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MASS COMMUNICATION

INFLUENCE OF TELEVISION EDUCATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMES ON VIEWERS

INFLUENCE OF TELEVISION EDUCATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMES ON VIEWERS

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INFLUENCE OF TELEVISION EDUCATIONAL AND ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMES ON VIEWERS

Chapter one

The Problem and Its Setting

1.0 Introduction

“Communication is at the heart of all social intercourse” – Amadou M’BOW. Television communication has now expanded to a planetary scale. “Television is widely acknowledged to be a powerful medium of our age” (Television Journal Vol.III, 1985).

It was introduced to promote national growth. In some situations, colonial administrations used it prior to independence to command and control social activities and civilisation, particularly in developing and underdeveloped nations. Many households and institutions have found it appealing to own radios and television sets.

The cinema, once popular for foreign films, now belongs to another era. Television has grown in popularity in recent years, serving as a more convenient alternative to the social habit of going to the movies. Television has unquestionably influenced social change by promoting fashion, taste, and social connection.

The impact of television on children has long been a source of heated discussion. Children represent the most rapidly changing sector of any society. They are continuously rejecting the previous generation’s customs, standards, and ideals, and they are eager to redefine them to fit their own values and style.

According to Yemi Faroubi (1986), former General Manager of the Nigerian Television Authority in Ibadan, Nigerian television began as a required emulation of television in other nations. He claims that in some television stations nineteen years ago, one would have imagined one was on the premises of the British Broadcasting Corporation.

This, he added, was owing to the similarities in titles, letters, language, and program titles, all of which were very similar to those of international stations. He argues that in the industrialised world, television must maintain a middle-ground posture, holding a mirror to society, reflecting what it looks like rather than influencing what society should look like.

These international activities, along with some local programmes, have been identified as acculturating Nigerian youths and children. This is visible in their dress style, behavioural tendencies, and even how they interact with their elders.

Children are seen impersonating television stars such as Michael Jackson, Ron Kenoly, and Comando. These days, youngsters remain up late to watch television beyond nine o’clock, when they should be in bed.

This indicates that kids are watching programming that are not appropriate for them. They watch late-night films and learn topics intended for grownups.

The primary goal of incorporating television into Nigeria’s media system was the effective broadcast of information and entertainment, as well as the promotion and preservation of African arts and culture.

Children learn their basic values and language by observing and hearing what adults do and say to and around them. They learn competence and self-confidence from them, not only with interested people, but also with concrete materials like toys, paper, blocks, and natural objects in their surroundings.

Television thus plays an important role in the lives of children; they spend a lot of time watching television and learning a lot from it. This summarises the reasons why the Federal Government and the Directors of Nigerian television stations took the time to spell out reasonable

educational programs for children. One of such programs is educational television, and the goals of this program type, as described in the Nigerian Television Handbook 1981, are as follows:

· To promote religious and moral principles.

· Encourage discipline and respect for authority.

· Promote a sense of camaraderie.

· Promote talent discovery and development.

To raise awareness about crafts and teach how to make them.

Despite the notion that instructional television should help educate children, few of them learn or profit from it. Let’s take a quick glance at AKBC-TV Channel 45, TV programming.

TV Programming

The programming department is a critical component of the television network. Previously, and until recently, it was one of the largest departments at AKBC, including the following sections.

Programmes proper (producers), production services cooperative, and presentation (announcers). The department now only includes of producers and presenters, the station’s image makers, who generate and channel the various shows for transmission.

As a result, the department’s only goal is to fulfil the triple purposes of broadcasting by teaching, informing, and entertaining the various types of viewers through their numerous programming.

The programs on AKBC – TV, Uyo are divided into the following categories: public enlightenment, education, current affairs, entertainment, children, women, youth and family, religion and ethics, the arts, sports, news, theatre and philosophy, and government and politics.

There are three sources of programming on AKBC Channel 45, Uyo: national broadcasts that promote peace and unity, patronage of Nigerian culture, and educational programmes.

The state programmes that allow for the debate of people’s lives and cultures, as well as their views on national issues.

The local programs include discussions on local issues, story telling, folk stories, local music, burial announcements, and farming lectures.

Based on the programming of AKBC-TV, Uyo, it is required to estimate the influence of AKBC-TV entertainment and educational programs on secondary school students in Uyo.

1.1 Statement of the Problem

Critics have been questioning children’s television since the 1960s. Previously, the creators failed to recognise children as a special viewer demographic.

Programming for children is a major issue for Nigerian producers; many people who have researched the pattern of television programming in Nigeria have observed its substantial impact on people’s lives, as well as the different disputes that have arisen in our culture.

1.2 Objects of the Study

The structure of television transmission has been a major issue in African television broadcasting, with foreign shows dominating African television stations, particularly in Nigeria. The study’s aims included:

1. Identify AKBC TV’s educational and entertainment programming.

2. Determine the objectives of these programmes.

· Determine the educational, informational, and entertainment benefits of these programs for viewers under study.

1. Determine the attitudes of the audience under investigation towards the entertainment shows broadcast on AKBC-TV Channel 45, Uyo.

2. To determine whether these programs serve to instill in our children the moral values, disciplines, social, and cultural legacy of Akwa Ibom State.

3. To determine the general opinion of the audience members under research about AKBC – TV programming.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION.

The following research questions are designed to help the researcher with her investigation.

1. What are AKBC-TV’s Educational and Entertainment programs?

2. What are the objectives of these programs?

· What are the educational and entertainment benefits of these programs for the children under study?

1. How do the youngsters under study react to the amusement programs on AKBC-TV Channel 45, Uyo?

2. Are these activities effective in instilling in our schoolchildren the moral values, disciplines, and social and cultural legacy of Akwa Ibom State?

3. What is the overall opinion of the youngsters under study regarding television entertainment and education programs shown on AKBC-TV Channel 45, Uyo?

1.4 Significance of the Study

When considering the captivating influence of television on Nigerian youths, it is clear that such research is required. Television drama producers are extremely irresponsible when it comes to sex on TV. In the lack of community standards, we exhibit no restraint in how we promote sex in our entertainment programming, such as glamour girls.

A child is exposed to the realm of romance too early in life. Profanity, obscenity, smut, and vulgarity are common in both local drama and international films, as well as other forms of entertainment.

Cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption are frequently depicted in a way that appeals to our country’s youth as a good habit to emulate. This study aims to make recommendations that will help to address these societal issues.

Also in the educational sector, the knowledge presented and disseminated everyday through various channels of communication is “Mosaic” in nature and no longer matches to old intellectual categories.

Priority is given to the transmission of insignificant or sensational news, increasing “noise” at the expense of the actual message. Furthermore, mass communication has the potential to strengthen and enrich our shared symbolic system by expressing and interpreting it in novel ways.

Furthermore, this study is warranted because no previous research has been undertaken among Akwa Ibom State citizens to determine the impact of television on secondary school pupils, whether negative or beneficial.

Based on the reactions of Uyo citizens to particular television programming, recommendations are given to prevent this incorrect foundation from being established in Nigerian children, as well as the necessity to maintain African culture.

1.5 Limitations of the Study

The study focused on the effects of television on secondary school students. The work is confined to high school students aged 10 to 18. This range was chosen because by the age of ten, the average youngster can correctly answer questions and express his or her opinion.

Furthermore, by the age of ten, the impact of television, if any, should be evident in a child’s life. The upper limit of 18 indicates the age of a young person or kid; once this age is reached, he is considered an adult.

The effort is restricted to Akwa Ibom State and Secondary School Students, specifically in Uyo city, because approximately 50% of Uyo inhabitants have access to television programs.

Another rationale for limiting my work to this area is to be able to control certain variables, such as calling respondents personally to explain specific ideas on the questionnaire to ensure their comprehension. People in the Uyo metropolitan area are also well-versed with television signals and communications.

1.6 Definitions of Terms

In this type of research, it is important to explain specific phrases for persons who may not grasp what they mean. Therefore, some words used in this study are defined below.

AKBC-TV

Akwa Ibom State Broadcasting Corporation Television Channel 45 in Uyo.

VIEWERS/AUDIENCE

This includes all people who gathered in their own homes or in an open space to watch television shows.

INFLUENCE

In this study, “influence” refers to the effect.

ENTERTAINMENT PROGRAMMES

This includes all care curricular disciplines with established syllabuses for elementary and secondary schools, as well as theory and practical demonstrations in which individuals discuss environmental issues/problems and propose solutions.

YOUTH

The state of being young, or the early stage of life (for the sake of this work, youth is defined as being between the ages of 10 and 18 years).

TELEVISION

A visual method for public communication.

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