Abstract

0ne of the major problems associated with information dissemination and diffusion in the rural areas of Nigeria is language. This impediment makes access to information not only difficult but sometimes cumbersome. This study therefore examined the role translating broadcast news into the indigenous (Ibibio) language of the Akwa Ibom State people had played in getting information across to the rural dwellers in the state. The survey design was adopted for this study and the questionnaire used as the main research instrument. Data were obtained  from 384 residents in the three senatorial districts viz ; Uyo, Eket and Ikot Ekpene. These respondents were chosen through the systematic sampling procedure. Findings indicate that NTA Uyo’s news translation into the Ibibio language has contributed immensely to information dissemination and information gain among the rural dwellers. This in turn affected the level of information diffusion in the rural areas. As a fall out to this, the study recommends that television stations in the country except for NTA stations that practice the news indigenization policy should also introduce the use of indigenous languages in news presentation to the people in their areas of operation. Radio stations should also do the same.  

Key Words:  News Translation, Information Diffusion, Local Languages, Translated Text, Rural Dwellers.

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*Grace U. Nwagbara, Ph.D. is with the Department of Communication Arts, University of Uyo, Uyo, Nigeria

**Charity Edem James is with the Nigerian Television Authority, Channel 12, Uyo, Nigeria.

^JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 8, No. 2, October 2016, 85 – 100