MEDIA ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN NIGERIA: A STUDY OF NEW PATTERNS, ORIENTATIONS AND COPING STRATEGIES

This paper draws attention to the emerging patterns of media entrepreneurship in Nigeria, which call for new research perspectives. For data on the demographic identity of the new entrepreneurs across all media, the study examined official records, media websites and publication information provided in the print media while data supporting new orientations and coping strategies were collected from a focus group of professionals and scholars. Results indicate that ownership of national daily newspapers is now 100% private as against the situation in 1980 when the Federal Government owned the two truly national dailies in the country. State governments still own some regional newspapers but magazine titles have grown to over 154 from about 22 in 1990. All 13 news magazines and 141 specialized magazines in circulation are owned by private entrepreneurs and Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs). For the broadcast media, data indicate that the nation has moved from 100% government ownership, as was the case in 1990, to about 34% private/community ownership in 2011. Findings also indicate that majority of the new entrepreneurs are journalists. Based on these findings, this paper calls for a sort of paradigm shift in media discourse. It therefore recommends for a concerted research efforts to focus on audience satisfaction, audience feedback and feed forward.Key words: Media entrepreneurship, Innovations, Patterns, Coping strategies

Role of Infrastructure Adequacy in the Adoption of Digital Book Production and Distribution Hardware

Digital book production machines are adopted in many academic and educational environments to enhance book production and distribution beyond what could be accomplished through the printed book. In developing economies like Nigeria where book production and distribution is badly affected by poor infrastructure, adoption of these machines is likely to make a positive difference, but it appears that publishers are not eager to adopt them for reasons yet to be clearly understood. Explanations in available literature revolve around infrastructure deficit in the areas of power supply, telecommunication bandwidth, postal facilities, Internet service providers (ISP) facilities, digital content developers, venture capital and e-payment instruments. This study, therefore, investigated the extent of adoption of print on demand (POD) distribution machines and compact disc (CD/DVD) replicating machines in Nigeria using a survey design involving 109 publishers selected purposively. Findings indicate that adoption level is low (POD, 9.2%; CD/DVD, 12%) and interest very high (POD, 61.5%; CD/DVD, 61.5%). Only the perceived adequacy of digital contents development facilities and financial facilities played statistically significant roles in the adoption level of print on demand machines and CD/DVD replicating machines. Thus, it could be inferred that infrastructure adequacy plays a significant role in digital hardware adoption but not as extensively as the literature purports

Validation of Digital Publishing Innovation Adoption Framework

Globally, digital publishing innovations have been shown to be effective in breaking down book production and distribution barriers. However, there has been a dearth of studies on digital publishing innovations (D.P.I.) in Nigeria, particularly as it relates to predictors of innovation adoption. This study, therefore, examined the extent to which perceived contextual factors and perceived relative advantage correlate with the extent of adoption of digital publishing innovations with a view to validating a framework to aid the adoption of digital publishing in developing environments. A framework modifying the diffusion of innovations theory and the Technology, Organisation, Environment theory was designed. A total of 109 copies of a questionnaire were administered on purposively selected publishers to test the framework, and data were analysed using correlation and multiple regression at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings indicate that perceived relative advantage (r = 0.54), market readiness (r = 0.54), business uncertainty (r = 0.54) and enabling facility (r = 0.28) had significant correlations with D.P.I. adoption. The four correlates had a strong joint prediction on adoption of D.P.I. (F = 4.30, R2 =.27), accounting for 26.8% of its variance. Individually, the four variables were valid to predict the adoption level of different aspects of digital publishing, indicating that the framework is valid in predicting the adoption of digital publishing

Selling Newspaper to Free Readers: Characteristics and Correlates of a New Buying-and-Selling Behaviour

Major newsstands in Nigeria began over ten years ago to witness daily gathering of readers who spent hours to browse buy rent or discussnewspaper contents But there is hardly anyempirical research to explain this phenomenon beyond suggestions that the readers are football fans This study therefore set out to explore the characteristics and correlates of this novel reading behaviour using interviews obtrusive observation and questionnaire to collect datain Lagos Nigeria Findings indicate that newsstand reading sessions were characterised by information sharing prolonged by newspaper rental services dominated by male youths and advanced by the seasonality of football and politics Statistical analysis indicates that it is associated not only with the quest for football news as the literature suggested but also with the quest for political news The vendor-initiative of renting newspapers out implies that publishers may be losing sales through the rentals and explains why several newspaper publishers suddenly cancelled longstanding sale-or-return agreement

Book Censorship in Nigeria: A study of Origin, Methods and Motivations, 1805-2018

Twenty-first century Nigeria may be described as the era of democracy yet freedom to publish, which is one of the hallmarks of true democracy, seem to be endangered more than ever before. Conversation around this subject has, however, been superficial, lacking in both historical and empirical depth. The aim of this study, therefore, is to investigate the origin, methods and motivations of censorship in Nigeria with a view to deepening the understanding of this phenomenon. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected offline and online using document analysis and interviews were analysed by simple percentages and the constant comparative method. Findings indicate that book censorship began in 1805, over two centuries ago. Eleven methods, including, burning, banning and bombing have been employed and three major motivations (political, religious and socio-cultural) were identified. This study, beyond the conjectures that make up the literature, sheds light not only on the murky history of censorship in Nigeria but also on the emergence of positive censorship—censorship not undertaken by politicians and religious leaders to stifle free speech but by communities, schools and social media to challenge books with culturally immoral contents. This development promises to strengthen the peer review process to the benefit of all stakeholders in the book chain

How Nigerian Print Publishers Explore Web-based Income Streams for Survival

As traditional mass media grapple with hyper-competition globally with the attendant challenges of web-based alternatives and loss of readership and revenue, they are migrating online for survival in line with the contemporary management models. In Nigeria, it is not certain how they are adjusting to these new realities. This study examines the income-generation profiles of online news media in the country within the context of the technological determinism and mediamorphosis theories. Contents from 183 publishers were analyzed while four respondents were interviewed. Findings show that the websites generate revenue from advertising, online sales, downloadable content, subscription, syndication, sponsoring of links and affiliate marketing. Banner advertising was the most widespread (available on over 47% of the websites) while the advertisement billing trend appears flexible and partly compensates for offline losses. These findings indicate that the search for alternative sources of revenue in the digital environment is yielding results. To sustain revenue generation and evolve more income streams, publishers should deploy more resources to website optimization as well as online syndication and collaboration

Sun Girl Makeover: Evidence of Social Responsibility or Commercial Necessity?

Use of pin-up photographs in Nigerian newspapers has always attracted harsh comments from readers. And when the most popular and longest surviving Page-3-Girl, Sun Girl, came out looking more decent after a surprising makeover in 2013, some critics interpreted it as a straight victory for audience participants whereas many critics dismissed it as hyper-commercialism in the garb of social responsibility. But the debate was limited to social media conversation and opinion articles in the print media without an empirical proof to support any of these positions. This study was, thus, designed to empirically find out the motivation for the makeover in the hope that the findings would deepen the understanding of participatory communication in developing economies. Three instruments were employed in data collection: after ascertaining the difference between the old and the new Sun Girl through document analysis, and interviewing the editors responsible for the page, the study was triangulated with a survey that provided data on audience perception of the motive for the makeover. The findings indicated that the motivation was a timely response to audience complaints on the one and a deft commercial strategy for sustaining the most popular page in the newspaper on the other.Peasron test of relationship conducted also indicated that there is a strong statistically significant relationship between perceived social responsibility, perceived commercial necessity and the makeover. And this result is consistent with the responses of the editors as well as the literature that shaped the study. Thus, it was concluded that the makeover was a historic victory for an audience accustomed to apathy and culpable silence. For Daily Sun, it was a strategic step revealing that social responsibility and commercial interests could find a common ground and may be profitable in the long run. Keywords: Pin-up girl, social responsibility, female models in newspapers, gate keeping

Sun Girl Makeover: Evidence of Social Responsibility or Commercial Necessity?

Use of pin-up photographs in Nigerian newspapers has always attracted harsh comments from readers. And when the most popular and longest surviving Page-3-Girl, Sun Girl, came out looking more decent after a surprising makeover in 2013, some critics interpreted it as a straight victory for audience participants whereas many critics dismissed it as hyper-commercialism in the garb of social responsibility. But the debate was limited to social media conversation and opinion articles in the print media without an empirical proof to support any of these positions. This study was, thus, designed to empirically find out the motivation for the makeover in the hope that the findings would deepen the understanding of participatory communication in developing economies. Three instruments were employed in data collection: after ascertaining the difference between the old and the new Sun Girl through document analysis, and interviewing the editors responsible for the page, the study was triangulated with a survey that provided data on audience perception of the motive for the makeover. The findings indicated that the motivation was a timely response to audience complaints on the one and a deft commercial strategy for sustaining the most popular page in the newspaper on the other.Peasron test of relationship conducted also indicated that there is a strong statistically significant relationship between perceived social responsibility, perceived commercial necessity and the makeover. And this result is consistent with the responses of the editors as well as the literature that shaped the study. Thus, it was concluded that the makeover was a historic victory for an audience accustomed to apathy and culpable silence. For Daily Sun, it was a strategic step revealing that social responsibility and commercial interests could find a common ground and may be profitable in the long run. Keywords: Pin-up girl, social responsibility, female models in newspapers, gate keeping

New functionalities of Maillard reaction products as emulsifiers and encapsulating agents, and the processing parameters: a brief review

Non-enzymatic browning has been a wide and interesting research area in the food industry, ranging from the complexity of the reaction to its applications in the food industry as well as its ever-debatable health effects. This review provides a new perspective to the Maillard reaction apart from its ubiquitous function in enhancing food flavour, taste and appearance. It focuses on the recent application of Maillard reaction products as an inexpensive and excellent source of emulsifiers as well as superior encapsulating matrices for the entrapment of bioactive compounds. Additionally, it will also discuss the latest approaches employed to perform the Maillard reaction as well as several important reaction parameters that need to be taken into consideration when conducting the Maillard reaction

How Nigerian Print Publishers Explore Web-based Income Streams for Survival

As traditional mass media grapple with hyper-competition globally with the attendant challenges of web-based alternatives and loss of readership and revenue, they are migrating online for survival in line with the contemporary management models. In Nigeria, it is not certain how they are adjusting to these new realities. This study examines the income-generation profiles of online news media in the country within the context of the technological determinism and mediamorphosis theories. Contents from 183 publishers were analyzed while four respondents were interviewed. Findings show that the websites generate revenue from advertising, online sales, downloadable content, subscription, syndication, sponsoring of links and affiliate marketing. Banner advertising was the most widespread (available on over 47% of the websites) while the advertisement billing trend appears flexible and partly compensates for offline losses. These findings indicate that the search for alternative sources of revenue in the digital environment is yielding results. To sustain revenue generation and evolve more income streams, publishers should deploy more resources to website optimization as well as online syndication and collaboration