INFLUENCE OF PIONEER NEWSPAPER EDITORIAL ON READERS

Newspaper is a medium of mass communication through which the masses are informed, educated and entertained among other functions of the mass media. This work is designed to study the effect of Pioneer Newspaper on readers in Abak Local Government Area. It is pertinent to note that Newspapers, though rarely find their way into Abak, only those who work in Urban areas and those who are opportune to visit those areas, such as Abak Urban, Afaha Obong, Ediene Abak sometimes come home with few copies of these Newspapers on an irregular basis. Moreover, even the readership of these Newspapers is strongly affected by the high illiterate rate in the Community. Previous researchers in this field confirmed themselves to the study of the relationship between Urban and Rural areas in terms of media exposure. But this study distinguishes itself by studying a completely rural community which Abak Local Government Area. In the study, descriptive survey method was adopted using the questionnaire as instrument of data collection. The study population is 188,400 and a sample of 200 respondents were taken. Data collected were analyzed in simple statistic percentage and presented in tables. The findings revealed that the influence of pioneer newspaper editorial on reader is high.