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Nigeria The Media
The press was a specialized interest group in Nigeria.
As the
fourth estate or the "societal watchdog," it was the most
vocal
and effective interest group in the country, especially
because
other interest groups channeled their demands and support
through
the press. The media could act as a watchdog because of
the large
number of newspapers and radio and television stations,
and
because of the wide degree of press freedom.
In the 19__s, Nigeria had more than thirty national and
provincial newspapers, more than twenty general magazines
and
journals, and more than twenty television and radio
stations.
Although the radio and television stations were owned by
the
federal and state governments, most of the newspapers and
magazines were privately owned and were, in general, seen
as
instruments of partisan political interests. Thus, the
latter
could afford to be critical of the government. At some
points,
newspapers and magazines have been proscribed, as happened
to
Newbreed in 1977, the Tribune in 1984, and
Newswatch in 1988. Individual journalists have been
harassed and intimidated by government security agents. In
1971
Minere Amakiri, a Nigerian Observer correspondent,
was
detained and his hair shaved. Since then, numerous editors
and
reporters have been detained.
The organized interest groups representing the press
included
the Nigeria Union of Journalists, the Newspaper
Proprietors
Association, and the Nigerian Guild of Editors. These
associations mainly pursued the professional interests of
their
members but also played active roles on broader social
issues.
Data as of June 1991
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