ABSTRACT

The purpose of this research (project) was to find out the impact of the media on cultural imperialism in the modern society using Enugu metropolis as a case study. The study is set out to investigate the influence of the media towards revolutionizing our culture thereby bringing up another culture in our society. Data collected from the questionnaire were used in tabulation of result of the hypothesis showed that the respondents believed that the media is the only channel of communication that can get to large number of people in this society. It thus becomes an instrument for renovation the society since it can reach the public at their various destination. Furthermore, the results showed that a great percentage of the respondents defined that the media has brought change in all aspect of human life. They believe that life will be meaningless without the aid of the media.

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background of the Study

Communication was traced back to the early days when people devices of means of communicating through pictures, drawing which they design on the cave walls and keep. It was known as written communication.

Around 2000- 3000 BC, the drawing and matching developed to alphabets marking the beginning the recorded history (Bitterm 1999). In 3,500Bc, the Sumerian device a pictographic writing known as uniform while Egyptians called their hydrographic.

Communication came from the Latin word: communis and communicara and means sharing meeting of minds etc, that means communication is a process which allows message to flow both ways and results to sharing of the experience. According to Frank E. K Panica in his article concept of communication.

“To communicate means to shear ideas, information, opinion, feeling and experience between people”

Wilbur Schramm pointed bout that when people communicate, they are trying to establish “commonness” with one another; it takes place through a variety of channels called mass media.

Mass medial are channels of communication through which people communicate or through which information’s disseminated to reach the wide audience, it is classified into print and eletronic media. The print is made up of magazine, periodicals, journals, newsletter or hours organs whose basis is the printed word.

1450, Johan Gutenberg of Mainz Germany, invented metal immovable tyre and there was a break through in technology, giving way for at printing in European age when the Gutenberg bible was printed followed by newspaper which first appears in China in AD 500.

In Europe, it came in existence to satisfy the commercial classes who has no interest in books. It created among the employee as hand written newsletters.

The first “daily newspaper which appeared in England was “Daily courant” from their it get to Nigeria in Abeokuta through an Anglican reverend, Henry Townsend in 1850, the name of the newspaper was. “IWE IROHIN”, FUN AEWON AEA AGBA ATI YOURB, this means newspaper for the Egbes and the yourbas.

The electronic media rely on electric impulses to get their message to the audience. They are radio, television, telex cinema and a cable messages. In 19th century the principle of “motion pictures was discovered. The 1824 discovery precludes that human eye retains an image for a fraction of a second longer than the picture, that is the ability to capture moving usual images with the camera through the use of films. Bittner 1989 discovered that electro-magnetic impulses can be sent through without the wire carrying voice transmission over long distance and is known as radio. Television was traced through iconoscope, which came into existence in 1923. It used electronics to detect and transmit pictures and its’ invention transformed television to an electronic medium which before depended on mechanical production of visual images.

Radio is a means of formalism education, culture and entertainment. Most African countries and conglomerates of units of divergent cultures, religion, injustice, and socio political enslave to wield these multi-ethnic units together and create a sense of nation ness the election is the best instrument because of it’s ability to staff illiteracy and language barrier. It was the initiation of colonialists to link the colonial territories with Britain so that radio would serve as propaganda machinery. It was also a tool for disseminating their allies culture norms, values and philosophies to the colonies. culture imperialism which formerly occurred in the sense of colonization and political domination, now it is less overt but nonetheless widespread via the mass media and the new information and communications technology. It occurs in international trade and is excessive and uncontrolled foreign investment overseas by powerful countries and transaction corporations. The economic invasion is attended by cultural invasion and with political influence.

In Nigeria, radio reception does back to the early 1930. It started as wireless bell mentoring and relaying programme for the British broadcasting corporation (BBC) for the interest of her colonial servant in the colonies. By 1951, the Nigeria broadcasting service (NBC) was formally inaugurated as a rely station working closely with B.B.C while the first television station was established in 1959 in western region.