Title: Mass Media and Society: A Discourse on Mutual Impact.
Author: Sylvanus A. Ekwelie
Publishers: Rhyce Kerex Publishers
ISBN: 978-978-59952-7-5
Reviewer: Chido Nwakanma
When a pioneer in communication scholarship reflects on the industry, media, and society, professionals take note. Sylvanus Ekwelie offers deep insights and historical perspectives in his latest book, Mass Media and Society.
The book took over 31 years to finish. It began as a paper for his inaugural lecture. However, administrative delays caused a nine-year hold-up in his appointment as a professor.
Ekwelie observes: ‘For relatively new academic fields like Mass Communication, the need for inaugurals is obvious. After I enrolled for a degree in Journalism in 1963, I had to answer questions like, “What is that”?
‘After the conversion to Mass Communication, the curiosity could only grow. Nsukka and Lagos bore the brunt of some of the condescending questions. As the head of the University of Nigeria’s Mass Communication Department from 1977, I had a front seat at that intellectual inquiry as a point man. My inaugural was aimed at addressing some of the curiosities and thus help sell our discipline to the public.’
He shifted his focus to other matters and continued updating the book to reflect developments in media and scholarship on the effects of media.
Mass Media and Society is a comprehensive exploration of the relationship between the media and society, examining what has changed and what remains constant in the light of societal evolution and technological advancements. The scope and sweep are broad, covering the last 160 years in Nigeria, West Africa, and the world.
Mastery is required to embrace both the ancient and the modern. Ekwelie explores various issues in this manner. He is assertive, suitable for a professor who was the first to graduate with honours in 1963 from the premier degree programme in journalism in Nigeria and West Africa. He enriches his narrative with vivid anecdotes, humour, and sarcasm.
Mass Media and Society looks at various aspects of the subject.
• The power and influence of the media and its convening power.
• Who influences whom the most between the media and the society it serves?
• Fame and influence that turn professionals into celebrities and power brokers, extending beyond their organisations, also bring the attendant hubris and danger.
• Relationships between the media and power, from kings and queens to presidents and prime ministers. The example of Rupert Murdoch.
• Has social media changed the character of the press from an elite indulgence to a proper tool of inclusion and citizen empowerment?
• The significance of language. Here, Ekwelie, the master style guide, returns to his thesis on the importance of language. Should Nigerian media continue to navigate between UK and US English, where are the style guides that provide guidance and a guardrail, avoiding defamation and other pitfalls?
• Media theories examine these issues, including a reassessment of the media’s functions considering technological progress and modern developments.
The 218-page book is rich.
It includes a Preface, an Introduction, Part I, Part II, and Part III. Part 1 provides an overview of Mass Media Functions. Part II, “Scoring the Mass Media,” comprises four chapters, and Part III discusses the Media Environment.
The reader encounters many names that have appeared in Nigerian and global journalism. Ekwelie shares their compelling stories to illustrate different points in the book. It is never dull.
History is a strong suit of this book. However, it is not history that bores with arcane details.
Media and Society provoke an old debate about which generation does better journalism. He states: ‘My conviction is that our media personnel have enough intellectual resources and professional competence to render a better service. The supreme irony must be that the earliest newspapers will best what now greets consumers. This statement should be taken as a professional verdict and not as an expression of nostalgic lamentations’.
He further states: ‘The editors of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, despite challenging operating conditions, did a marvellous job. We can still look back at the contributions of editors like Melie Ajuluchukwu, Adamu Ciroma, Peter Enahoro, Gab Idigo, Abubakar Imam, Babatunde Jose, Ebenezer Williams, and Herbert Unegbu. Their immediate successors, including Agwu Okpanku, Emmanuel Bedu, Henry Onyedike, Stanley Nkwachikwelumamaya (also known as Stanley Macebuh), Olatunji Dare, Tony Momoh, Dan Agbese, Ray Ekpu, Samuel Nwanuforo, Etim Anim, Nick Dazang, Etta Ibok, and Tunji Oseni, all maintained the faith. The decline we currently witness arises from two developments: excessive trust in recruits and the use of a compromised style in copy preparation by these recruits, whose grasp of English grammar is, at best, uncertain’.
Mass Media and Society reinforces the core principles of Ekwelie’s media philosophy. In short order, they are:
1. Journalistic precision as social responsibility
Ekwelie stressed that language accuracy (spelling, punctuation, pronunciation) is essential for credible journalism. He required students to listen to BBC News daily to improve pronunciation, arguing that mispronouncing names reflects “laziness” rather than resource constraints.
His Master Style Guide (2005) reinforced this, teaching clarity to combat “grandiloquence” that obscures truth.
2. Media’s role in democratic accountability
He regarded the media as a watchdog against abuses of power. In his autobiography, he lamented Nigeria’s “decline of values” and urged journalists to expose corruption and governance failures.
3. Former students, such as Emeka Oparah and Emma Esinnah, emphasise Ekwelie’s intolerance for errors in official communications (e.g., rejecting a Vice-Chancellor’s meeting notice due to grammatical mistakes), considering linguistic integrity a form of anti-corruption advocacy.
4. Ethical foundations over sensationalism
Ekwelie condemned “vanity publishing” and click-driven journalism. He avoided newspaper articles to prevent “ignorant editing” of his work, prioritising depth over visibility.
His classroom used humour to critique ethical lapses, for example, calling verbose student answers a ‘voluminous display of ignorance’.
5. Education as societal transformation
As a pioneer at UNN’s Mass Communication Department (Jackson School), he designed curricula that blended theory and practice. Courses like Elements of Journalistic Style smoothed rough edges in students, preparing them to inform the public accurately.
He promoted media literacy long before its digital necessity, instructing on the critical analysis of sources—a concept reflected in contemporary debates on tackling misinformation.
Ekwelie’s Impact on Nigerian media landscape
• Institutional development: Was a pioneering student and later head of Nigeria’s first comprehensive journalism programme at UNN, nurturing leaders such as Pat Utomi, Kingsley Osadolor, Chido Nwakanma, Gbenga Adefaye, Dr Jo-Bel Molokwu, Ugo Onuoha, Tajudeen Kareem, Susan Eshett, Rose Umoren, and Ochereome Nnanna.
• Ethical legacy: His focus on accuracy shaped generations; alumni populate Nigeria’s media, PR, and academia, spreading his standards.
• Critique of modern media: He warned against digital haste undermining verification, foreseeing today’s issues with fake news and mental health effects from sensationalised content.
Relevance to contemporary media-society debates
Ekwelie’s principles directly engage current issues:
• Misinformation: His insistence on cross-checking pronunciations and facts prefigured today’s fact-checking movements.
• Media polarisation: He modelled balanced discourse, using satire to disarm biases without sacrificing rigour.
Civic engagement: Media must ‘educate publics on norms and policies’, not just inform, aligning with digital campaigns.
Media and Society (2024) is a must-have companion for media professionals and those who appreciate the media.
