Fourth International Conference on Communication & Media Studies

Abstract

New media continue to reshape our communication patterns, in the sense that they have caused a departure from the way information was being created, processed, stored, analysed, disseminated, and preserved in the past, which is now referred to as old or traditional media. New media technology now occupies an important position because many new media platforms have millions of followers from all over the world. People interact, sell products and brands, broadcast news, share knowledge, inspire social discussion, and react to events and issues almost instantaneously. One Industry that has benefitted from new media technology is broadcast media, as they among others now employ new media in receiving feedback from their audience, especially during live interactive programmes. By so doing, there is a convergence of new media and the broadcast media. Media convergence is not new. Media have been converging in many ways such as photograph converging into newspaper, telephone converging into broadcasting and now new media are converging into broadcasting. This research explores these shifts. Outcomes show that with the introduction of new media into broadcast stations in Port Harcourt, traditional methods of gatekeeping and censorship are no more adequate to check breach of the Nigeria broadcasting code because quality controllers like the managers do not have control over the content supplied by the audience. Secondly, quality controllers or gatekeepers in broadcast stations in Port Harcourt have no control over audience input through the new media during live programs.