TELL Magazine

Democracy is perceived as a structure which, ordinarily, should be strongly built for those sheltered by it. Consequently, it is sustained by certain pillars, so to speak, without which it cannot stand. One of such pillars…, is the press. Others are: the legislature, the constitution, political parties, impartial judiciary, independent electoral umpire, etcetera, but this piece focuses on the press. Described as the Fourth Estate of the Realm, the press is expected to have equal recognition as the first three institutions of executive, legislature and judiciary respectively. But today, the press does not enjoy that equal status and recognition.    
May 3rd was marked all over the world as world Press Freedom Day. The concept is an ideal which the press everywhere in the globe crave for. This, apart from helping to establish the profession to conform with global best practices, it is also to indeed strengthen its position as the fourth estate of the realm as well as ensure its practitioners’ access to classified and other information for news gathering and reporting. Generally, the press has the primary responsibility to inform, educate and entertain society. It also has a duty to put government on its toes by serving as watchdog on it.  

Therefore, the press performs the function of surveillance of the environment. This refers to the activities of collection and distribution of information about events in the environment, both within and outside a particular society. The surveillance function or role of the media presupposes that the media are the eyes and ears of the public. The media provides information and alert their heterogeneous audiences of the changes that take place around them. The media help maintains social order by providing instructions on what has to be done in times of crisis, thereby reducing confusion among the masses. Example: in times of insurrections and uprising, natural disasters, war, health scares, etc., it is the role of the media to create awareness by providing information on what is happening and of ways in which the disaster can be faced.  Furthermore, the press performs the function of correlation of parts of society. This refers to the process of going beyond mere gathering and distribution of information and interpretation of what is given out as news about the environment. People’s attitudes towards political issues, events, public policy, etc. are influenced to an extent by how the media frames and presents the issue in their discussions and presentations. For instance, ‘‘news behind the news’’ such as going beyond facts to situate the events. This is also called “news analysis” or news commentary, which of course, could accommodate some form of propaganda. 
The press also performs the function of transmission of socio-cultural heritage. This involves communicating the knowledge, values and social norm of a given society from one generation or group to another. This is what is often regarded as the educational function of any medium of mass communication such as radio or television. For instance, children’s television programmes are designed to showcase good behaviours and moral standards, which children can learn by watching programmes like: Tales by Moonlight a children television programme on Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) network service. There is also the entertainment function of the press. This relates to relaxation. It is meant to ease tension from much labour. The function of entertainment in mass communication is not meant for punishment but for leisure and relaxation. This is simply why families can sit comfortably in their various homes viewing comedies, sports and cartoons for children.  Mass communication also functions to mobilise people during times of crisis. With respect to the case of Boko Haram bombings in the Northeastern Nigeria, regardless of anyone’s association to the incident, Nigerians felt the attack as a nation and people followed the news as they were unfolding until government brought the situation under control. With instant access to media and information, we can collectively witness the same events taking place in real time somewhere else, as such, mobilising a large population of people around a particular event. 
Mass communication messages are also designed to induce or persuade people to bring a change in their beliefs systems, opinions, attitudes and thinking on a number of issues like buying a particular product or idea, voting, religious convictions, dowry, culture, etcetera. In addition, business enterprises design various advertisements to persuade potential customers to consume such products as advertised in the mass media whether in print (newspapers, magazines) or electronic media (radios, televisions). Finally, here, Mass Communication serves the purpose of binding influence. This is the integration function of the press. Here, the media of mass communication binds people from different cultural backgrounds, age, religion, races, ethnicity, language barrier etc, are bound together to interact on a daily basis. People are bonded together due to the influence of mass media messages. 
The foregoing postulations of press functions provide a general framework upon which each medium can be assessed as well as obviate the necessity for them to be given the latitude to exercise freedom in the practise of their profession. Admittedly, the said freedom cannot be absolute and is not expected to be. No government in the whole wide world guarantees its press absolute freedom. Even America which is said to have the freest press does not give its press absolute freedom. Hence, the concept of freedom of the press is relative even in free press regime democracies. Veterans and mass media operators are aware of this position so that when the press talks of press freedom, it is assumed that, what it is advocating is the quality and extent of freedom that would be adequate for them to practise their noble profession as expected by relevant extant laws within the gamut of the mass media. 
In Nigeria however, it is a different ball game. Even with the signing into law of the Freedom of Information Bill (FOIB), now Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the problem of journalists’ access to classified information, which was what Abike Dabiri-Erewa thought of solving when she sponsored the bill while as a member of the Federal House of Representatives (FHR) in 2012, is still far from being solved. Rather, government has come up with different unpopular legislations to excessively control and censor the Nigerian press. Nobody, including this writer, is averse to government censorship of mass media content. It is normal. What is however abnormal is its excessiveness, and this government (of Muhammadu Buhari) is guiltier of this excessive censorship (and even gagging) of the press among administrations in democratic dispensation.  The Hate Speech law, for instance, is a major affront to the practice of journalism, and freedom of the press. The same government has been using its agency and regulator, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to intimidate, molest, met out needless sanctions on especially the private broadcast media stations in the country. 
So, when world press freedom is celebrated, what really is the celebration about? What is it meant to be achieved? Is it to lend support to the press in countries where their press is severely gagged, or rejoice with those having better enabling environments? Journalism in Nigeria has long been described by several veterans in the profession and other scholars as ‘an endangered profession’, perhaps more endangered during the military interregnum. Still, even in a democracy, the press still faces tougher measures, and cat and dog co-existence with the government of the day. The press is mostly seen by Nigerian government as enemy. Some media stations, perhaps out of survival instincts, have opted to play to the gallery and propaganda roles for government as against adherence to the ethics of the profession. 

Mokuye sent this piece from ILESA, Osun state. He can be reached on smkuye@gmail.com or 08061645953