1991 Volume 5 Number 3 T FAMILY PtAWW o Patterns of Media Usage New Information Technologies in PR Communication Education against AIDS Commercialization of the Nigerian Press Copyright ©1991 by the African Council for 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 three times a year by the ACCE Institute for Communication Development and Research, P.O. Box 47495, Nairobi, Kenya. Telephone: 227043/334244 Ext. 2068. Telex: 25148 ACCE KE Correspondence and Advertising Authors should send contributions to 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. 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ACCE President Tom Adaba, NT A, Makurdi, Nigeria. 0) Comments on the Contents of this Issue This issue of the AMR contains a mixture of papers based on exploratory empirical investigations and others which present more theoretical and conceptual discussions. Hilary C. Ozoh's article presents a case study of the uses of the mass media by teachers in a Nigerian educational district The study finds that the respondents use newspapers and magazines for distinct purposes as opposed to just getting news, information and entertainment. In the vein of conceptual discussions about the imbalances and inadequacies in the world information and communication systems, Awatef Abdul Rahman observes that the wholesale purchase of western communication technology and its unbridled usage in Third World countries perpetuate the cultural, ideological and material domination of the South by the North. Rahman argues that the South will remain in the periphery of the world communication and information system unless conscious effort is made to reconceptualize the use of the western technology in the Third World. Cecil Blake examines the application of the new information and communication technologies in Public Relations (PR). The author notes that in the 21st Century, the success of any PR firm will depend entirely on how well it utilizes the latest information and communication technologies to accomplish its goals. He argues that firms and countries which fail to integrate the new information technologies in their day-to-day activities will be marginalized as is already happening to developing countries, especially those in Africa. The Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) is a time bomb which is threatening the survival of mankind. E.O. Soola analyses the role of communication and education in the crusade against the spread of the fatal disease in Africa. Soola advocates the use of multiple but mutually reinforcing mass media and interpersonal communication networks. He recommends that communication and educational efforts against the spread of AIDS should be community-based and generate the active support, involvement and participation of local communities. Lai Oso looks at the commercialization of the Nigerian press. The paper explores the origins of the commercialization process and its implication for journalism practice in the country. Oso contends that commercialization signalled the end of the so-called "political" press which many media scholars still refer to. Finally in this issue, Ben Orewere looks at the implications of modern mass media on traditional communication in a Nigerian rural setting. Despite the imposition of a foreign language (English) as the dominant language of transmission in the modem mass media, Orewere argues that the traditional communication systems will retain their role in the transmission of knowledge and information, cultivation of beliefs, and other socialization processes for quite some time to come. (ii) Table of Contents I I1 19 33 41 53 An Analysis of the Pattern of Media Use by Teachers in a Nigerian Education District by Hilary C. Ozoh Communication Technology in Africa: Dependency or Self-Reliance? by Awatef Abdel Rahman Application of the New Information and Communication Technologies in Public Relations by Cecil Blake Communication and Education as Vaccine Against the Spread of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in Africa by E.O. Soola The Commercialization of the Nigerian Press: Development and Implications by Lai Oso Possible Implications of Modem Mass Media for Traditional Communication in a Nigerian Rural Setting by Ben Orewere 67 Index to Volume 5 (iii)