CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

    Background of the study

The 21st century world is much more multidimensional and much more interrelated that the bipolar and the unipolar power syndromes are over forever. This is because the world is increasingly multi-polar and has many fronts space technology, education, medicine, sports, commerce and tourism, bio-fuel research, to mention a few, where many countries could competently and confidently hold their grounds. This scenario was unthinkable some decades ago when only the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the United States of America (USA) and a few others had political, military and socioeconomic hegemony over the world. Today with the rise of countries such as India, Iran, South Africa, China, Libya, Pakistan, Japan, North Korea and other “Asia Tigers”, the world appears to be engaged in a fierce competition with itself. Apart from the continuous depletion of the ozone layer, that has been precipitated by industrial pollution and the technological craze of these countries, many of them are engaged in the economics of protectionism and military adventurism, which is threatening world peace by the day. Incidentally, this has culminated in the worst ever global economic recession the world has witnessed in recent history. People of different races, ideological persuasions and religions seem to have agreed that there is the need for global solidarity to promote the sustenance of the environment for generations unborn. The human  race is now trying to explore the diversities of the world with a view to engendering community solidarity, stability and creativity, national and transnational integration as well as global peace (Joseph Eboreime in the Nigerian Television Authority programme, “One on One” , 2009). In essence, there appears to be a growing global consensus which is probably best couched in the expression, “We don’t have elsewhere to go so let’s preserve the earth for our good and the good of our children”. Developing tourism prospects in different parts of the globe has been identified as one of the surest strategies to jumpstart the slowdown in the different economies of the world (Cable News Network [CNN], 2009). Apart from ensuring sustainable growth and development, tourism promotes the preservation of natural and man-made treasures which are, in turn, capable of keeping the earth safe. It is in this sense that this paper canvasses the use of the television medium to reinvent tourism for sustainable growth and development in a developing economy such as Nigeria. Theoretically, this paper is predicated on the development media theory which advocates that the media could be used to facilitate the process of socioeconomic development of a country (Baran and Davis, 1995). The theoretical construct further holds that by supporting development efforts, the media could be an aid to society at large. In other words, the media particularly the broadcast media could and should be used to rally people, infrastructure and institutions in aid of national development in modern societies. Hence, the media particularly the television medium can help to prioritize societal issues, including tourism development issues in Nigeria. The World Book Encyclopaedia (1987) explains “television” as a derivative of the Greek, “tele” meaning “at a distance”, and the Latin “videre”, meaning “to see”. Thus television means “a seeing at a distance”. It is considered to be one of the greatest technological strides of 20th century which possesses the ability to take viewers out of this world to explore the outer space. The television medium is such a captivating medium that has created an intimate relationship between the audience and itself. Through television programmes, “we (the audience) gain insights into politics, history, current events, and culture (Awake!, 2006). It has a variety of applications in society, business, and science. The most common use of television is as a source of information and entertainment for viewers in their homes. Security personnel also use televisions to monitor buildings, manufacturing plants, and numerous public facilities. Public utility employees use television to monitor the condition of an underground sewer line, using a camera attached to a robot arm or remote-control vehicle. Doctors can probe the interior of a human body with a microscopic television camera without having to conduct major surgery on the patient. Educators use television to reach students throughout the world. Perhaps, it is this awesomeness of television in terms of functionality that impelled Antonoff (2008) to assert that Television is a system of sending and receiving pictures and sound by means of electronic signals transmitted through wires and optical fibres or by electromagnetic radiation. These signals are usually broadcast from a central source, a television station, to reception devices such as television sets in homes or relay stations such asthose used by cable television service providers. Television is the most widespread form of communication in the world. Though most people will never meet the leader of a country, travel to the moon, or participate in a war, they can observe these experiences through the images on their television.

    Statement Of Problem

Television is a system of sending and receiving pictures and sound by means of electronic signals transmitted through wires and optical fibres or by electromagnetic radiation. These signals are usually broadcast from a central source, a television station, to reception devices such as television sets in homes or relay stations such as those used by cable television service providers. Television is the most widespread form of communication in the world. Though most people will never meet the leader of a country, travel to the moon, or participate in a war, they can observe these experiences through the images on their television. It is in light of this that prompt the researcher to investigate the role of television in the promotion of environmental health.

    Objective Of The Study

The main objective of this study is to ascertain the role of television in the promotion of environmental health, but to aid the completion of the study, the researcher intends to achieve the following objectives;

    To ascertain the role of television in promotion of environmental health
    To ascertain the relationship between television and health awareness programs.

    To ascertain the impact television on health awareness programs

    To ascertain the effect of television programs on the environmental health of the populace
        Research hypotheses

For the successful completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated

H0: television does not play any significant role in the promotion of environmental health