an assessment of internet value by media practitioners (a case study of journalists and media practitioners in uyo metropolis in akwa ibom state)

AN ASSESSMENT OF INTERNET VALUE BY MEDIA PRACTITIONERS (A CASE STUDY OF JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA PRACTITIONERS IN UYO METROPOLIS IN AKWA IBOM STATE)

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In 1973, the U. S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) initiated a research program to investigate techniques and technologies for interlinking packet networks of various kinds. The objective was to develop communication protocols which would allow networked computers to communicate transparently across multiple, liked packet network (Colin 1997). This was called the internet project and the system of networks which emerged from the research was known as the “internet”. media practitioners

In 1986, the U. S. National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated the development of the NSFNET, which today provides a major backbone communication service for the interent. With its 45 megabite per second facilities, the NSFNET carries on the order of 12 billion packets per month between the networks it links (schudson 1988). A great deal of support for the internet community has come from the U.S Federal Government since the internet was originally part of the federally, funded research program and subsequently has become a major part of U.S research program and subsequently has become a major part of the U.S research infrastructure. During the late 1980 however, the population of internet users and network constituents expanded internationally and began to include commercial facilities. Indeed, the bulk of the system today is made up of private networking facilities in educational and research institution, business and in government organization across the globe. With the popularity and the interactivity offered by the internet and World Wide Web, media organization see the web as the medium, they must conquer if they are going to survive (Morris 1997). From historical points of view, whenever a new medium reaches critical mass it threatens to and does displace existing medium to some degree (Crumpet 1993). For example the upstart television industry took consumers and advertisers away from radio industry back in the 1940’s and 1950’s (Grumpet 1993). media practitioners

The world media network had become a global village with internet. To date, thousands of commercial media sources have created home pages or gopher sites for people to access. As of September 2001, search tools on the internet turned up as many as 1280 newspaper service, 3600 magazine service 2400 television program and numerous free writers with district web site (morns 1997).

A Nigeria audience can through a home computer get access to American magazine and other mass media sources around the globe. With the internet a poor journalist can start a news and entertainment media source by creating a web site rather than looking for loans form banks to float a bogus traditional media house. From a home computer one can start an information dissemination sources that can get across to any audience around the globe. media practitioners
The major media types of groups that have been introduced since the beginning of the 20th century includes film, sound recording, radio, television, personal computer, video cassettes, internet etc. media practitioners

The twentieth century has witnessed a series of technological development which has influence modern and contemporary journalism. Internet has changed the face of journalism all over the world. At the beginning of the decade, few journalists and fever still affiliated with mainstream, mean line media had even heard of the internet. By 1994, journalists on the leading edge were predicting that the internet would fundamentally change the way their colleague would go about doing their work (Reddick and King 1994). By 1997, the internet was an integral part of the practice, presentation and social impact of journalism. media practitioners

The open and distributed technology of internet has created quite by accident, an entirely new form of human communication; mass participation is in bi-directional, uncensored mass communication. On the net we find massive number of people broadcasting information number of people. Whereas the introduction of Gutenberg press made communication possible for the very, very few who would ever own a printing press, the internet has turned every owner of a computer a modern and a telephone line into a publisher, a radio station and soon enough, a TV studio this is a new economy of information (Lewis 1996). media practitioners

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