Public Service Broadcasting and the Problem of Access in an Election Season

Abstract

The study is an assessment of the level of access enjoyed by candidates of the ruling political party in power, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and opposition parties, particularly the All-Progressive Congress (APC) to PSB media during the period for the 2019 general elections in Nigeria. The researchers used both quantitative media monitoring and qualitative content analysis of public service broadcasting in the context of the 2019 elections. The main PSB channel studied was government-owned radio stations: Harvest FM and Radio Benue radio stations both located in Benue State. Harvest 103.5 FM is owned by the Federal Government while Radio Benue 95.0 FM is owned by the State Government. Media output studied are prime time news bulletins. The findings showed that public service broadcasting (PSB) in Nigeria is influenced by political and economic forces than by public interest. During electioneering PSB do focused predominantly on a narrowly determined by economic rights of access to broadcast media and on the ruling party or ownership access to broadcast networks. Hence, the values of PSB such as independence and impartiality, are still relegated to the background. The continuation of commercialisation of access and the prioritisation of incumbent and key political candidates’ rights over public interest and civil rights has restricted the access to public media stations. The situation portends extinction of PSB in the long run except the broadcast media are made to independently serve the public and common good and respect individuals as citizens having equal and unalienable rights of access to public media.