Seminar in Nigeria
A-one-day seminar on ‘Media, Gender, and National Development’ was held as part of the activities to mark the “Who Makes the News?” Campaign in Nigeria
By Nkem Fab- Ukozor, Nigeria National Coordinator, GMMP
The seminar which was organized by the monitoring team of the Global Media Monitoring Project in the country, in collaboration with Print Students’ Group (PSG), Department of Mass Communication, Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu-Nigeria on February 23rd, attracted discussants from the media, academia, journalism associations, non-governmental organisations and the students’ body.
Although discussants from the media showed keen interest and actually participated in the seminar, that alone could not guarantee coverage for the event due to the news commercialization syndrome existing in Nigerian media landscape. A syndrome that has had so much negative impact on excellence and standard of news reporting in the country.
Therefore, prior to the seminar, the national coordinating body paid courtesy calls to the major mass media establishments residing in the Enugu metropolis, part of which effort gave rise to a wide coverage from the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA), Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), and COSMO FM, Enugu, despite the news commercialization syndrome.
The seminar started with a welcome address by the president of Print Students’ Group who explained that the need to collaborate with GMMP was borne out of the desperate desire of the students to get the attention of top communication scholars and practitioners to enlighten them on topical issues like gender and news content, gender and development, public opinion cum public policy, profit and ethical responsibility, and so forth.
This was followed by a keynote address by the national coordinator of GMMP titled, ‘Gender Justice in the Mass Media: A Critical Appraisal’.
Important highlights in the paper includes:
- The need for gatekeepers of news to begin to change their mindsets and attitudes in favour of women rights agenda
- The need for media practitioners to appreciate the plight of women and see it as an ethical responsibility to fight the cause of women by promoting gender balance in the mass media
- The need for media scholars, advocates and practitioners to deliberate on issues concerning policies, structures and processes in Nigeria’s media system in line with the provisions in section J of the Beijing Platform for Action
The brainstorming session witnessed three paper presentations followed by a harvest of intellectual discuss on the seminar theme: media, gender and national development.
From the papers presented and opinions arising for the discussions, the following deductions were made:
- That in a particular society such as Nigeria, where gender stereotypes had contributed greatly in age-long subordination of women, as well as typecasting of men such that individuals are inhibited from fulfilling their potentials, irrespective of sex, the mass media have great potentials to shape the values and thoughts of Nigerians in favour of gender realities, as agents of positive change.
- That the mass media have a duty to play in ensuring that gender pattern shifts are accomplished smoothly, without hiccups given that as each society develops, its gender patterns shift to accommodate the changes in gender relations, and if the media do not support the shifting with positive messages, there are bound to be problems in the society.
- That inclusion of more women in decision-making levels of the media will ensure not only gender balance in the organisations but also a more balanced portrayal of both men and women in the news, which in turn will help smoothen the shifting gender patterns in Nigerian society and enhance gender equality.
- That efforts should be made to encourage more women, especially in the rural areas to use the Internet and other Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), since ICTs have been shown to have great impact on public policy, private attitudes, behaviour as well as possessing potentials for the empowerment of woman. It was argued that lack of access to the benefits of these new technologies means more marginalization from the social and economic benefits of the digital age.
- That negative portrayal of women in the media should be discouraged, especially in radio and television commercials. The MTN “ mama na boy” commercial is an example of such commercials that reinforce existing stereotypes that should be condemned.
- That traditional Nigerian attitude of male-child preference, and the stereotype that there is more joy when a male child is born than when a female child is born should be condemned through extensive media.
- That more women should go into more challenging jobs in order to attract more representation.
As the session drew to an end, there was evidence of hope for a better society as the journalists themselves were making suggestions on how to put in place an effective mechanism that will ensure realistic standards of practice which can lead to the implementation of all aspects of the BPFA. Finally a closing remark was given by the deputy national co-ordinator.
Read the full speech of the
GMMP 2005 Nigerian National Coordinator, Nkem Fab-Ukozor, at a Seminar on “Media, Gender and National Development”, organised by GMMP Nigeria in Collaboration with PSG, Mass Communication Department, I.M.T., Enugu
