THE IMPACT OF MANAGEMENT STYLE OF UNITY RADIO ON REPORTERS AND RADIO PRODUCERS IN THE STATION
RADIO BROADCASTING IN NIGERIA (FROM THE BEGINNING)
A.M Doki et al (2009:155) noted that broadcasting started in Nigeria in 1932 when British colonial administrators introduced radio broadcasting in Nigeria. The broadcasting was then relayed to Nigerian homes through the Radio distribution Services- RDS, which used rediffusion sets known as “wired wireless” that functioned in the form of box like speakers to which radio signals were connected. Under that arrangement, audience could only receive BBC broadcast and had no alternative to it. By 1939, there were about 2,000 license receivers and by 1948, subscribers had grown to about 9.000 wired to ten stations around the country.
British government in 1949 set up a country transmission centre under turner Byron to come up under proper recommendation for broadcasting services that could maintain national profile. The committee recommended the setting up of National broadcasting services.
In 1951, the National Broadcasting Services-NBS was established with its headquarters in Lagos. The NBS immediately established autonomous regional stations in Kaduna and Enugu in 1952 and Ibadan in 1995 respectively. Later, provincial centres were set up in Kano, Jos, Sokoto, Illorin and Maiduguri.
In 1956, the Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation-NBC was established and began operations in 1957 with statutory functions to provide broadcasting services in the country. The NBC with its headquarters in Lagos started broadcasting and maintained both regional and provincial studios of the National Broadcasting Services-NBS.
Another scholar, Sambe (2008:82) while tracing the historical development of radio in Nigeria said the process was gradual but interesting. According to him, broadcasting was introduced to Nigerian first as wired system popularly known as radio distribution or re-diffusion. This is a process where wires connected to loudspeakers were installed in the houses of subscribers, until the BBC in 1930, introduced wireless broadcasting in Nigeria.
The main duty of the RDS was to relay British broadcasting corporation programmes with only one hours set aside for local programmes in the evenings, featuring news, entertainment as well as local announcements. Subscribers paid small fees for the listening boxes at their locations. Stations were opened in Ibadan in 1939, kano in 1944, Kaduna, Enugu, Abeokuta, Ijebu-ode, Jos, Zaria, Calabar and Port-Harcourt in subsequent years.
EMERGENCY OF PRIVATE MEDIA IN NIGERIA
A.M Doki et al (2007-152) while tracing the emergence of private broadcast media in Nigeria noted that the Federal Government in 1992 promulgated decree No. 38 of 1992 that brought about the existence of National Broadcasting Commission-NBC to regulate, monitor and manage the affairs of broadcasting in the country. The decree ushered in a new era of deregulation in Nigeria, leading to the establishment of privately own radio and television stations across the country. Such stations include Nagarta Radio in Kaduna, Freedom Radio in Kano, AIT, DITV etc.
The first private radio station in Nigeria was Ray-Power FM in 1994, while the Desmims Independent Television- DITV by Kalifa Baba Ahmed in Kaduna became the first private TV station in the country.
Some of the private TV and radio stations that emerged after the first two include- Galazy TV Ibadan, AIT Lagos, Independent Television-ITV Benin city, Channel Television Lagos, Rhythms FM Radio, Cool FM, State FM, all in Lagos among others.
In 2002, more licenses were given to eleven new private radio stations and four specialized FM stations. These include, Radio Gotel Yola, Joy FM Makurdi, Nagara Radio Kaduna, Freedom Radio Kano, Pacific FM Osogbo etc.
It is important to note that with the exception of Nagarta Radio which operates on Amplitude Modulation-AM channel, all the other private radio stations operates on Frequency Modulation FM.
In February 2007, twenty eight new private broadcast stations, twenty two of which were radio, while the remaining six campus radio station were also licensed by the National broadcasting commission (Doki 2009).
BROADCASTING MANAGEMENT IN NIGERIA
Broadcasting Management is a dynamic process by which managers create, direct and maintain and operate a purposive organisation through a system of coordinated, co-operative human effort. All management effort aims at mobilizing talent, materials and capital to achieve laid down organisational and national broadcasting goals. (Mc Farland: 5).
Management generally rests on three pillars; the managers; process and the organisation which include people, material, capital and information.
In broadcasting, management is people-oriented as it uses these talents to satisfy audience needs. In a deregulated market driven broadcasting outfit, Jay Hoffer considers Management to be principally involved in Management thinking, (personal and impersonal factors), programming and sales. All other departments exist to provide support services to those functions. According to Hoffer, “in most of the Management, leader’s effort centers on thinking rather than doing”. This is because broadcasting is an entertainment, informative as well as an advertising medium.