Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, December 28, 1993 TAG: 9312280258
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
DATELINE: RICHMOND (AP) LENGTH: Medium
Doris Ashang, Atim Ekpo Bassey, Asari Imagha and Patrick Ugbe aren't so much watching TV as absorbing it from the inside, however. They plan to return home and start a station modeled after WTVR-TV.
Their facility is to begin broadcasting in the spring.
"Before they kick off, we will have a group over there to do on-site training," said Norma Jean Blalock, WTVR's community affairs director and a consultant to the Nigerians.
The station would be the first run in Cross River State, Nigeria. The only station operating there now is run by the government.
Ashang, 39, a producer of children's programs and documentaries, will be program manager.
Ugbe, 27, will be production manager and do some on-air work. The talk show and music video host is called "the Donnie Simpson of Lagos" after the popular Black Entertainment Television video jockey.
Bassey, 47, is an assistant general manager for an AM radio station. She will be assistant manager and news director of the TV station.
Imagha, 36, whose background is in theater, will sell advertising. She sees her acting background as an asset. "It makes the sales easier when they see you" on television, she said.
The arrangement between Cross River State and Communications Group Inc., which Blalock heads, was made through Basil Olisa, president of the Richmond-based Basil Medical Trading Co.
Blalock went to Cross River State last spring to sign an agreement. Equipment for the new station will be provided through a contract with a Colorado-based engineering firm.
During an interview at WTVR, the visitors painted a picture of Nigerian television that is both similar and different from its U.S. counterpart.
In some areas, a Nigerian viewer might watch the Cable News Network, NBA basketball or soccer. The West African nation also offers a variety of home-produced soap operas, dramas and comedies. Prime time is from 6 to 10 p.m.
There are about 50 TV stations nationwide. About 20 of them are state-run and less than 10 years old. The remaining older stations are run by the federal government.
Privately owned stations in Nigeria are a relatively new concept. Some private stations have been licensed but have not started broadcasting because of recent political turmoil that led to the ouster of former Gov. Clement Ebri.
"Each government comes with its own rules, regulations and laws," Bassey said.
Then there is the matter of censorship. Employees of government-run stations walk a fine line.
Criticize the government aggressively and "you'll be fired immediately," Ashang said.
Bassey estimated that 40 percent to 50 percent of the households of Cross River State own a television. But the vast majority of TV owners live in urban centers like Calabar, the state capital that is establishing a sister-city relationship with Richmond.
Televisions are rare in rural areas. Ugbe said one goal is to set up "viewing centers" in rural communities. Another goal is to expand the relatively brief broadcasting day to 24 hours.
The Nigerians have also visited Washington to tour Black Entertainment Television, WJLA-TV and Howard University's TV station.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.