1990 Volume 4 Number 3 Role of Party Newspapers in Tanzania • The Vernacular Press in Zambia Mass Media under Military Government Sources of Political Information Copyright (c) 1990 by the African Council on Communication Education (ACCE), Nairobi, Kenya, ISSN 0258-4913 Africa Media Review provides a forum for the study of communication theory, practice and policy in African countries. It is published thrice yearly by the ACCE Institute for Communication Development and Research, P.O. Box 47495, Nairobi, Kenya. Telephone 27043/722089/334244 Ext. 2068. Telex: 25148 ACCE KE Correspondence and Advertising should send contributions Authors the Editor, ACCE Institute for Communication Development and Research, P.O. Box 47495, Nairobi, Kenya. Books for review, book review articles and all other matters regarding AMR should be addressed to the Publications Manager, same address as above. to Subscription Rates: Africa Outside Africa One Year Two Years Three Years US$ 39.00 US$ 69.00 US$ 99.00 $90 $132 These rates include packing and postage. Single copies are US$ 13.00 within Africa and US$ 16 outside Africa. Cheques or money orders should be made payable to African Council on Communication Education and sent to the above address. Special arrangements will be entered into where applicable for subscribers in Africa through their nearest ACCE National Co-ordinator. ACCE institutional and individual members receive AMR as part of membership privileges. Editor Publications Manager Lewis Odhiambo, School of Journalism, University of Nairobi, Kenya. S.T. Kwame Boafo, African Council on Communication Education, Kenya ACCE Executive Co-ordinator Batilloi Warritay, African Council on ACCE President Communication Education, Kenya Tom Adaba, Directorate of Programmes, NTA, Lagos, Nigeria. (ii) Comment on the Contents of this Issue This volume of AMR contains articles which deal with issues as diverse as film acting, the use of newspapers and radio as propaganda and mobilization tools, sources of political information in rural communities and Media performance under military rule. William Shija reveals that Tanzanian Party newspapers are not good instruments for mass mobilization because of the small mobilization value of the content. In addition, the country's underdeveloped communication infrastructure greatly retards the flow of information through the newspapers. But G. Moshiro argues that Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam (RTD) has played a major role in mobilizing the masses for various programmes - including the war the country waged against Uganda's Idi Amin. As it faces the 1990s what role should the radio assume? Charles Okigbo, in his study of sources of political information in a rural community, also shows that radio is the most important medium for influencing the rural population in a developing country, in contrast with the power of television in the United States. Francis Kasoma and Michael Leslie, in a pilot study, show that a vernacular (rural) newspaper in Zambia has very little impact on the lives of the ruralites it is supposed to serve. They argue that the newspaper is not about and for the rural people and add that copies do not reach the villages: they end up in market stalls for another purpose altogether. Kweku Rockson expounds on the constraints the media in Ghana face under the country's military government. Wole Adamolekum focuses on what it takes for Nigeria to aspire and achieve greatness. As he states, the country has "massive fertile land resources, mineral resources, well- researched packages of technological innovations, favourable weather — but only one this is lacking: a central body to mobilize these resources." Adomolekun calls on the mass media in Nigeria to play the important role of mass mobilization. The article by Hyginus Ekwuazi also makes interesting reading. Ekwuazi gives tips on effective film-acting: (a) the ability to internalise rather than externalise the role (b) the ability to be conscious and at the same time unconscious of the camera and (c) a thorough understanding of the medium and its range of possibilities and limitations. (iii) Table of Contents The Role of Party Newspapers in Mobilizing the Masses in Tanzania: A Critical Analysis by William M.F. Shija The Role of Tanzania Radio Dar es Salaam in Mobilizing the Masses: A Critique by G. Moshiro Some Perspectives on the Mass Media Under a Military Government: A Case Study of the Mass Media under Ghana's PNDC by Kweku Rockson Sources of Political Information in a Rural Nigerian Community by Dr. Charles Okigbo The Vernacular Press in Zambia: A Pilot Study of a Provincial Newspaper by Francis P. Kasoma and Michael Leslie Social Mobilization: Tool for Effective Grassroots for National Transformation by Wole Adamolekun Towards a Theory of Film Acting: The Nigerian Experience by Hyginus Ekwuazi 18 36 49 62 79 96 (v)