MEDIA AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: A STUDY OF TELEVISION COVERAGE OF OGBAKIRI COMMUNAL CRISIS IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study titled Media and Social Responsibility: A Study TelevisionCoverage of Ogbakiri Communal Crisis. The study is centred on the interrogation of the role played by the media in the communal crisis that engulfed the Ogbakiri community of Rivers State between 1997-2002. It is aimed at assessing the extent the media played the role of social responsibility during the crisis. The study is anchored on three theories namely: social responsibility theory, structural functional theory and third party intervention theory. The study adopted mixed research methods namely: quantitative and qualitative research methods. The study as well adopted descriptive and historical analysis of research design in the investigation of the phenomenon under study. Findings of the study among others were that: the excessive quest for return on investment by the television stations negated Article 12 of the Code of Ethics of Media Practitioners in Nigeria hence affecting the level of media social responsibility in the coverage of the communal crisis. Again, the media practitioners were more interested in making news rather than mitigating the communal crisis. Also, lack of crisis mediation and arbitration programmes by television stations did not help in the de-escalation of the communal crisis. The study recommends among others that: the media industry particularly television stations should see peace advocacy campaign, peace keeping, peace building, peace enforcement,  promotion and rendering of humanitarian services to the vulnerable and helpless in the war-turn communities as part of their corporate social responsibility to the society rather than mere coverage of the crisis. Furthermore, the media practitioners and their employers should see crisis mediation and arbitration as a sacred service to God and humanity as this will help in scaling up their social responsibility   to the society.