1993 Volume 7 No. 3 • Press Freedom and the Role of the Media in Kenya • Television, Sexual Behavior and Attitudes towards AIDS: A Study in Cultivation Analysis • Development Information Content in the African Mass Media: A Study of Two Nigerian Dailies • Interpersonal Communication, Human Interaction and Societal Relationships in Islam Copyright © 1993 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: 227043/216135/215270/334244 ext. 2068 Telex: 25148 ACCEKE. Correspondence and Advertising Authors should send contributions to the Managing Editor, ACCE Institute for Communication Develpment and Research, P. O. Box 47495, Nairobi, Kenya. Books for review, book review articles and all other matters regarding AMR should be sent to the same address. Subscription Rates One Year Two Years Three Years Africa US$ 39:00 US$ 69:00 US$ 99:00 Outside Africa US$ 48:00 US$ 90:00 US$ 132:00 These rates include packing and postage. Single copies are US$ 13:00 within Africa and US$ 16:00 outside Africa. Cheques or money orders should be made payable to African Council for 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. Managing Editor Editorial Assistant Circulation ACCE President Dr. Charles Okigbo, African Council for Communication Education Nairobi, Kenya. Angelina Mwashumbe, African Council for Communication Education, Nairobi, Kenya. Rahab Gatura, African Council for Communication Education, Nairobi Kenya. Dr. Francis Wete, University of Yaounde, Cameroon. i Comments on the Contents of this Issue This issue of AMR addresses the interesting and very important area of communication that impinges on culture, human rights, personal relationships, politics-in other words the lives of the media consumer. In the first article, Cecil Blake examines the speech act in traditional African settings against the background of African traditional values and the right to speak. He aims to show how traditional African values are critical in understanding communication philosophies, ethics, processes, structures and genres in traditional African settings. Polycarp Ochilo addresses the thorny issue of press freedom and stating that it is directly related to the role of the media and the nature of the government in power, questioning how that media is expected to operate. His research is based in Kenya but can be generalized to other areas of Africa. The popular entertainment, the home video recorder, is the subject of the article by Innocent Okoye. He points out the detrimental effect of most available western-made videos on the lives of Nigerian children, stating that they have become divorced from their culture. As a solution, he suggests that parents give more guidance to when, and with whom the children view videos, questioning whether they have any place in the education of Nigerian children. Kwadwo Bosompra researched the interesting question of the effect of television viewing on sexual behaviour and its consequences in forming attitudes towards AIDS. He took into consideration income level, education, religious practices, and age as factors determining the amount of television viewing and its effects. By studying two Nigerian dailies, Cosmas Nwokeafor and R. Nwafo Nwanko found that the papers were more non-developmental than developmental in their orientation. The findings showed that sustained development requires a system that accounts for both human rights and human needs. Abdur Rahman O. Olayiwola discusses the proposition that Islam is a communicative religion dealing dynamically with the communication process. He concludes that society has a duty to enhance development through interpersonal communication, human interaction and social relationships. In the final article, Kwame Karikari asks pertinent questions on the issue of independent press activity. He encourages media educators and communicators to ensure that the main objective of the emerging media ought to be the improvement of the people's lifestyle, both materially and politically. ii Table of Contents 1 Traditional African Values and the Right to Communicate by Cecil Blake 19 Press Freedom and the Role of the Media in Kenya by Polycarp J. Omolo Ochilo 35 Television, Sexual Behavior and Attitudes towards AIDS: A Study in Cultivation Analysis by Kwadwo Bosompra 63 Video in the Lives of Nigerian Children by Innocent Okoye 75 Development Information Content in the African Mass Media: A Study of Two Nigerian Dailies by Cosmas Nwokeafor and R. Nwafo Nwanko 91 Interpersonal Communication, Human Interaction and Societal Relationships in Islam by Abdur Rahman O. Olayiwola 105 Radio Pluralism and Manpower Needs by Kwame Karikari iii