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Mass media are saddle with the responsibility of informing, educating and entertaining the public.
According to Momoh (1983), mass media are channels of communication which the exigencies of livig brought into existence and they have been described in exotic terms; informers of the curious; entertainers of the bored; teachers of the willing; victims of the unaccomodating; friends in times of bliss and anemies in times of adversity; champions of freedom and barometers of freedom's ups and downs; foot-mats of the successfu; bad boys of the thief and frudulent; naked gun-powders in the hands of despots; encyclopedia and sorrow, success and failure, hnesty and half-truths, banter and blackmail.

Mass media are inseparably identified with the masses and it helps to discover the truth however splintered that truth may be in a plurality of voice. Mass media are the most potential tools by means of which the masses ventilate their feelings and view on any issue of the day, it can be in form of printing; apart from being disseminators of news by means of printed words, illustrations, caricatures and other visual symbolization.

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Important roles of mass media are as follows:

1. Education: The mass media through publications in the newspapers and magazines, as well as programmes in the radio and television educate the masses on issues of political, econmics; this can be inform of: political education, health education, technological education.

2. Information: Through the mass media the attention of the government is draw to areas where urgent priority attention shuld be given to which could be in terms of infastructure provision, security, health, education etc.

3. Audience penetration: The mass media is very useful in audience penetration. It can deliver message in both national and local language.

4. Information dissemination: The mass media help to teach, manipulate, sensitize and mobilize people through information dissemination.

5. Entertainment: The entertainment offered on the broadcasting media helps to bring the rural populace to be at par with their urban counterparts and this gives them a sense of belonging in the society by reducing the effects of ignorance.

6. Solution to problems: Offering solutions to problems is another developmental role of the media, in that they are not only expected to criticize government officials and condemn their actions, but also watchdogs of the society.
   
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