By Okpo Ojah
1. INTRODUCTION
The power of information in the affairs of man is only matched by his desire for food, medicine, shelter and of course, water when man is under the grip of serious thirst.
Based on such thesis according to International Council of Red Cross (ICRCs) World Disaster Report for 2005, the flow of information throughout the disaster cycle is crucial for effective humanitarian operations.
In that regard, in a 254-page World Disaster Report which focuses on information management, ICRC maintains that people need information in all key aspects of life, especially in critical periods of disasters. The report states that information can save lives, livelihoods and resources.
It is against such a background that Anthony Smith, a professor of social science once said, “the issue of information which the media is mainly concerned with lies at the heart of world economy and cannot therefore be separated from the solution of conflict and other issues which the international or domestic communities face from time to times.
Indeed, the immeasurable potency of information in the context of the role of the media has forced, not persuaded, some notable international figures like Anthony Smith to acknowledge such tremendous power of information in a global setting.
For example, Thomas Jefferson, the third American President under the awesome power of information as one of the roles of the media in his famous statement said”, were it left for me to decide whether we should have a government without the press, or the press without a government, I should not hesitate to prefer the latter”.
The pre-eminence of information in the context of the role of the media was equally acknowledged by Alexide Tocqueville, a notable philosopher when he said, “the only authors whom I acknowledged are Americans who are the Journalists; they are indeed, not great writers, but they speak the language of their countrymen.
In the same vein, when one of the war words, indeed, a military icon, Napoleon Bonaparte, of the French extraction empirically observed that four hostile newspapers are more to be feared than a thousand bayonets, he was definitely talking about the intimidating power of information through the print or the electronic media.
And also, when Benjamin Disreali, the 19th British Prime Minister and statesman emphasized that without publicity, there can be no public support, and without public support, every nation must decay “he was referring to the power of information.
Yet by no mean exhaustive, Joseph Put Litzer, a seasoned communication theorist, emphasized that, “publicity, publicity, publicity is the greatest moral factor and force in our public life”.
Implicit and explicit is this rational statement is the important of information as a catalyst of development and conflict prevention, and indeed other aspect of life.
In fact, in 1942, Robert Hutchins, Chairman of the United States Commission on Freedom of the Press, highlighted the following as the fundamental responsibilities of the press in the context of information:
i. Provide a truthful, comprehensive account of the day’s events in a meaningful context.
ii. Regard Information for the exchange of comment or criticism.
iii. Present a representative picture of the constituent groups in a society.
iv. Present and clarify goods and values of the society.
v. Provide full access to the day’s intelligence.
Definitely, such preceding roles constitute the day-to-day challenges of an information officer in any given part of the world, especially from the perspectives of MDAs.
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Before we go into the specific roles of information officer in Administration, Developments and Agencies (MADs) of the government of Cross River State, it will be necessary to briefly examine two basic theories or models relevant to information from the practical perspective.
These are the communication/cybernetics framework, and the systems framework.
a. The Communication / Cybernetic model:
The communication approach is also referred to as cybernetics. It deals with information that can be analyzed, and which reaches organs of decision-making in any given political system. In other words, the major demand of this model is that what is transmitted in communication must be information that can be measured, analyzed, recorded and generalized.
The second demand of the communication framework is that it demands control. This is so because effective information generates reactions and requires regulation of flow. These two phenomena of reaction and regulation of flow constitute control and through control, discipline in measurement and analysis is achieved. Finally, communication model demands that information should contribute to systems maintenance.
This is done through a term known as “feedback”, but this is not the backward flow of information. Rather, it is the capacity of the political system in which all MDAs operate to maintain and preserve itself to receive and absorb shocks and strains, and to contain and utilize changes and variations including those affecting values of a given social system, and adjustments which these changes generate. Information should, therefore make a positive contribution to political culture and should be vital to political education and economic development, because both political culture and the political education of citizens reinforce feed-back potentialities of a system.
On the other hand, based on the fact that information, according to (Kaplan, 1957) includes knowledge of long-range aspirations as well as immediate needs, particularly in terms of estimates of capabilities and knowledge by which objectives may be achieved, cybernetics in those contexts recognizes spying, leakages of information, the stealing of information and the deliberate release of information as legitimate actions. But in all, it should be noted that if information becomes dysfunctional, then something is wrong with the system. And so far, at least since the beginning of the Governor Liyel Imoke administration, such a phenomenon has not occurred with any of the MDAs in Cross River State, a situation which implies that, to an extent, the information officers in the state have been executing their role well.
b. THE SYSTEMS FRAMEWORK
Conceptually, a system is an autonomous unit capable of adaptive behaviour (Goldsmith, 1975:16); a set of complexes of elements standing in interaction (Bertalanfy 1965:20-24). In short, a system can be compared to a living organism like man whose parts are interrelated functionally. In this regard, every system is governed by the law of economy, that is waste is avoided, and what is available is put to maximum use.
Accordingly, the concept of systems is very relevant to the study of information In relation to MDAs in a socio-political system. This is so because the primary goal-seeking function of every information is the reinforcement of creation and allocation of values and the maintenance of a political system, that is the achievement of stability, the continuity or perpetuation of the system and the survival or achievement of homeostasis.
3. THE ROLE OF INFORMATION IN MDAS
As noted in the introductory part of this lecture, coupled with the explanation of the two theoretical frameworks, the information officer has very vital role in the social engineering of Cross River State. This is more so with the plethora of development programmes and projects which the current administration of Governor Liyel Imoke has embarked upon.
In this regard, three basic assumptions in the context of the role of an information officer in MDAs may be put forward.
Assumption One:
That many MDAs with inter-related functions exist functions exist in Cross River State.
Assumption Two
That information officer at least, of diploma or graduate level and above are deployed to such MDAs.
Assumption Three
That such information officers have the relevant qualifications particularly in the media disciplines.
Assumption Four
That information officers possesses specialized knowledge in relation to their areas of deployment.
Based on the preceding assumptions, as well as Robert Hutchins’ responsibilities of the press from the perspective of information and the implication and application of the two theoretical frameworks on information, the role of the information officer becomes crystal clear in context and context in relation in MDAs in the state.
First, the role of an information officer in any MDA is to properly study the mandate of the organization to which he/her is deployed in terms of vision, mission statement and function.
Such knowledge will help him or her to pattern his/her information accordingly for public consumption.
Second, the role of information officer should be to study the daily agenda or activities of the establishment with a view to giving priority coverage to such activities.
Third, the role of an information officer should be that of reading all daily newspapers, magazines and even journals as well as listening to and viewing the electronic media. This is with a view to knowing areas (sensitive areas as such) which concern their establishments. In that regard, the Chief Executive of such an establishment must be informed at once and such areas should be underlined or circled in such papers and presented to the Chief Executive of the establishment. Apart from this step, newspaper cuttings or library arrangement should be adopted for easy reference.
Fourth, the role of an information officer equally involves the writing of feature articles, commentaries, supplements as well as arranging talks on magazine programme in the electronic media for the chief executive officer of the establishment.
Fifth, the role of an information officer should be to project the image of his/her establishment in a positive image through accurate and balanced reporting. Infact, sending of mere press releases to the print and electronic media on the part of information officer has become banal and peclestrian in function.
Sixth, an information officer in any given establishment should be able to make meaningful suggestions on strategies or how to be in the development matrix of the state economy in a positive and proactive way.
Seventh, the information officer must be seen and regarded as the public relations officer next to be Chief Executive officer who is the Chief Public Relations of the establishment.
Eighth, the information officer should devise a culture of media cultivation, by which he or she should call newsmen to a lunch or dinner-with the presence of the Chief Executive Office and his very senior or management staff in any establishment.
Ninth the information officer should not be biased or rushed to place any controversial information on the media.
He/she should engage in fairness doctrine.
Tenth, the information officer must also be effectively involved in inter-agency reporting especially when or he/she is made to cover an event of collaboration nature.
4. RECOMMENDATION FOR EFFECTIVE ROLE OF AN INFORMATION OFFICER IN MDAS:
Before the preceding functions or roles are effectively carried out by the information officer, he/she must be provided with a well-furnished office accommodation including state-of the-art electronic gadgets. This is to facilitate effectiveness and efficiency in his role.
The information officer must be well trained and retrained in the context of his/her establishment. This, apart from updating of knowledge, will make him or her to report any activity or event with truth and confidence. In other words, there must be specialist information officer as far as MDAs are concerned.
In fact, an information officer should be made to attend management meetings to enable him/her accurately report any event so authorized by the management for public interest.
5. CONCLUSION
As stated before, the role of an information officer in MDAs cannot be overstressed in the context of effective information dissemination in a precise and concise way fo r public consumption. As a matter of fact, the information who is these days seen and regarded as a public relations officer for an establishment is more or less an information manager. It is in this context that Woods (1978:6) opined that modern business and persons and organizations that seek publicity (in the context of information) must recognize their obligations to the public and to be press. In this regard, all MDAs in the state must regard the information officer as a key factor in their obligations to both the public and the press.
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