Political Economy of the Nigerian Media Industry: Ownership Structures, Ideological Control, and Democratic Communication

This study constructs an original political economy framework for understanding the ownership structures, commercial imperatives, and ideological control mechanisms of the Nigerian media industry and their consequences for democratic communication. Political economy of media theory examines how economic ownership and structural power shape media content, access, and diversity, but its application to the specific conditions of Nigerian media capitalism has been limited to partial analyses of specific media sectors. This study provides the first comprehensive political economy analysis of the Nigerian media system as a whole, covering newspapers, television, radio, and digital media. Primary research includes structured interviews with 38 media owners, senior executives, and editors, financial analysis of advertising market concentration, systematic mapping of ownership networks using company registry data and share holding disclosures for 80 major media organisations, and content diversity measurement across ownership categories. The theoretical framework integrates Murdock and Golding's political economy approach with postcolonial media theory and the African political-media nexus literature. Findings reveal high ownership concentration in Nigerian media, with 12 ownership groups controlling 68 percent of total audience reach across platforms. Political affiliation of owners is the strongest predictor of political framing in owned outlets, demonstrating structural ideological control. Advertising concentration in Lagos-based FMCG multinationals creates commercial leverage over editorial decisions in cash-dependent media. The study contributes an original Nigerian media political economy theory and recommends media ownership diversity legislation, advertising market transparency, and public broadcasting reform as structural interventions for democratic communication.

Keywords: political economy, media ownership, Nigeria, democratic communication, ideological control.