Browsing by Author "Ojebuyi, B. R."

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Are the ‘born-frees’ always politically apathetic? social media use for campus politics by black undergraduates of North-West University, Mafikeng, South Africa
(2018-01) Ojebuyi, B. R.; Salawu, A.
The South African post-apartheid Black youth—popularly known as the 'Born Frees'— have been stereotyped politically apathetic. But there are yet empirical studies to prove that these youth are really perpetually averse to political participation, even in their universities, especially with emergence of social media that provide digital space for social and political engagements. With the specific attention on Black students of the Mafikeng campus of North-West University, South Africa as the study population, this study, therefore, employed a sequential qual-QUANT exploratory design to explore how Black undergraduates use social media to engage in political activities in the university setting. Anchored on the Uses and Gratifications Theory, the study employed questionnaire to collect data from 232 respondents selected through stratification and convenience sampling. Majority (77.1%) of the students affirmed they actively participated in campus politics using the social media (78.0%) and text messages via mobile phones (60.7%). Ironically, only 36.2% of the students said they used direct interpersonal communication as the communication modes for political engagement. The trend established in this study challenges scholars‘ assumption that the Post-apartheid Black youth of South Africa are politically apathetic. Students‘ interest and participation in campus politics suggest that, with effective use of the digital space that is relatively free, accessible, interactive, and independent of undue control by the state apparatus, the Black youth can also contribute positively to the South African democratic project.
Avoiding mixed-methods? methodological and theoretical approaches in women’s radio participation research
(Faculty of Arts, University of Uyo, 2021-05) Mobolaji, A. O.; Ojebuyi, B. R.
Previous media studies that did meta-analyses of methodological and theoretical approaches have addressed subsets such as political communication, health communication, and gatekeeping. However, scant attention has been paid to women’s participation in radio discourse despite its importance to the developmental agenda. This study was, therefore, designed to investigate the methodological and theoretical trends in women’s radio participation studies. Content analysis was used to examine a total of 70 purposively selected women’s radio participation-related studies published between 2009 and 2019. Findings reveal that 55.7% of the analysed articles employed quantitative methodological approaches, while 25.7 % of the articles used qualitative approaches. Only 18.6% of the studies employed a mixed-methods design. Findings also show that more quantitative studies (67.5%) were hinged on theoretical frameworks compared to 32.5% not driven by theories. Conversely, fewer qualitative studies (27.8%) were driven by theories, while 72.2% were not theory-driven. Generally, 57.1% of the articles analysed had theoretical backgrounds. The pattern established in this study shows that existing women’s radio participation studies scantly adopted mixed-methods approaches, but the use of relevant theories as frameworks is fairly high. Scholars in the field of women’s radio participation research should adopt the mixed methods design as this would help in getting more robust and in-depth findings.
Beyond gratification: investigation of academic benefits of recreational reading among University of Ibadan undergraduates
(2014) Ojebuyi, B. R.; Nwunze, N. A.
Studies have shown that reading and literacy are directly connected, and there is a link between academic success and reading ability. But the extent to which recreational reading can lead to academic success requires further investigation. Recreational reading is a form of reading that provides pleasure and other forms of gratification for the reader. However, beyond this, it is believed that recreational reading can foster social progress, ensure broader knowledge, enhance academic competence, and militate against illiteracy. This proposition requires further empirical proofs. Anchored on the Expectancy Value Theory (EVT), and Uses and Gratifications Theory, the study employed survey and in-depth interviews as the research methods. A total of 1,350 undergraduates of the University of Ibadan selected through stratification, convenience and proportionate sampling techniques responded to the questionnaire while 13 students purposively selected from all the faculties formed the interviewees. Findings show that undergraduates of the University, to a large extent {n= 1166; 86. 4%), exhibit favourable attitude towards recreational reading. Also, the students affirmed that recreational reading, besides providing pleasure, serves as the source of information and knowledge applicable to real life situations, boosts their academic reading efficacy, enhances their understanding of general textural information, and builds their vocabulary competence. The study, therefore, provides evidence that the value of recreational reading is more than generation of pleasure or gratification; it also enhances overall academic success
The concept of communication
(ISRU Educational Services, Ososanii, OkeAdo, Ibadan, 2013) Ojebuyi, B. R.; Amusa, A. K.
Conducting media audience research: a guidebook for Nigerian media professionals and organizations
(Institute for Media and Society, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, 2020) Ojebuyi, B. R.
Conflict of ethical obligation and organisational commitment in secondary content selection by radio stations in Oyo State, Nigeria
(Communication Study Forum (CSF) Department of Mass Communication, Faculty of Arts, University of Nigeria, Nsuka, 2014-06) Ojebuyi, B. R.
Secondary gatekeeping, also known as secondary content selection, is a rising trend in Nigeria. Like the conventional media gatekeeping process, the practice is equally affected by various forces as news editors make their editorial decisions daily. Scholars have conducted empirical studies in the areas of media ethics and organisational policy as they apply in conventional gatekeeping process whereas secondary gatekeeping is yet to receive much scholarly attention despite its prevalence in the Nigerian broadcast industry especially with the alleged dereliction of ethical responsibility in the construction of secondary news content matters by editorial staff. This study, therefore, examined secondary gatekeeping by radio stations in Oyo State, Nigeria, in terms of the struggle between adherence to ethical prescriptions and organisational allegiance and how this conflict influences the news content decision of the editorial personnel. Anchored on gatekeeping theory, the study combined In-depth Interviews and Content Analysis as research designs. Findings show that news editors in the radio stations are almost always deprived of editorial autonomy in selecting secondary news contents as they are constantly influenced by organisational forces. These findings suggest that what the media gatekeepers give the public as news may not always be true mirror of social reality, but a different picture as dictated by sundry organizational factors.
Decongesting the dodgy hub: the role of mass media in curtailing illicit drug trafficking and use in Nigeria
(Kamla-Raj, 2015) Ojebuyi, B. R.; Salawu, A.
"Trafficking and use of illicit drugs have become a deadly plague unleashing social and health hazards on the human race. The problem is more prevalent in the developing nations, while Nigeria is one of the most affected African countries. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has acknowledged this fact. Despite efforts by the Nigerian anti-drug abuse agencies, the rate of drug-related crimes in the country seems to persist. This paper, after presenting some statistics on the prevalence of drug problems in Nigeria, suggests that the nation’s mass media should be more aggressively involved in fighting trafficking and use of illicit drugs in the country. With the Agenda-Setting theory as the theoretical framework, the paper discusses different social change strategies that the Nigerian mass media could adopt to fight drug-related vices. However, the researchers recommend that these media campaigns should be effectively complemented with other communication approaches. "
Explaining the effectiveness of community-based crime prevention practices. A case study from Nigeria
(2006) Ojebode A.; Ojebuyi, B. R.; Onyechi, N. J.; Oladapo, O.; Oyedele, O. J.; Fadipe, I. A.
Foreign media preference for negative frames in coverage of terrorism in sub-saharan Africa
(Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, 2017) Ojebuyi, B. R.
Foreign media have been criticised for promoting Afro-pessimism and preference for negative frames in their representation of Africa. This is more pronounced especially in reporting of terrorism in the Sub-Saharan Africa. But are the African media less guilty of this preference for negativity? This paper aimed to answer this question by assessing how news media reported terrorism in the Sahel. To achieve this objective, some existing empirical studies that investigated media coverage of terrorism in the Sub-Saharan Africa were reviewed. The review shows that the news media—both foreign and African media—in their presentation of terrorism in the Sahel, still preserved the dominant paradigm of media preference for negativity in news reporting. Foreign news media, with limited knowledge of the real situation in Africa, used negative frames to report the Sub-Saharan Africa as a region of crises. Ironically, the performance of African media in respect of their coverage of terrorism in the Sahel is ambivalent and less impressive; as the African media tried to perform their warning surveillance function by alerting the state to the potential danger posed by terror groups, they also used frames that exaggerate the impact and dominance of the insurgents. This preference for negativity by news media in the coverage of terror could set negative public agenda, further escalate the spate of terror, and threaten public peace in the Sub-Saharan Africa.
Gender bias in media representation of political actors: examples from Nigeria’s 2015 presidential election
(College of Humanities, University of Ghana, 2018-06) Ojebuyi, B. R.; Chukwunwike, A. C.
As in other parts of the world, the Nigerian news media, in its coverage of electioneering, has been accused of marginalizing female politicians. To establish the veracity of this claim, we examined how Nigerian newspapers reported campaign activities of the major presidential candidates during Nigeria’s 2015 presidential election. Using the theories of media framing and market-oriented journalism, we undertook content analysis of 194 editions of three randomly selected newspapers—The Punch, The Guardian and the Daily Sun. The findings confirmed a media framing that marginalized female politicians as Nigerian newspapers gave prominence and intense coverage to male presidential aspirants as opposed to their female counterparts.
Godfatherism, ownership influence and media treatment of political conflicts in Oyo state, Nigeria
(2013) Ojebuyi, B. R.; Ekkennia, C. U.
"Media coverage of political crises, especially in a terrain fraught with the increasing influence of godfatherism, ownership and political affiliation has a serious consequence on the society. The political feud between Late Chief Lamidi Ariyibi Adedibu and his „political son‟, Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja in Oyo State, Nigeria (2005-2007), provided a typical example of godfatherism, and media coverage of the conflict typified ownership influence on news media operations. Anchored on the framing theory, this study employed content analysis to examine how The Nigerian Tribune and The Nation newspapers treated the political conflict in terms of the degree of prominence accorded the two principal actors and how ownership factor and political affiliation shaped the contents of the newspapers. Findings show that The Nation, a newspaper believed to be owned by a stalwart of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), was less critical of Senator Rashidi Ladoja and reported more of anti-Adedibu stories. The Nigerian Tribune, on the other hand, reported more of anti-Ladoja stories, and was less critical of Chief Lamidi Adedibu. This paper concludes by urging media actors to free themselves from the web of partisan politics and be more objective in the discharge of their duties as societal watchdogs. "
Impacts of the media on African socio-economic development
(IGI Global, 2017) Nelson, O.; Ojebuyi, B. R.; Salawu, A.
In media we trust versus the media we trust: information subsidies and credibility of editorial content in Nigerian newspapers
(Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria, 2020-04) Ojebuyi, B. R.; Adekoya, O. F.
The mass media serve as the forum for public discussions, political debates and the forging of consensus. However, it has been argued that media efforts to engage, empower and educate audiences are puny owing to several factors such as excessive reliance on public relations contents and well-funded agendas that dominate the media space. Media Studies in many countries have confirmed the growing reliance of journalists on Public Relations (PR) materials—also called information subsidy—but studies in Nigeria have not investigated this phenomenon and its implications for media gatekeeping and agenda-setting functions. The current study was designed to fill this gap. Agenda-setting and Gatekeeping media theories were employed as framework, while mixed methods design was adopted. From two Tier-1 newspapers (The Guardian and Punch), a total of 1,216 news stories drawn through constructed week sampling from 4-11 January 2016, the year the first Nigerian PR industry report was published, were content analysed. This study confirmed the growing reliance of Nigerian newspapers on information subsidy. This reliance on PR materials weakened the gatekeeping function of Nigerian newspapers, but did not undermine their agenda-setting function as the newspapers devoted their prominent pages (17%) to self-generated contents compared to the volume of materials PR (20.3%) confined to inner and less-prominent pages.
Increasing people's knowledge about HIV/AIDS: an investigation into the effectiveness of reading as a communication strategy
(SAGE Publications, Los Angeles, 2009) Ojebuyi, B. R.
among the factors probably causing stigma and discrimination against people living with /Human IMMunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (PLWHA) are the public's inadequate knowlegde and strong misconceptions about the pandemic. Having realised this fact, stakeholders intensify efforts at educating the public about HIV/AIDS. Reading is one of the communication strategies they employ to enrich people's knowledge about the disease. This article, therefore, focused on reading, primarily to investigate its effectiveness as a receptive communication skill, through which the public can be better educated about HIVAIDS and thus, dispel their misconceptions about the disease and its patients. An experimenta method was employed, using 220 respondents. Two separate instruments- attitude scale/questionnaire and an HIV/AIDS- related story- were used. The result showed that abosolute majority of respondents (78.2 per cent) from the experimental group, which actually read the select HIV/AIDS- related story demostrate better knowledge about HIV/AIDS than do the respondents from the control group. Thus, the study has established reading as an effective communication strategy for educating people and dispelling their misconceptions about HIV/AIDS and its patients. The findings also showed that there is a statistically significant difference in the attitude of male and female subjects to HIV/AIDS and PLWHA after reading the story.
Influence of spousal communication about family planning and HIV/AIDS related issues on modern contraceptive use in Nigeria
(Sage Publications, 2017) Fagbamigbe, A. F.; Ojebuyi, B. R.
Contraceptive use in Nigeria at 15 per cent is low, despite a high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence of 3.4 per cent and fertility rate of 5.7 per cent. We assessed the levels of spousal communication on family planning and contraception (FPC) and HIV/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS), influence of demographic characteristics on this communication and association between this communication and the respondents’ health behaviours. We used a cross-sectional and nationally representative data on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS-related issues from randomly selected 30,752 men and women of reproductive age. Descriptive statistics, Pearson chi-square (χ2) and logistic regression were used to analyze the data at 5 per cent significance level. About 61 per cent of the respondents were 25–49 years old and mostly from rural areas (65 per cent). Only 20 per cent of the respondents discussed HIV/AIDS with their spouses within 12 months preceding the survey while 15 per cent discussed FPC. A discussion of both HIV/AIDS and FPC among spouses was reported among 9 per cent compared to 26 per cent who reported discussing either. Respondents aged 35–39 years had higher odds of discussing HIV/AIDS (Odds Ratios [OR] = 7.06:6.16–8.09) than those aged 15–19 years. Urban dwellers also had higher odds (OR = 1.24:1.16–1.31) of HIV/AIDS discussions than rural respondents. Modern contraceptive use was 35 per cent and 23 per cent among respondents who discussed FPC and HIV/AIDS compared to 8 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively, among those who did not. Spousal communication on FP and HIV/AIDS was low and has influenced contraceptive use and HIV positivity in Nigeria. There is a need to encourage spousal discussion on FP and HIV/AIDS, especially among the rural dwellers and the poor and uneducated as a strategy for improving modern contraceptive use.
Listeners' preference and the media's thematic focus on public issues: an exploration of agenda-setting as a two-way process
(2013-10) Ojebuyi, B. R.
The mass media have the power to set public agenda. Public issues that receive emphasis by the media are the issues that are likely to receive prominence in public perception. However, it has been argued that there is a link between what the public expect to constitute news and what the media report as news to set public agenda. This assertion requires further empirical proof, especially in the Nigerian media context. Focusing on radio listeners and the news review programmes of selected radio stations in Oyo State, Nigeria, this study sought to establish the validity or otherwise of the forgoing contention. Premised on agenda-setting and newsworthiness theories, the study combined In-depth Interviews, Content Analysis and Survey as research methods. Findings show that a predominant segment (89.0%) of radio listeners perceived the intensity of media coverage of certain public issues as an indicator that such public issues must be significant: Issues such as politics (33.5%), sports (29.5%), and crises (11.3%) that audience preferred as news were the same issues that the radio stations accorded corresponding degree of emphasis in the news reviews-politics (35.4%). sports (17.0%), and crises (11.9%). Editorial personnel of the radio stations also affirmed that they gave priority to issues that would naturally interest the audience. The basic implication of these findings is that as the media set agenda for the public, the public also set agenda for the media.
Malevolent trespassers or benevolent guests: a meta-analysis of media representation of African migrants
(IGI Global, 2020) Ogunkunle, D. O.; Ojebuyi, B. R.
Migration, a phenomenon where different factors compel people to move from one location to a new location, has remained an intrinsic feature of the human world. Many studies have been conducted on media portrayal of migrants, little scholarly attention has been paid to the dominant image of African migrants in the news media. Therefore, this study, deploying agenda-setting and framing theories, attempted a meta-analysis of the existing studies on media portrayal of African migrants with a view to establishing the dominant image of the migrants as reported by the media. Twenty-five journal articles on portrayal of African migrants purposively selected through online search were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. Findings reveal that the media portrayed African migrants via negative lens with the use of ubiquitous derogatory frames which include: aliens, foreigners, purveyors of social ills, vagrant, criminals, chaotic and hopeless. These dominant negative images of Africa and African migrants portend a great danger to globalisation and global economic integration. The realisation of comprehensive globalization and global economic integration will remain elusive as long as the media continue to give more prominence to the negatives of migration than the positives. Therefore, the media agenda, in all climes, should be used to positively influence public agenda and policies as regards migration.
Marginalisaing the majority: Nigerian newspaper' covergae of the rural sections in a profit-driven economy
(Delmas Communications Ltd, 2016) Ojebuyi, B. R.; Kolawole, R. A.
"The study examined the performance of Nigerian print media, in the context of neoliberalism, regarding their coverage of the less-urban sections as compared to the attention given to the urban centres. The social responsibility, developmental media, and social exclusion theories provided the theoretical framework for the study. The Guardian, The Nigerian Tribune and The Vanguard—out of the national quality newspapers in Nigeria—were randomly selected for content analysis, while six reporters and two editors from the newspapers were purposively selected for in-depth interviews. Performances of the selected newspapers showed that they did not fare well in their social responsibilities and development roles. The newspapers gave more attention to the urban centres to the neglect of the rural sections while they placed monetary value on the scanty events they reported from the rural sections. The only occasions when the rural sections received appreciable media attention was when negatives stories broke. This trend negates the tenets of social responsibility and national development. All regulating agencies in the Nigerian media industry must be alive to their statutory responsibilities in order to ensure balance and fairness in the media coverage of different sections and groups in the country"
Media and communications industries in Nigeria: impacts of neoliberal reforms between 1999 and 2007
(2015) Ojebuyi, B. R.
Media bais, ethics, and normative limitations: implications for survival of community radio in Nigeria
(John Archers Publishers Limited, Ibadan, 2013) Ojebuyi, B. R.