The 21 -year old
prestigious Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (JMC) of University
of Buea(UB) has produced its second Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Mr. Muluh Henry Ziyingong,
lecturer of JMC UB, earned the title of Doctor of Philosophy on July 12, 2014
when he successfully defended his doctoral thesis, "Broadcast Regulation And Deregulation In Cameroon 1960 To 2012
.Implications For Radio Journalism Practice" before a jury of seasoned
professors in the Board Room of the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences,
University of Buea..
 |
| Muluh Henry defending his PhD thesis in journalism |
The five-person jury
that examined and validated the thesis was chaired by endowed Professor Victor
Wacham Mbarika of the ICT University in Louisiana, USA. Other jury members were
Prof. Albert Mbida of Ministry of Communication, Prof. Misse Misse, Prof.
Martha Tumnde of University of Buea and Prof. Enoh Tanjong of University of
Buea
The first ever PhD
thesis from the JMC of UB was successfully defended by Kingsley Ngange,
lecturer of same department on December 27, 2012. The title of Ngange's thesis
was "Redefining Journalism Roles In
Democracy: In Search Of Evidence From Elections Coverage Using Mobile Phones
And Internet In Cameroon"
The jury chair Prof Mbarika, describing Muluh
Ziyingong's brilliant work as original, ground-breaking and rich in the opinion
of the jury, declared that the candidate scored an A-grade.
 |
| Prof .Victor Mbarika asking questions to Muluh Henry |
"The panel
decided that, he has passed with an A- grade, which is excellent. He is now Dr.
Henry Muluh", he announced to thunderous applause from the audience
Professor Mbarika
later told reporters: "The candidate did an excellent job looking at the
issues of deregulation and impact on private radio stations in Cameroon. He did
an excellent work that is why the jury gave him very high recommendation for
PhD.
"His work really
touches something that is important especially in the context of developing
nations. Radio is very important and there are still a lot of villages without
television; his work was a masterpiece; I don't think there is any work that
has written much about issues of regulation and deregulation within the
sector"
On what the candidate
actually brought out in his research work, Professor Mbarika said, "First
of all you have to know that this is a PhD thesis and not a newspaper, so the
most important thing about a PhD thesis is theory; so he did a good job in
contributing to the theoretical base in looking at issues of deregulation or
regulation within the radio sector. The theory was solid.
"On the side of relevance, he came up
with certain measures that the Cameroon Government can take, as well as the
private sector; the thing I like about his work, is that the private sector has
a lot to do-for example self-regulation. If the associations of journalists can
all come together, instead of having Francophone journalists, Anglophone journalists,
Bali Journalists and so on, that would greatly help the profession in
maintaining standards".Prof Mbarika,who has supervised over PhD's said.
Commenting on the
recommendations of the thesis, jury chair said they are very strong and
suggested that they be transformed in to a book. "I think he will come up
with a book on this, which will be very important," he opined.
After his defense,Dr.
Muluh told reporters :"What I am trying to say from my thesis is that, if
the Government does not provide the legal framework for deregulation, If the
Government does not actually show interest in really wanting to deregulate,
then of course the kinds of disorder which we have in the media sector
will still persist"
Prof.Mbida said the
work would, no doubt, contribute in shaping the future of journalism in the
country, while Prof Tumnde, who is also Dean of the Faculty of Social and
Management Sciences, UB, pointed out that the research would contribute to
staff development in the Faculty, where Muluh has been a lecturer for many
years.
Drawing inspiration
from the thesis, Prof Tumnde recommended that the private media in Cameroon be
structured as companies, and not a private property, for better management.
In an exchange with
this reporter, Dr. Julius Che Tita, current head of JMC of UB, said the
department was very proud of its two PhD graduates. He added that the
department would produce more PhD's, and that everything has been put in place
for the next defense in the months ahead.
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