This paper argues that new technologies, which play significant roles in the process of communication, may solve some problems, but they also tend to create new ones. A discussion of the various problems encountered in Nigeria, where an appreciable penetration of portable video cameras and recorders has given the public more access to, and choice of, media software, is used as an example of the complexities that a new technology may introduce into a system. The effects on the potential audience of the introduction of the more expensive color television rather than continued use of black and white is also discussed. It is pointed out that the broadcast system in Nigeria, as in the Third World generally, is inextricably involved with politics, and that media in Third World countries, including Asia and Africa, are almost always in the direct or indirect service of the government of the day. Such service, it is noted, results in a high percentage of broadcast time being devoted to educational material, and political broadcasts receiving priority over other programs. The broadcasting systems in Asia and South and Central America are briefly described and compared with the systems in Africa, especially in terms of government involvement and control. The political factors operating in the creation of an alternative station in Nigeria are also described. An overview of the world-wide penetration of radio, television, and video recorders in both developed and Third World countries is then provided, and a concluding statement sums up the current situation in Nigeria. (10 references) (CGD)