Interrogating the Sustainability of Nigerian Television Management Structure in a Digital Broadcasting Environment

Abstract

The paper examines the bureaucratic-based structural and operational arrangement of the NTA in the context of the digitization requirements. The main objective is to explore the perspectives of the former and present staff of NTA as regards the sustainability of the bureaucratic orientation of the NTA management structure in a digital media environment. The theoretical perspective that guides this paper is the bureaucratic and technological determinism theories. The study adopted qualitative research method, with in-depth interviews as means of data collection with snowballing sampling approach which reached saturation with sixteen participants, comprising retired and serving NTA staff in Lagos, Abuja and Ilorin. The paper discovered that NTA is still using the bureaucratic structure even though it is digitizing its operational arrangement. It discovered that the structure of NTA did not anticipate modular nature of digitization because the law governing NTA is obsolete. The paper concludes that the present management structure which was fashioned in the pre digital environment and heavily bureaucratic, and is government control could be antithetical to the workings of digital broadcasting. Majority of the respondents recommends restructuring of the current management structure in line with digital media environment that must encourage viewership through the involvement of social media, youths and timeliness