The Role of the Media in the Nigeria 2015 Elections 2015
The media makes up the society and in the words of Marshal McLuhan in 1964, “the media is an extension of our senses.” And at that, it means the media portrays the life of the everyday man. Therefore, expectation is placed on the media to carry out responsibilities that will enhance the standard of living of humans and develop the society in all ramifications.
There are three fundamental roles of the media, and they are to inform, educate and entertain. But further studies have come up with other important roles such as persuasion, interpretation, surveillance, interpretation, advocacy and mobilization, integration, selling and advertising, publicity, cultural transmission, propaganda, agenda setting and the list can be endless.
But for the sake of this presentation I shall discuss a few. And the aim of this paper is to discuss the role of the media with the 2015 elections in view. And it should be noted that the media has an important role to play in the 2015 electoral process. Straight to it, the major role of the media in the electoral process towards the 2015 election is that of an Informing function. It behooves the media practitioners to spread useful information, which will enable Nigerian citizens to make informed decisions.
Therefore, the question that comes to mind is what should the media inform Nigerian citizens about? First, the media should bring to the fore, the activities of the current administration(s) or incumbents’ activities. This should be done objectively. The media should bring back the manifestoes of the incumbents and juxtapose them with what they have achieved. The policies that have changed the lives of the Nigerian citizens or driven them into the abyss of pervasive poverty and dehumanization. The media should inform the Nigerian citizen on where they were before the current government came into power and now that they are in power with their different tenures coming to an end and with the 2015 election in view.
There are three fundamental roles of the media, and they are to inform, educate and entertain. But further studies have come up with other important roles such as persuasion, interpretation, surveillance, interpretation, advocacy and mobilization, integration, selling and advertising, publicity, cultural transmission, propaganda, agenda setting and the list can be endless.
But for the sake of this presentation I shall discuss a few. And the aim of this paper is to discuss the role of the media with the 2015 elections in view. And it should be noted that the media has an important role to play in the 2015 electoral process. Straight to it, the major role of the media in the electoral process towards the 2015 election is that of an Informing function. It behooves the media practitioners to spread useful information, which will enable Nigerian citizens to make informed decisions.
Therefore, the question that comes to mind is what should the media inform Nigerian citizens about? First, the media should bring to the fore, the activities of the current administration(s) or incumbents’ activities. This should be done objectively. The media should bring back the manifestoes of the incumbents and juxtapose them with what they have achieved. The policies that have changed the lives of the Nigerian citizens or driven them into the abyss of pervasive poverty and dehumanization. The media should inform the Nigerian citizen on where they were before the current government came into power and now that they are in power with their different tenures coming to an end and with the 2015 election in view.