A STUDY ON THE EFFECT OF INTERNET ON MEDIA PRACTICE IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. 1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The Internet is most appropriately thought of as a network of networks. Its growth in Africa, in recent time, has been incredibly fast and it is rapidly changing the media industry and the practices of ma 1 ss communication. The various facilities on the net- email, Usenet, World Wide Web, FTP and remote login, have brought much dynamism and interactivity to the practice of mass communication. The electronic mail allows a person to send, receive and store messages. The Usenet allows one to join a group through which exchange of information is made possible across the globe. The World Wide Web provides unlimited access to information, including text, audio and picture , satisfactory enough for whatever purpose one desires. In addition, one can transfer a file from a known directory through \he file transfer protocol to be used anywhere one finds himself for herself. The same applies to remote login which permits access to any data file provided one knows the directory. The possibilities offered by the Internet have great implications on the practice of mass communication, impacting on the way all media are produced, distributed, displayed and stored.

A first step has to be made in terms of the developments on the technological front and the ways in which these developments are making inroads into our understanding of journalism. Computerization in all sectors of society has taken place in particularly Western capitalist democracies - with effects on the way the economy and society operates. Practically all media companies have switched to computer network systems, electronic communication traffic and the ‘paperless office’ are topics of debate in management circles and the convergence of media as well as the fact that the television set, video player and personal computer have found their way into an increasing number of West-European, North-American and Australasian households are signs of the high impact of technology on all aspects of life.

The Internet as it can be considered to be affecting journalism in general and the professional ideology of journalism in particular will be discussed here in two ways: how it has made inroads into newsrooms and desktops of journalists working for all media types in terms of Computer-Assisted Reporting (CAR); and how it has created a new type of journalism: online journalism.

Although it must be said that every country or region has its own specific issues regarding new media developments and journalism, the author assumes that some of the more general points made here can be extrapolated to the developments in more or less similar areas in the world such as Nort America, Australia, Western Europe and Japan.

1.2   STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

This project is carried out to determine the effect of the internet on media practice in Nigeria. It will also be used to find out how much of the modern day journalist makes use of the internet and to find out how much the internet has affected the modern day journalism in the world over.
Also to determine the rate at which the public pay more attention to internet news and news stories more than the traditional news media.
The internet as a medium of media communication, is it for everyone or for just some sect of people.
Moreover, has the internet added positively or negatively to the dissemination of news to the public? These are the identified problems of the study that the researcher intends to find solution to.

1.3   PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this research is to appraise the impact of internet on journalism practice in Nigeria with the aim of bringing to limelight what underlines the underutilization of the new communication technology in Nigeria journalism profession. It also looks at the lower of latest technology and how it changes the traditional journalism.
The project has been decided within the scope of five chapter. It seeks to appraise the fact of whether the internet is a positive addition to the internet or a negative influence.

1.4   OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

This study aims to find out the following:

To find out how much the internet has affected the practice of journalism in Nigeria.

To find out the percentage of people who rely on the internet for their news updates.

To know if the journalist find the internet very useful or not.

To determine the rate at which people rely on the internet for current news.

To determine if the traditional media practice is still relevant.

To determine how many people have access to the internet.

To determine if the internet is generally used or whether only a few people.

1.5   RESEARCH QUESTION

The research question is designed to determine the effect of internet on media practice in Nigeria, so the following questions will be asked in an effort to achieve the aim of this research.

To what extent has internet developed the level of media practitioners in Nigeria?

To what extent is it true that journalist use the internet to send or receive information?

To what extent is it true that internet help reporters get information?

Of what usefulness in the internet to media practice and media practitioners?

How effective is internet on media practice in Nigeria?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study would be of immense importance towards the development of the media in Nigeria as it would be beneficial to students, researchers and scholars who are interested in developing further studies based on the subject matter.

SCOPE AND LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study would be restricted to the effect of internet on media practice in Nigeria using Lagos state as a case study.