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Mass Media

The government controls and regulates most of Nigeria's broadcast media through the National Broadcasting Commission. Radio is the most important mass medium for reaching general audiences because it is inexpensive and does not require literacy. The Federal Government owns stations affiliated with the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria. Individual states control other stations, and still others are privately owned. The voice of Nigeria broadcast in Arabic, English, French and Five Indigenous languages. Some Voice of Nigeria Broadcasts are aimed at domestic audiences ; others, primarily shortwave are transmitted around the globe. Similar to the market radio broadcasts, the federal owns two stations affiliated with the National Television Authority, Various states have their own stations and private operators broadcast by satellite. Nigerians also obtain news via voice of America (VOA), British Broadcasting Company (BBC) and Deutsche Welle. In contrast to the broadcast media, the print media are dominated by private publications, a situation that is more amenable to criticism of the government. Nigeria has 14 major daily newspapers, but only one - The New Nigerian- is government-owned. The country also has six newsweeklies and various tabloids. The government does not restrict access to the internet, which is most widely available at cybercafes, and increasingly so in work places and at private homes.