CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study

Information and Communication Technology is perceived to be a force reckoned within the 21st century because it has caused and continues to cause major changes in the way we live. In the electronic media, ICT has ignited and provoked radical and drastic changes that has affected and revolutionized the broadcast industry, most especially in immediacy and timeliness of news. Information and community technology not only facilitate and enhance the creation processing, sharing and dissemination of information in the broadcast industry but the immediacy and timeliness of news is of a high priority. Notwithstanding, with ICT, Information spread, infinitely becomes faster and cheaper and readily available before now, there was a significant time lag separating the point when an event took place and the time when the news may be publicly made available. But ICT has helped bridge the time lag between when an event took place and the time it is made available to the public. Information and communication Technology (ICT) is a genetic term used to express the convergence of telecommunications, information broadcasting and communications. According to Rodriguez and Wilson (2002) ICT is seen as a set of activities which facilitate and enhance the processing,  transmission and dissemination of information for communicating through computers and computer networks promoting information and communication Technology as an integral part enhancing timely news delivery in the broadcast industry was articulated by Samadar (1995). He submitted that ICT is a tool for facilitating the creation. Storage management and dissemination of information by electronic means. Meanwhile, Marcelle (2000) did not only see ICT as a complex entity but an application and services used for the production, distribution, processing, transformation of information with the aid of ICT tools. Nevertheless, Ogunsola and Aboyade (2005) are of the opinion that ICT came into being as a result of related technologies clearly stated by functional usage in information access and communication is centralized through the benefited immensely from the use of ICT is the broadcast industry. With the use of ICT, news processing and news reporting is immediate, timely, and helps reduce the space constants the death of distance. The use news of ICT has revolutionized news processing, news packaging, and news reporting through the use of ICT. There is no doubt that the employment of ICT in the broadcast industry is to enhance and improve news delivery as timely as possible. To buttress this, Adigwe (2010) cited Soforowa (2009) when he noted that ICT is seen as the integration and utilization of computer technologies for the purpose of disseminating information to a target destination or consumer without the constraint of time and space. Meanwhile, master control is the hub for all of the connections coming from various audio sources, multiple cameras, and the control boards and then pushing out the appropriate feeds to the public from the master control room in the OSBC centre production suite, the engineers and directors exactly key into details and quickly make any adjustments necessary for a professional, quality and product master control handles productions within the OSBC centre, but also controls the broadcasting link between main station and outside broadcasting transmission.

1.2     Statement of Problem

Going by global trends, which foretell an increase in the employment and the deployment of ICTs in news processing in order to achieve better efficiency, accuracy and speed up operations of news processing. Arguably the employment of ICTs in the newsroom and in news processing activities will increase cost as money would have to be invested into acquiring both hardware and software. However, when information and communication technology is discussed it puts people out of jobs. The reverse is often the case. The technology takes over mechanical assignment and similarly, if this technology will achieve it overall objective there is need to foster more accurate means of solving manual operations of data processing and better storage devices for information and data as provided by ICTs the complexities of modern technology have produced great mathematical scientific, and engineering problem and hence, enhanced news processing and reporting. The Nigerian broadcast and print media like other facet of life and human endeavor in the country have embraced information and communication technology to some extent. Despite the fact that media houses have enhance ICT in news reportage, there are skill cases of mistakes, late presentation and poor quality of news production. This study therefore seeks to investigate the challenges facing media organization with a view to find out the effect of the use of information and Communication Technology in news processing and reporting. Also, this study will identify the constraints to the use of ICTs in Master Control Room of Broadcast media.

1.3     Objectives of the Study

• To find out whether broadcast journalist in Uyo are exposed to ICT in their practice.
• To find out the types of ICT broadcast journalists in Uyo are exposed to.
• To ascertain the influence of ICT on broadcast journalists in Uyo.
• To examine the constraints to the use of information and communication technology in the broadcast journalism.

1.4     Research Questions

• Are broadcast journalists in NTA Uyo exposed to ICT in their practice?
• What are the various types of ICT exposed to by the journalist in NTA Uyo?
• What are the influence of ICT on broadcast journalist in NTA Uyo?
• What are the constraints to ICT in the broadcast journalism?