reporters, whether for print or broadcast evaluate news stories differently. CHAPTER FOUR

SKILLS IN NEWS WRITING

The A, B, C of News Writing Unlike essays, articles, editorials, columns, features, and other forms of artistic and creative writing, news is an objective form of writing which defies subjectivity and the injection of opinion. As a news reporter, one needs to be factual, which means basing one’s stories on the best facts you can find. A reporter ought to select facts carefully and arrange them skilfully so as to communicate effectively. In news writing, “accuracy,” “brevity” and “clarity” are expected of a good reporter. These are otherwise, referred to as the ABCs of news writing. The first and most important is accuracy. A news story can be creative and compelling, but if it contains errors, it is worthless. Actually, it is worse than worthless; a false news story undercuts the public trust necessary for the survival of a free press. Similarly, Ogunsiji (1989:26) remarks that; “accuracy is the pillar on which every story rests. A news story can be regarded as accurate if all names, ages, addresses and direct quotations in the story are accurate or correct.” Sambe (2008:27-28) further buttresses this assertion when he stated that; “get a fact wrong, misspell a name or omit a vital piece of information and you not only can distort the truth and misinform the public, but you can damage the credibility of the story.” Sambe adds that; “as a reporter, you have a lot of power. What you write can influence decisions, help form public opinions of people and contribute to the general attitudes of your readers and life in general.” Sambe concludes that; “accuracy thus has two faces: factual corrections, that is, getting it right and credibility which is getting it right with the readers.” Black et al (1995) cited in Sambe (2008:47), similarly comments that; “accuracy means ‘getting it right.’ It is an essential responsibility of individual journalists and news organizations.” The scholars emphasize further that; “indeed, accuracy and fairness speak to the obligation of providing meaningful information to the citizens who depend on its quality, authenticity, and lack of bias to understand issues and to make important decisions.” The public needs unbiased information to make intelligent choices in the voting booth. This is critical to the process of democracy in our country. If the public loses faith in the accuracy and fairness of press, just like the present situation in Nigeria, loss of faith in democracy will soon follow. Enemaku (2006:63) posits that “no matter how gifted and talented a reporter is, accuracy is a basic requirement.” According to him, “if a talented reporter becomes better known for his figurative expressions than for his accuracy in figures, description, and so on, then there is a problem.” A reporter’s job is to find out what is going on and then write a story that is interesting and informative using accurate and confirmed facts and figures. Most newspaper readers, it is believed, buy newspapers primarily because they want to know the truth; not just to know how talented reporters are. Enemaku adds that if newspaper readers were more interested in genius or creativity rather than accuracy or the truth, they would most preferably go for the writings of Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe, Ben Okri, among others, instead of reading the dailies. It is because they want to know the exact situation on the ground; the undiluted truth, that they look into the page of newspapers and magazines. Brevity says “don’t be redundant.” This suggests doing away with excessive statements. For example, Do not say, “8am in the morning,” since 8am is in the morning. Just say 8am or say 8 in the morning. Put the most important fact in the lead (first paragraph). Redundancy in writing makes your expressions boring. Clarity starts before you write. It starts with complete, competent reporting. You should as a reporter, understand your subject so completely that your story leaves it crystal clear in the reader’s mind. Clarity implies that your story should leave no questions unanswered. Sambe (2008:28) clearly explains clarity in his terms when he states that; “we don’t use big words and longs sentences to show our readers how smart we are.” He adds that; “newspaper readers are pressed for time. You have to give them the news quickly, concisely and without a lot of extra words or information they don’t need.” Explain anything that would not be understood to the average person. Don’t use abbreviations such as; APCON, CIA, NIMS, NMA, NIPSS, NIPR, among others without providing their full meaning so as to be easily understood by an average reader. Clarity on the other hand depicts going straight to the point; avoid beating around the bush. Stories in newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the internet compete for readers’ attention and seek to leave in them, clear understanding of the messages disseminated. In a nutshell, objectivity in news writing also counts as a major supporting element. Objectivity here connotes detaching yourself from the news report and paying premium to professionalism. Ciboh and Iorkyaa (2004) as cited in Sambe (2008:48) succinctly pinpoint this fact when they state thus: “for a news story to be objective, it should be presented without shading, slanting or tainting, it should be served to the audience without personal bias or outside influence.” Sambe (2008:47) supports this fact as he asserts that:

Journalists, whether reporting for electronic or print media are expected to eschew tendencies such as ethnicity, ownership, political bias and other primordial preferences to affect their accurate and fair presentation of news.

Okoye (2006:4) says:

News is both factual and objective. By being factual is meant that news must be true in every material particular. Objectivity means that all sides of the issue are presented for the reader to judge things for himself. If news is not factual it becomes a hoax and therefore not journalistic, since journalism is not concerned with figments of the imagination but creates reality. A good and well-written news story ought to be free from reporter’s verdict or judgement, free from editorialization, unfamiliar jargons, distortion of facts and libellous statements.

Editing as a Need in News Writing In view of the above, scholars posit that editing (the activities of checking and cross-checking) of news stories to ensure the correctness of facts and grammatical and other errors has its own role to play in news writing. Editing as contended by Rabiu (undated) is the “process of checking a reporter’s copy to make it suitable for publication and, where possible, improve it.” He adds that “journalistic writing, too often, is done hurriedly, and it is wise that the copy be gone over as carefully as time permits. As he notes, editing provides the polish.” Sambe (2010:9) enumerates that editing is the “art of ensuring correctness of a written matter through the checking and cross-checking of its level of compliance with acceptable standard.” Nwosu (1996) cited in Sambe (2010:13) states that:

Editing involves so many activities that involve correcting the language, improving the style of the original copy, checking for and removing all kinds of typographical and other errors, making sure the copy is in line with the editorial policy of the media organisation.

In buttressing the relevance of editing in the activities of news writing towards ensuring effective communication, Rabiu posits that; “the reporter should not let time or pride of authorship seduce him into printing anything he has not thought or felt through. Necessarily, he writes with feeling and edits with care. He avoids the temptation to overwrite.” Rabiu further says “audiences, the consumers of journalism, are the targets of mass mediated messages.” According to him, the reporter therefore, writes for them appealingly despite their varying educational levels. Rabiu concludes that the reporter uses tight phrasing not stuffy ones brimming with awkward details. The reporter strips stories to their essential information – simply conveyed. Sambe (2010:10) posits that some factors explain why stories are edited. Among these, he asserts, is to “correct errors such as typography, wrong use of tenses and misuse of punctuation marks committed as reporters write in hurry to meet their deadlines.” He adds that editing is also done to “ensure background and adequate stories: that is, providing additional informative, useful and better understood facts and to add latest information to stories to ensure recency.” Ogbuoshi (2003) cited in Nosike (undated) identifies the following seven reasons why editing is necessary in news writing, thus:

Editing is necessary for correctness: that is, editing to correct weak sentences, wrong spellings; editing for grammar; editing for accuracy of facts; editing for balance; editing for safety; editing for clarity and editing for style. Nwabueze (2011) cited in Nosike (undated) states that “no matter the nature of a story, its newsworthiness and relevance to the readers, poor editing could mess it up or even give an opposite meaning to the message the publication wants to pass on.” Akpunonu (2010:114) supports that “a station is trustworthy if it reports accurately, to achieve this, check and cross-check in order not to broadcast untrue information. Be prudent. If in doubt, seek advice.” From the foregoing discourse, it can be summed up that a news organisation (mass media) can woefully lose its credibility, integrity, patronage, and would have the likelihood of losing its viewership, listenership and readership whenever its reporters and editors fail to observe these news writing basics.

The 5Ws and H	Journalists monitor the society to source and write stories on the ongoing events based on facts available. Facts are selected carefully and arranged skillfully so that the story flows logically. Every news story must answer the “5Ws and H” such as; “Who,” “What,” “When,” “Where,” “Why” and “How.” Akpunonu (2010:109) asserts that “the basis of news gathering has to answer what happened, where it happened, who made it happen and to whom, when did it, why did it and how did it happen.” These questions are mostly answered in the first paragraph (the lead) of a news story. If all questions following the 5Ws and H are answered coherently in the lead, they pass across the central message contained in the body of a news report. This helps in giving the reader clear picture and understanding of the story context without having to read from the first to last sentence of the news story. The 5Ws and H constitute the kernel of a news story.

The “Who” – Who is or was involved? This means the people involved in an event. It seeks to know who they are, and how important they are so that they could be emphasised in the stories accurately. The “What” – What happened? This question seeks to tell the reader the action in question, that is, what happened? What is the major action which may have led to other actions or grievances? For example, was it an attempt to impeach the PDP National Chairman which led to a break up in the party leadership? The what could be the central message in the story, especially if it is more striking than the resulting grievance.

The “When” – When did it happen? The question “when,” seeks to provide answer to the time, day, month, or year an event took place. The news value of timeliness is hinged on this question.

The “Where” – Where did it happen? The question “where” brings out the location of an event. It could be hospital, office, home, hotel, stadium, street, and school, among others. The where specifies the geographical location the event took place.

The “Why” – Why did it happen? Why clearly explains the reason behind an occurrence or action. That is to say, what led to an action. If it is students’ protest for instance, is it because of hike in school fees, lack of facilities on campus or water scarcity? This adds more meaning to a story and makes it more informative.

The “How” – How did it happen? This question explains the pattern or the way an action took when it happened. Students’ protest caused as a result of hike in school fees could take the pattern of highway road-block or students could deny the Vice Chancellor access into the campus premises. A well-written news story with the best lead, could answer all questions following the 5Ws and H in the first paragraph. For instance, the news lead below answers the 5Ws and H questions thus:

Calabar 2014: “Coach urges Kogi Govt. to invest more in sports” Sefiya Onubaye, the Assistant Coach, Kogi State Sports Council, on Thursday urged the state government to invest more in sports to boost the state’s performance in national tournaments. From the above, “Sefiya Onubaye” is the “who.” The action is the statement she made, “urging the state government to invest more in sports” which answers the question “what.” The time which she made the statement was “on Thursday” which provides answer to the question “when.” “Kogi state” was the place or location where she made the statement which provides answer to the question “where.” Whereas, the reason behind such statement was “to boost the state’s performance in national tournaments,” this goes further to provide answer to the question “why” which gives more clarification on the reason behind such statement urging the state government to invest more in sports. Wikipedia (2013) states that all news reports need to contain the famous “5Ws and an H.” In other words, a story should tell the reader who, what, where, why, when and how. Wikipedia explains further that the report should tell who it’s about, what it’s about, where and when and where it happened, why it happened, and how it happened. From these, an average reader could easily capture the message contained in the whole story by reading from the lead, without reading full details of the story in successive paragraphs. CHAPTER FIVE

ROLES OF PRESS IN THE SOCIETY

The Press The term “press” is used to refer to both categories of the media; the print and electronic. The press has been variously defined by scholars of mass communication among which is referred to as a collective means of communication by which the general public is kept informed about the day to day happenings in the society. Hence, the press is a collection of organs of communication and information dissemination that reaches out a large number of people.

Obligations of Press in the Society The roles of the media or press as a strong institution for national integration, nation unity, peaceful co-existence and national development cannot be over emphasised. Its functions cut across religious, political, economic and the social institutions in every society. The media, if used effectively and coherently, can contribute immeasurably to the sustenance of growth and development of a nation. In the world of today, the well-being of most societies depends solely on how effectively their media operate. Press to the society, is what food and water are to the survival and well-being of man. The media have in the past helped significantly in the integration of diverse societies, not just that, the media have also helped in the pursuit of liberty and independence of societies from external oppression. Media are the “mirrors of the modern society.” In fact, the media are shaping and will continue to shape our lives and societies in different ways, as they educate and provide us with information which in turn becomes very useful in all facets of our endeavours. Historians have noted that communication (media) is a hallmark of society. Christiana Akpunonu (2010:4) observes that “information is power. To posses information is to possess power and to kill or suppress information is to deny or rob people of power that belongs to them.” Information influences and helps people in making sound decisions, as Shramm and Roberts (1971:102) note, “People follow the news to be sensitized to available opportunities and to be forewarned about possible dangers ahead.” Scholars have identified the media as performing four basic roles in the society which include; surveillance, interpretation, socialization and entertainment. Some, with a different perception, see information, education and entertainment as the primary essence for the existence of mass media in the society. These, on the other hand, are referred to as the traditional or conventional functions of the media.

The Press as a Watchdog Literally, to survey simply means “to look at or examine something, especially carefully,” or “to investigate the opinions, behaviour, of a particular group of people, which is usually done by asking questions.” On the other hand, surveillance, according to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2006) connotes “the act of carefully watching a person suspected of a crime or a place where a crime may be committed.” Similarly, New Standard Encyclopaedia Dictionary, as cited in Asemah (2011:42), describes the term as “a careful watching of someone or something usually carried out in secret or discreetly.” Surveillance as a media function refers to its news and information role. Surveillance in this context simply refers to what other scholars see as the information function which they classify under the conventional function. It is the responsibility of the media to gather facts, process them into meaningful and useful information and disseminate to the general public who may find same as interesting. The media serve as watchdogs and play their surveillance function through a close and frequent scrutiny of happenings in our immediate and far environment, thereby keeping the audience up-to-date on current issues. In its surveillance function, the press plays the role of an observer, which is a “necessary component for enforcing economic, political, cultural and moral stability” in the polity, as Mu’azu (2002) cited in Ijeomah (2009:92) postulates. Mu’azu adds that, “in this role, the media highlight aspects of society – events, people and issues which they gather as information and report as news.” Okunna (1999) cited in Okunna (2002:274) succinctly captures the information role of the media thus:

The information function of the mass media is all-embracing and indispensable for the meaningful existence of members of the public. Through their various contents, the mass media collect, store, process and disseminate messages, opinions and comments which members of the public require in order to react knowledgeably to personal, environmental, national and international conditions as well as to be in a position to take appropriate decisions.

By surveillance, the media are said to be keeping a watch on the society to fetch out latest developments and changes and later relay such to the people in the society. Yaroson and Asemah (2008) in Asemah (2011:43) explain further:

Surveillance is the collection and distribution of information concerning events in the environment both within a particular society and outside it. The journalist surveys the environment so as to know what is taking place so that he can gather news items and in turn, report to the public. The journalists are the watchdogs of the society. One positive consequence of surveillance is that it provides warning about imminent threats or dangers. Another social consequence of communication is that it contributes to the everyday institutional operations of a society.

The Press as Interpreter It is a function of the media to provide interpretation on controversial issues through editorials, commentaries and columns, so as to clarify and make understandable to the audience, issues that are freaky and stricken. Interpretations of contents in the media are necessary to enable the listening and reading audience make well-informed decision and to comment or react knowledgeably on issues, where feedbacks are required. Shramm and Roberts (1971:102) clarify this when they contend that; “people follow the news to be sensitized to available opportunities and to be forewarned about possible dangers ahead.” Sambe (2004) cited in Ate (2008:21) comments that:

Like surveillance, the activities of news interpretation and presentation for behaviour, when performed as mass communication, can be dysfunctional both at the societal and individual levels. On the societal level, experts believe that some activities can impede social change and enhance social disorder in a society. At the individual level, the dysfunctional role of the media is believed to create panic among individual members of the society.

Numerous issues in politics and economy require interpretation from the media. According to Ijeomah (2009:92):

Although most news stories are immediately consumable since they are made up mainly of ‘poetic’ materials – things that are ‘redundant’ because they derive from the material culture and are easily comprehensible, there are also issues that pertain to ‘argument’ or are ‘entropic’ – complex and requiring interpretation. Hence there is need for the interpretation function of the mass media, which is fulfilled by editorials, commentaries, and opinion articles.

For instance, the alleged letter sent to President Goodluck Jonathan on December 2nd, 2013 with the title “Before it is too late” by the former president Olusegun Obasanjo contains numerous controversial issues that need interpretation from the Nigerian media to be understood by Nigerians and to avoid misinterpretation and misrepresentation of facts. This, if not carefully analyzed by the media might result into tension at local and national levels among Nigerians. The interpretation role of the media is very necessary to clarify doubts and create understanding among readers, and if not interpreted, some messages might not effectively pass the intended information and might be subject to different misrepresentations as readers tend to have different kinds of understanding and perception on issues. This function gives birth to what we have today as a form of journalistic writing known as “interpretative news writing or reporting.”

The Press in Socialization The media are believed to be major forces in the socialization process in every society. Mass media transmit values within a society, particularly the modelling of behaviour and attitudes. Socialization, according to the International Student’s Edition of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (2006) is defined as “the process by which somebody, especially a child, learns to behave in a way that is acceptable in their society.” Therefore, the media have a major role in the modelling of people’s behaviour and attitudes through their aired programmes. Daramola (2005:95-96) analyses the role of the mass media as major social forces in the socialisation of societies, thus:

The mass media are very powerful socializing agents as they reach large, heterogeneous and widely dispersed audiences. The mass media do not only teach the individual or public the norms and values of society, but also reinforce such norms and values.

The media assist individuals in learning the rules and codes necessary to make them function in the society. Dominick (1990) cited in Asemah (2011:38) opines that:

The mass media in serving as a socio-cultural facilitator can be didactic. This means that the media teach us about people; they show us how they act and what is expected of them. Through the media, we can have role models that we begin to observe and imitate.

In essence, the media as agents of socialization serve as transmitters of values, norms and socio-cultural heritage for the public to emulate from people whom they nurture as their role models.

The Press as Entertainment Source Mass media entertain their audiences through musicals, sports, drama programmes, and in some cases, interviews with celebrities and commentaries in radio and television. The print (newspapers and magazines) on the other side, entertain with cartoons, riddles and jokes, and even puzzle games. Entertainment can also take the form of any information packaged and disseminated in such a way that it relaxes the audiences and appease their moods. Noting from their view points, Hanxy and Maxcy (1996) cited in Asemah (2011:48) support this assertion when they posit:

Entertainment refers to communication activities primarily considered as amusement irrespective of any other feature they seem to have. The media, whether electronic or print, are capable of providing amusement, diversion and means of relaxation. Through the media, the audience-members escape from their daily problems and concerns reducing social tensions.

Okunna (1999) cited in Asemah (2011:48) further lends credence these scholars’ view thus:

The functional objective of mass media entertainment is generally regarded as that of providing diversion and escape from the harsh realities of life; offering relief from the tedium of day to day existence and lessening the stress and strains emanating from a rapidly changing world.

The Press in Governance – the “Fourth Estate” The media in governance serve as the “fourth estate of the realm.” That is, the fourth pillar in support of the essential tripod of government; the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. As such, the press is assigned a role in the process of governance. Media as the fourth estate is a powerful instrument in governance. Thomas Jefferson, a one-time president of America, cited in Abati (2007) in Ate (2008:88), sums up the indispensability of the mass media in the arts and science of governance. Jefferson places the media on a higher pedestal than governance when he opines that:

The basis of government being the opinion of the people, the very first objective should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspaper or newspaper without government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.

The media in carrying out its obligatory role in governance serves as the middle bridge between those in government and the governed. It is the duty of the press to hold government accountable and to always remind government of its basic obligations to the citizens. In a nutshell, Ate (2007:2) states that “the media or press connects the government and the governed; electorate to the candidate in a democratic setting.” The author adds that the central message about media and governance is that the latter dictates the former in the society and both play complementary roles in serving the populace.

The Press as Catalyst for National Development Mass media serve as the expediter and promoter of national development. The media are described as performing the roles of information, education and entertainment. These conventional social functions the media render to the public are equally applicable in broader sense in national development pursuit. It could be said that through educating, informing and entertaining the society members, as well as the leadership of that very society, the media provide them with awareness on the importance and need to undertake certain process or processes of national development. Beltran, cited in Nwabueze (2009:120) summarizes national development as:

A directed and widely participatory process of deep and accelerated socio-political change geared towards producing substantial changes in the economy, the technology, the ecology and the overall culture of a country, so that the moral and material advancement of the majority of its population can be obtained within conditions of generalized equality, dignity, justice and liberty. Also attached to these basic roles of media is another role of persuasion, where media are seen as virile tools of applying persuasive efforts to influence people’s actions towards a particular direction. Communication is central to any human activity. Nwabueze (2009:118) points out that “with specific regards to development, the specialized form of communication involved here is development communication.” She adds that development communication is “the dissemination of development messages to a target audience often with a view to persuading them to adopt a positive attitude-change towards a development purpose at any level.” The mass media are therefore seen for their role in furnishing the public with necessary information to achieve development or change goals. To Asemah (2011:317) communication for developmental or change purpose is “the application of the processes of communication to development process.” He adds that, “development communication is the use of the principles and practices of exchange of ideas to fulfill development objectives.” Nwabueze (2005) cited in Inuwa (2007:3) enumerates that “these roles of media in national development lie in their capacity and capability to teach, manipulate, sensitize and mobilize people through information dissemination.” Nwabueze adds that:

The media chart a course for the public in line with the agenda setting theory, thereby creating in the minds of the people, issues that should be viewed as priority issues including development programmes and policies.

The media in development pursuit is known for the application of journalistic principles in news dissemination for development objectives. This form of communication is known as “development news reporting.” Shrivastava (2003:175) captures the scenario that originated this branch of journalism in the following words:

Development reporting is a relatively new concept which has emerged in the post-colonial era after World War II when a number of countries became independent. It was observed in these countries that the western media were not interested in the massive development process which had been launched after independence. It looked as if the media always looked at the darker side of life assassinations, coups, disasters or wars. Most of the countries of the third world are today witnessing a tremendous upsurge in the development activity which should not be ignored by newsmen. An instance of this role being presently played by media in Nigeria is the general Millennium Development Goal (MDG) pursuit towards the year 2015, as proposed by the United Nations and incorporated as national policy by governments of member countries around the world. The activities of Millennium Development Goal touch on different aspects of extreme poverty and hunger eradication, reduction of child mortality, promotion of gender equality and women empowerment, improvement of maternal health, combating HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases, development of global partnership and ensuring environmental sustainability, among others. The programme could also be said to be part of the globalization pursuit to which any nation left out in its pursuance and implementation stands the possibility of being alienated in the comity of nations. Other related issues include wars, famine, women and children health and rights as well as democratization activities receive prominence and greater attention from the media. The media for example, stood at the forefront in kicking against the unconstitutional move to install a third term government by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as well as its contribution towards mobilizing Nigerians to come out and vote during the April 2007 general elections, in order to enable a successful transition from civilian to another civilian rule, the first time in history of the country, which is also seen as a developmental role played by the media in Nigeria. Although there were allegations of election rigging and malpractices along the transitional course, yet the media remained dutiful by avoiding actions that could have derailed the entire motive of the transition. In identifying the importance of development communication activities carried out by the media towards ensuring a sustainable national development, Nwabueze (2009:124-126) posits that development communication at rural and national levels specifically does the following in the society:

It draws the attention of government, change agents and the citizenry to development needs in the society; it is used to mobilize the citizenry to support or participate in actualizing development policies, programmes and projects of government; it keeps the public abreast of the state of development in the society that is, by reporting commissioning of development projects such as road construction, building of schools, bridges, housing estates, dwindling state of health facilities in a nation (which require development attention); it plays educative roles and improves the capacity of the masses to utilize opportunities around them for their upliftment; it facilitates development in any society. It creates a two-way communication channel through which the citizenry make their needs known to the government; it makes the leaders – elected and appointed officers accountable to the people; it fosters the watchdog role of the press and makes the press more responsive and people friendly; and development journalism lubricates the engine of development by disseminating information that amplifies development efforts, exposes development problems, among others.

Irrefutably, the developmental roles and obligations of the media in the society cannot be overemphasised as its roles go beyond reasonable doubt.

CHAPTER SIX

EXPANDING COMPETITION GAPS IN THE NEWS INDUSTRY Competition and Challenges in the News Industry The intent of any medium is to pass information to the public, be it electronic (radio, television, and the internet) or print (newspapers and magazines, journals and books). The public needs to be aware of the current issues in the society where they live. While print media have their roots from the invention of book printing by Gutenberg in 1450, the technology of electronic media is much younger. Radio has been the first possibility to allow millions of people throughout vast geographical areas to listen simultaneously to the same messages. Now, broadcast contents are carried through the airwaves on special frequencies. These waves are captured and decoded by receiving sets (radio and television). The digitalization of these signals has been a big achievement for electronic media. You can watch television, listen to the radio and be always on the latest news through the internet, with the advent of computer. The web transports files through hypertext transfer protocols and reaches every part of the world within seconds. On the other hand, print is the earliest form of journalism, as Bittner (1989) reveals “in Europe, the first newspaper was published in Germany in 1609. The broadcast began later in 1901.” The rationale behind the increasing competition gaps in the news industry is technological advancement. This is buttressed further with Idiong’s assertion (2012:2) when he notes that “these new technologies, known in communication parlance as new media, have both complemented the traditional reportorial tools and tasks of the would-be journalists.” Compaine (2002) cited in Idiong (2012:2) identifies the expanding gaps resulting from the new technologies as “evolved from the miniaturisation and digitalization of communication gadgets that took place in the decades following the 1980s.” As a result of these processes, the scholar observes that, “the media became increasingly manipulable, networkable, compressible and interactive.” We are living in a very fast developing and globalizing world. Every development is due to modernization, improvement of old administration methods and the use of new technologies. With the improvement in electronic media and daily reports on achievements, the electronic media dominate over print media that are the oldest form of journalism. Nevertheless, the print media are still forming an important part of the media industry. It was basically said that, words printed with ink on paper that are attached in different ways, provide different kinds of information, education and entertainment. Electronic media are more technologically advanced and environmental friendly than the print media. They have the elements of immediacy, that is, electronic media report the news as soon as they happen, sometimes live; as they are still happening. On the other hand, the print has time value because newspapers and magazines are permanent records that can be retraced and repossessed anytime anywhere. Whereas, radio and television messages travel through airwaves, as such, they are transient, they go with the air, once transmitted they are gone. Today, the face of mass media is changing globally. There has been a great surge in the introduction of new and better information tools, which are increasingly complementing and in some cases replacing older traditional tools of information processing, storage, retrieval and dissemination. With the improvement in the technology of broadcasting, one can retrace the already transmitted news or programme from the websites and social network links of some broadcast organisations. You can watch on the websites or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages of NTA for example, AIT, Channels TV, Press TV, Aljazeera, CNN, CCTV, BBC, programmes and news items even before being transmitted through their channels and post comments on issues that require such. With the availability of these technologies, the radio counterparts like British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC Radio), Voice of America (VOA), Radio France International (RFI), among others provide listeners with online versions of their upcoming and already transmitted reports and programmes to be accessed and downloaded using mobile devices. In some case, you can connect your mobile phone via internet radio and listen to these radio stations. Akpunonu (2010:123) contends that:

The emergence of Internet, a global connection of computer networks, it is a direct by-product of digital technology. Additional modes of programme transmission and communication have been introduced. With the introduction of audio streaming and the Internet radio, contents are now narrowed cast to interested subscribers. Podcasting has in turn facilitating the downloads of pre-packaged content from servers for later play-back.

In support of these, Fordham (2010:994) states that:

In comparison with radio and television, the Internet has disrupted the newspaper industry’s business models in three important ways. First, the internet is capable of freely distributing news and information at zero variable cost unlike newspaper publishers that have to pay for print and distribution costs. Second, the internet has greatly expanded the field of competition in news delivery due to low entry costs, as anyone with a computer and an internet connection can distribute news. Third, the Internet has changed consumer habits so that individual buyers and seller can directly connect to the internet using free classified sites like craigslist and monster or low-cost sites like eBay.

Electronic media provide every branch of human knowledge. Surveillance, interpretation, transmission of values, entertainment and linkage mixed up with a huge amount of advertising characterize it contents. Information can be transmitted by audible (radio) or audio-visual (TV, film, internet) means. They provide speech, music, sound, silence and pictures that combine to form films. So we can say that this kind of media industry has much better ways to reach the audience than print media industry. Some advertisers now prefer using social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Whatsapp, among others to advertise products and services because they believe, these networks link people from every part of the world more than newspapers and magazines do in the modern era. Fordham (2010:944) asserts that:

The introduction of radio broadcasts in the 1920s and broadcast television in the 1950s caused the newspaper industry to face declines in circulation as consumers had access to alternate source for news and advertisers started buying airtime, rather than print advertising to reach more consumers. Although, radio and television diversified the media landscape, the newspaper industry was able to adapt to these changes and maintain its strong market position.

The advent of Internet has caused a serious loss to newspapers in revenues generated from advertising. Agreeing with this, Fordham (2010:943-944) states that, “revenue from advertising is rapidly decreasing as advertising has greatly migrated towards the internet.” Fordham adds that:

For the remaining advertisers, traditional newspapers now have to compete with new media entrants for advertising dollars to sustain their business. Thus, the internet has caused a dramatic shift in the way news is delivered and supported by advertising.

In the United States, this facet of digital communication explains why print and ink newspapers are on the verge of extinction. As Fordham (2010:940-941) notes, “the latest headline news is that many United States cities are in danger of losing their local newspapers.” Fordham adds that:

There are a number of factors that contributed to this decline, such as the newspaper industry’s detrimental reliance on its traditional business model, but there are also certain factors that are beyond the newspaper’s control, one of which is the rise of digital media.

Similarly, Mahmud (2009) cited in Salman et al (2011:4-5) asserts that:

Newspapers, especially in the West and the US in particular, have lost the lion's share of classified advertisement to the Internet. The situation worsened when a depressed economy forced more readers to cancel their newspaper subscriptions, and business firms to cut their advertising budget as part of the overall cost-cutting measurements. As a result, closures of newspapers, bankruptcy, job cuts and salary cuts are widespread. Equally, Kirchhoff (2009) cited in Salman et al. (2011:2) makes the point that:

Advertising revenues are tumbling due to the severe economic downturn, while readership habits are changing as consumers turn to the Internet for free news and information. Some major newspaper chains are burdened by heavy debt loads. As in the past, major newspapers have declared bankruptcy as several big city papers shutdown, lay off reporters and editors, impose pay reductions, cut the size of the physical newspaper, or turn to Web-only publication. In fact, both categories of media (print and broadcast) disseminate latest information on their social network pages on the Internet even before transmitting such through their channels. Fordham (2010:941) says “digital media platforms have greatly expanded the news industry so that traditional newspapers are competing with online news aggregators for news articles, readers and advertising revenue.” Fordham adds that “a newsworthy event can become headline news in a matter of minutes and be disseminated worldwide to millions of readers online.” The competitions and technological challenges in this industry are very intensive and also, within each industry, it is not easy to handle. Advantageously, electronic media allows you to send and receive the information instantly. You can watch on television, browse websites to see your favorite programmes, and so on. These technologies have also uplifted the print industry to a certain height. Today, we have some electronically based newspapers and magazines and the ones existing before these technologies emanated also have Internet versions of their publications. These are; Daily Trust, which can be accessible on www.news.dailytrust.com/; Nigerian Tribune, accessible on www.tribune.com.ng/; The Nation, accessible on www.thenationonlineng.net/; This Day, on www.thisdayonline.com/; The Punch, on www.punch.com/; The Sun News, on www.sunnewsonline.com/, The Guardian, on www.ngrguardiannews.com/; Frontline Magazine, on www.the-hindu.com/; Femina Magazine, on www.feminaindia.com; The Week Magazine, on www.the-week.com/; Voyage Magazine on www.voyage-india.com/; Sportstar Magazine, on www.the-hindu.com/tss/, among others. They provide latest information like the broadcast, but still, the electronic media are more technologically advanced and have far-reaching impact than the print. As Salman et al (2011:2) notes, “the advent of new media has posed a challenge to conventional media. Their effect, for example, is felt in the circulation of print newspapers, especially in the USA.” Salman adds that “even though the conventional media have their own online versions, they have not fully embraced the new technology.” New technologies in the media do not completely replace the older ones, but pose challenges and bring about complication and improvement to their pattern. Kenneth (2009:56-57) adds flesh to this assertion when he states that: “these better and more sophisticated means of communication did not usually lead to a jettisoning of the earlier forms; they only expanded their capacity to produce, multiply, amplify, store and retrieve messages.” Kenneth adds that, “this has been the system today, ever as modern communication establishes our enduring relationship with the past.” Salman et al. (2011:6) states:

Despite all these developments, newspapers both in the US and Malaysia will not cease to operate. In the West itself, when television was introduced, there was an outcry that radio will die off. But until today radio still exists, continues to improve and is growing on a massive scale.

Akpunonu (2010:118) pinpoints how digital technologies created far reaching gaps in the operation pattern of a broadcast medium from that of print when she postulates that:

Digital technology has made the paperless newsroom possible with softwares that manage news features and assignments and send different levels of alerts and notifications to responsible newsroom staff. She states further that, stories and reports prepared using special word processors are sent to the duty editor who picks and drops the news items into place. The news in radio is now read from prompter-like display as in TV as it slowly scrolls up.

Most of the activities carried out in today’s media are possible with these technologies which do not exist as far back in the 80s. As Akpunonu (2010:120) asserts:

Digital devices are employed to bring about profanity delays to mute, swear or undesired word from being transmitted during live programmes for up to ninety seconds in some cases without break in transmission. This kind of operation is impossible with analogue. Most of the equipment common in analogue studios have been replaced with digital equivalence but where analogue play back machines still exist, they serve as backups.

To wrap-up this chapter, it is evident to state that electronic media (radio, television and the Internet), through the newly invented technologies and advanced communication gadgets have posed serious implications and brought about challenges to its traditional counterparts (newspapers and magazines) in terms of reaching the audience first with the news and programmes. Today, these advancements have made some of these news organizations (print media) to operate electronically with Internet-based versions, striving to beat challenges posed as a result of the new technologies in the electronic or broadcast industry. These gave birth to what is known today as the “new media.” Garrison (1996) cited in Salman et al. (2011:2) sees the arrival of new communication technology as bringing with it a set of opportunities and challenges for traditional media professions such as journalism. Journalists, especially when writing for magazines, can gather news via the Internet and do their fact-checking or inquiries into facts and figures or background historical information directly from their homes or offices. CHAPTER SEVEN

Conclusion As Ogunsiji (1989:23) says, the definitions of news are as many as the thousands of journalists we have in every country. In general, he adds that, news is very relative and depends on what one thinks news is. Different events, happenings and occurrences are termed “news,” depending on how a news reporter perceives it to be. Where one reporter might take timeliness, human interest and proximity as his or her elements for determining worthy stories, another might prefer conflict or controversy, impact and prominence as his or her elements for rating news stories. For instance, a reporter from the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) might be invited, as well as, a reporter from Africa Independent Television (AIT) to cover the inauguration ceremony of the newly appointed Members of the Nasarawa State University’s Governing Council, but the angle from which the NTA reporter will begin his or her story on the same ceremony might completely differ from that of the latter. Reporter “A” might begin with providing background information on the University and the purpose of its establishment, as reporter “B” might begin his or her story by identifying the principal officers in attendance at the ceremony. News is a different thing to different people. What is news in one geographical area is not necessarily news in another. Information plays major and unbeatable roles in our society. The mutual existence and well-being of a society depends solely on how effective its media exist and operate. There is a famous dictum that; “of all those arts in which the wise excel, nature’s chief masterpiece is writing well.” It is expected of journalists to follow the rules of journalistic writing in gathering, processing and dissemination of information in order to avoid breaching of professional values and the ethical codes of journalism in Nigeria and world at large. Scientific innovations and advancement in technology have changed and affected every facet of our lives in positive and negative dimensions. Change is one of the most fundamental phenomena in human history. As Sociologists noted; “change is the process by which alteration occurs in the structure and the function of a social system.” Changes and challenges have not only been posed to the practice of journalism but all professions. As we all know, change is a natural and inevitable phenomenon that cannot be avoided by anyone and anything that exists and survives on earth. ABBREVIATIONS IN THE BOOK

ABCs of News:		Accuracy, Brevity and Clarity. AIDS:				Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. AIT:				Africa Independent Television. APC:				All Progressive Congress. APCON:	Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria. ASUU:			Academic Staff Union of Universities. BBC:				British Broadcasting Corporation. CCTV:			China Central Television. CHANNELS TV:		Channels Television. CIA:				Central Intelligence Agency. CNN:				Cable News Network. DEVCOM:			Development Communication. DW Hausa:			Deutch Welle Radio (Hausa). FM:				Frequency Modulation. FCT:				Federal Capital Territory (Abuja). HIV				Human Immunodeficiency Virus. MDGs:			Millennium Development Goals. NAN:				News Agency of Nigeria. NBS:				Nasarawa Broadcasting Service. NEC:				National Executive Council. NIMS:			National Identity Management Scheme. NIPR:				Nigerian Institute of Public Relations. NIPSS: 			National Institute for Policy and Strategic 				Studies. NLC:				Nigerian Labour Congress. NMA:				Nigerian Medical Association. NTA:				Nigerian Television Authority. PDP:				Peoples Democratic Party. PRESS TV:			Press Television. RFI:				Radio France International. TVs:				Televisions. VCs:				Vice Chancellors. VOA				Voice of America. WWW:			World Wide Web. 5Ws and H:			Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS IN NEWS WRITING AND REPORTING

Advertising:	Any form of non-personal presentation of goods, services or ideas for action, openly by an identified sponsor.

Advertising revenue:	Income generated from advertising in the 				print and broadcast media industry.

Airwaves:	Radio waves used in broadcasting through which 	coded messages are transmitted to the listeners.

Analogue broadcasting :	Ancient communication devices and gadgets used in radio and television broadcasting (VHS tapes, analogue camera, and so on).

Audience: 	Spectators, onlookers, readers, listeners, and searchers of mass media contents, whom the contents are targeted at.

Broadcast:	To transmit or show programmes, news and events via radio and television signals.

Cartoons: 	Sketches which in their own special way, comment on topical national issues. They are commonly found on newspapers and magazines also called editorial cartoons.

Column:			A piece in a newspaper or magazine written 				by a media writer on specific subject.

Commentary:	This includes editorials, opinion articles, editorial cartoons and letters to the editor.

Curiosity:	The desire or eagerness to find out details about an issue or get information related to the issue or event.

Dailies:	Newspapers, magazines and other forms of documented materials.

Digital broadcasting:	Sound and visual broadcasting with digital signal in which the signal is converted into and broadcast as a stream of digital data bits so as to eliminate atmospheric or other interference.

Dissemination:	To distribute, broadcast, publicize and circulate information widely.

Drama: 	Exciting or entertaining programmes and events transmitted on radio and television.

Editorials:	Statements reflecting the views of the media organisation on a wide variety of issues and events usually written by experienced in-house writers, on behalf of the organisation.

Ethics:	Moral codes, moral values and principles guiding the practice of Journalism.

Executive:	(Arm of government) responsible for the implementation of the legislative decision. This constitutes the chief executives – minister, directors, and other administrative heads in government ministries, agencies and parastatals.

Expediter:	(the media) as architects, implementers, enablers, driving forces, in governance, policy making and the pursuits of national  development.

Features :	An in-depth and factual write up on a topical issue which seeks to give comprehensive information in a more captivating and relaxed style than straight news.

Fourth Estate:	Used in describing the media as the fourth arm of government.

Frequency:	A wavelength on which a radio or television signal is broadcast and to which a receiving set can be tuned.

Headline:	Title of a news report, article, among other media contents.

Internet:	Global computer network that links computer networks all over the world by satellite and telephone, connecting users with service networks such as e-mail and the World Wide Web.

Jokes/Entertainment :	Messages of all kinds packaged and disseminated with the sole aim of entertaining and relaxing the audience.

Journalism:	The art of news gathering, fact finding, processing and news reporting for the print and electronic media.

Journalist:	A newspaper, magazine, radio and television news gatherer, editor, and reporter.

Judiciary:	(Arm of government) responsible for the interpretation of the country’s laws and principles 	guiding its operations. This arm constitutes courts, judges, law enforcement agencies, among others.

Lead:	The first paragraph of a news report which provide a summary of the successive paragraphs by answering the 5Ws and H questions.

Legislature:	(Arm of government), usually chosen by election, with the powers to make, change, and repeal laws. It comprises members of the federal House of Representatives, members of state house of assemblies, and the senators of the federal republic.

Mass Media:	All of the communication channels that reach a large audience, especially television, radio, and newspapers.

New Media:	Online, computers, and multimedia networking technologies, forming an integrated system which 	has implemented the traditional media.

Studio:	A room or building equipped for making movies, television or radio productions, or musical recordings.

Transient:	Used in describing the nature of broadcast media contents, lasting for only a short time and quickly coming to an end, disappearing, or changing.

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News Writing and Reporting is a seven chapter book which attempts an identification of the varying assumptions on news and subsequently discusses the classification of new (types); the criteria for news evaluation; the basics in news writing; the roles of press in our society and subsequently concludes with identification and discussion on the challenges posed to the media industry as a result of technological advancement.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ahmad Muhammad Auwal hails from Keffi Local Government of Nasarawa State. He attended L.E.A. Phase I Primary School, Nyanya (AMAC), FCT (1998-2004); Government Secondary School Nyanya (AMAC), FCT (2004); Government College, Keffi (2004-2007); Asasul Islam Secondary School, Keffi (2007-2010); and Walsam Computer Training Institute where he obtained a Diploma and Advanced Diploma in Computer Appreciation and Desktop Publishing (2007-2009). Ahmad also obtained a certificate in Computer Engineering and Maintenance from EVA Green Skills Acquisition Training Programme in 2012, respectively. He is a “Special Recognition Award” recipient in recognition of his dedication and hardwork at NTA International during the 2012/2013 Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), and is currently undergoing a degree programme in Mass Communication at the Nasarawa State University, Keffi.