VIEWERSHIP OF TELEVISION PROGRAMMES IN ENUGU STATE (A CASE STUDY OF ENUGU SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
ABSTRACT
This research work was carried out in order to find out what the populace of Enugu South thinks or feels about television programmes in Enugu State. The research also attempted to look into other peoples work related to the research topic. During research, the people of Enugu South were used as the populace of study; questionnaires were the major instrument of study. Random sampling method was applied to obtain the potion of the population on whom the instruments were administered. Responses were analyzed on percentage. Furthermore, the significant problems and question for this research were spelt out in order to help, uphold or reject certain assumption. The data collected from the questionnaires made it possible for the researcher to get the answers agitating his mind. It was noted that on human behaviour. The study was able to find out actually what the populace of Enugu South think or feel about the positive or negative effect towards television programmes in Enugu state. The research also made recommendations on what should be done to make our television content more result oriented and interesting.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In this challenging society of our Nigeria, science and technology has brought profound changes on how mass media bring value to their customer. The tendency that must of the time, especially in the developing countries, the media practitioners must package their programme very well to sustain their viewership. In doing it is imperative to take into consideration their supposedly diverse composition of the audience for viewership interest. Because of lack of this knowledge will mar the efforts of the station keep pace with prose trend in mass communication industry especially broadcast media.
Importantly taking the audience for granted as a result of professional ignorant or other reasons will not anger well at this information communication age. As Marshall Mac Luhah (1960) describe the world as a global village, a world join together and transformed by television and other marvous of the electronic age.
One of the outstanding features of the media communication is composition of the audience. The audience of television is highly heterogeneous with members having several distinctive characteristics, different interest and they are scattered in all over the nation with different socio-economic strata.
Based on the heterogeneity of the audience it is obvious that views differ among members of mass media audience. While some use particular station programme others depend on the others. Some may want to watch entertainment programmers while some might prefer thoughtful vital programmers like News, current affairs, commentaries or documentaries depending on their likes.
This corroborates with uses and gratification theory propounded by Swanson (1979) Because uses and grati8fication is audience centers asking what people do with media rather than what media do to people Rubin (1985) states that uses and gratification is grounded in a functional paradigm of social influence. Since the functional approach examine. The relationship between the media, individuals and society.
One of the plan in which an audience is active is though the use of selective exposure. It is the tendency of accepting to express yourself to communication that goes with your own values system, altitudes and viewpoint. The concept of self selective exposure helps the active audience to control what he watches, to what he listens to and read, selective reading and listening are the function selective exposure.
With the society becoming more complex; this, recognition of these view, interest researchers set out to ascertain viewership of television in Enugu south through empirical support. You can but the newspaper of your choice, you can also watch the movie you like, you choose from many television programmers and Radio, and if you find yourself watching something you do not like you can tune to another channel. Different view have been presented in an attempt to determing why people watch television programmers.
1.2 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEMS
Television has been ascribed as one of the dependable medium of mass communication in our society. And broadcast media especially television play crucial role in informing, educating, entertaining, mobilizing and agenda setting etc. to the people in general and viewers of Enugu south in particular. Importantly, some station fulfiller these task creditably well than others. This situation gave rise to audience preference of one television station over the others. This, development generated series of opinions from viewers on their choice of medium preference of television programme. Some viewers attributed their choice to uses and gratification based on psychological and social needs of the audience. Others held contrary views, saying that what influence their choice is quality programme in line with audience interest. Recognition of these views, the researcher set out to examine critical the viewership of television programme of Enugu south viewer thoroghful emphirical study for validity or other wise.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The above problem must be solved for improved and qualitative television programmers for the Enugu south viewership. To this end the objective of this study include.
1. To ascertain the qualitativeness of the television programmers available to Enugu south viewing audience.
2. To find out the factors which influence their programmers selection and choices.
3. To know the station and programmers at their disposal.
4. To know the effects of the choice of specific television programme and their over all influence in the lives of the audience.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
In this study, the researchers believe that the study will have the follow significance.
1. To determine the influence of the audience on media preference.
2. To show that quality programme help to sustain viewership lnterst.
3. It will serve as a useful guide for media practioners and policy makes in how best to package their programmers for the audience interest.
4. It will reveal the essence of audience research in programme design for television station for optimal result.
5. Finally will be of useful guide for future researchers tha may be interested in this area of study.
1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the attitude of the people of Enugu south towards television programmers?
2. Do resident in Enugu south urban community pay more attention to particular programmers on television?
3. How would they want the programme to be produced educational, entertainment or information?
4. How are the targeted audiences, literate or illiterate?
1.6 HYPOTHESIS
H1: The people of Enugu south have positive attitude towards television programmers.
H0: The people of Enugu south have negative attitude towards television programmers.
H2: The resident in Enugu south pay more attention to particular programmers on television
H0: The resident in Enugu south pay less attention to particular programmers on television.
H3: The people of Enugu south would want programmers to be produced educationally.
H0: The people of Enugu south would not want programmers to be produced educationally.
H4: The targeted audience of Enugu south is literate
H0: The people of Enugu south would not want to produced programme that will last as long as one hour.
1.7 ASSUMPTIONS
The researcher made the following assumption.
1. That the attitude of the people of Enugu south towards television programme is very high.
2. The preference of viewer on television programme is dependent on uses and gratification.
3. Also the quality of programme influence viewership and audience interest.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
TELEVISION: It is a system of transmitting and receiving audio/visual broadcasting programmers through the airwaves.
HABIT: Somebody’s way of doing things especially that habit which you cannot easily be given up.
ATTITUDE: A way of feeling, thinking or behaviors among human beings.
VIEWING: It is the act of being able to watch and hear or trying to watch something.
BROADCASTING: Sending out of information idea opinion etc through the airwave to the mass audience.
SELECTIVE: EXPOSURE: It is the tendency of willing exposing yourself to communication that accord with your own value, system, attitude and viewpoint.
SELECTIVE PERCEPTION: It is tending to see what you want to see in a message and reject a contradictory ones.
COMMUNICATION: Exchanging of information experience and ideas among people. Mass communication therefore is the process of transmitting information, ideas and attitudes to a relatively large and diversified audience simultaneously.
1.9 SCOPE/LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
In this study viewership of television programmers is finance, time, lack of modern research material like Internet poses constraint to the study. Also, the study is limited to television medium. This, the scope is viewership of television programme in Enugu south. The study will only be concerned with the people’s viewing habit that is, their attitude disposition to television programme in Enugu south. It will exclude what they do with information they get from television, rather it dealt with their viewing habit towards television programmers.
