ABSTRACT
Broadcast media always eager to break the news as
they happen because nothing is as stale as yesterday reports and now in the era
of advanced technology where social media (facebook, twitter, instagram,
youtube, blogs etc) are competing with broadcast media, there is need for more
effective and speedy delivery of information and one of the tools is the use of
outside broadcast for live transmission. The study examine the role of outside
broadcasting van (Ob-Van) on the television coverage of live political event
using Nigeria Television
Authority (NTA) and African Independent Television (AIT) as case study. It is
observed that outside transmission of political events have made most of the
events very popular and carry millions of Nigerians along. Survey research
method was adopted in which 100 copies of questionnaires were administered and
90 were retrieved. Simple random sampling technique was adopted to select the
respondents. Frequency and percentage method of data analysis was used.
Findings show that outside broadcasting transmission bring the event to the people as
it is happening, it reduced the amount of information the gatekeepers can keep.
It is recommended that media planners and top media management team should try
not to abuse the OB-Van in favour political gladiators and training should be
organized for staff regularly on how to discharge their duties during outside
transmission.
