Postulated understanding of proximate locations theory for normative evaluation of Nigeria’s mobile telecommunications news slants

Since the emergence of normative theories, there has been evolving studies about the ideals revolving around the operational role of the mass media towards development of various societies. Development media theory, for instance, advocates for critical mass media attention to peculiar developmental needs of especially developing societies. However, there is no theoretical extension for evaluating the interactive influence of media information access and exposures on other societies as well as the perception and portrayal of remote realities. As such, the proximate locations theory provides a postulated understanding of contemporary media engagement norms, which are enhanced via new media technologies such as mobile telecommunication news services and related slants. Based on derived content analysis of mobile telecommunication news text in Nigeria, this research explains how mass media role towards contemporary development of increasingly interconnected society is not only the critical presentation of local realities but also mostly a result of an encompassing understanding of the slants of other relative remote news locations that are proximate to societal inter-relational or national alliances and lessons. Indeed, the interconnected nature of contemporary societies aided by digital technologies implies that the role of mass media towards meaningful development of any given society would be deemed reasonable only in comparison with the development of relative realities of such proximate locations. Especially in terms of national development, the evaluation of development media contents is not just a reflection of local issues but also how the slants of such local news realities compare to those of proximate news locations, which ought to include international and foreign news delineations.