AUDIENCE PERCEPTION OF POLITICAL NEWS REPORTS
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to investigate audience perceptions of Africa Independent Television (AIT) coverage of political news programs in Enugu metropolis, Enugu state. The study was guided by three research questions. This study’s data were gathered using a variety of Likert scale questionnaires.
The collected data was statistically analyzed using frequency distribution, percentages, and tables. The questionnaire was distributed in a total of 400 copies. The total number of questionnaires returned was 280, representing a 70% response rate.
The findings revealed that the audience values the status and pedigree of African Independent Television (AIT), which influences their perceptions and beliefs, as well as how they react to certain issues in life and act as a watchdog over the government.
Finally, the survey found that African Independent Television (AIT) political news coverage is of high quality, timely, precise, and detailed. According to the researcher, because the primary purpose of the media is to inform the public, media outlets should ensure that the content of their news is completely free of bias, factual, and relevant to the larger society.
INTRODUCTION
1.1 The Study’s Background
In this age of digital technology and globalization of communication, the media industries play a critical role in raising public awareness and providing first-rate information on issues arising from the administrations and governance of their elected leaders.
According to research, successful countries are rated based on how well organized their government system and political willpower are in relation to their citizens’ standard of living.
The way a society is governed, directly or indirectly, influences the behavior and perceptions of its citizens. In a democratic society, the media, particularly television, serves as the primary means of communication between the government and its citizens.
Television stations disseminate information, news items, and highlight political programs, development projects, and pitfalls of a country’s various arms of government.
Privately owned television stations, such as Africa Independent Television (AIT), have a reputation for promoting news and information about politics and major events in the political industries around the world. As a result, there is a strong link between communicating political news and other political-related news content and citizens’ dispositions, attitudes, behavioral patterns, and perceptions of their leaders.
Viewers not only listen to the news, but they also analyze, select, comment, give opinions, and share their thoughts on how the media affects politics in general. Against this backdrop, the researcher seeks to investigate viewers’/audiences’ perceptions of political news coverage on television stations, with Africa Independent Television (AIT) as her primary focus.
Efforts will be made to determine the role of television in the dissemination of political news and 4 politics in general. How do viewers and the general public perceive political news and other political programs on Africa Independent Television (AIT) in terms of the quality of news items, the quality of broadcast and coverage, the authenticity of the news source, and the competency of the staff, to name a few?
They say that an informed society is a wealthy society. Adequate communication is required in order to establish a robust and information-rich society, and a media house that has distinguished itself will undoubtedly excel, especially in the current political juggernaut around the world.
AIT is a wholly owned subsidiary of DAAR Communications Plc. DAAR Communications Plc is the leading Independent Broadcast Organization in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, having pioneered private/independent
broadcasting with the establishment of RayPower 100.5FM, AIT, Daarsat – the first fully Nigerian-based digital multi-channel direct-to-home subscription TV and an indigenous station FAAJI FM. Legislation, Presidency, Political Institutions, and Government Institutions are all covered in AIT political news (http://www.aitonline.tv/live).
The arrival of a new star in global Satellite Broadcasting, Africa Independent Television channel 21, on December 6, 1996, heralded the arrival of a new star in global Satellite Broadcasting. AIT adds a new perspective to TV broadcasting by focusing on a single programming theme that shares the African experience with the rest of the world.
AIT channel 21 and AIT International have a similar vision and mission. AIT has a one-of-a-kind mission: to share the African experience with the rest of the world. Africa Independent Television (AIT) aims to share everything exciting about the African experience with the nations of the world through its fascinating cross-cultural theme and vibrant program content.
The station’s logo and pay-off, AIT – Sharing the African Experience, represent its vision: to provide a refreshing but revealing insight into the African experience on a daily basis around the world. This sentiment is echoed proudly in AIT’s corporate identity – AIT, Sharing the African Experience.
AIT’s mission is to enhance global understanding through an untainted appreciation of the world and its peoples, with a thematic pay-off that emphasizes the goal of sharing the unique African experience with the world. AIT is unique among global satellite broadcasting stations in that it is motivated by uniquely altruistic goals such as promoting a methodical reduction of tension and friction and fostering a greater appreciation of humanity.
It is dedicated to bridging the global communication gap that has left Africa at the mercy of western perspectives, opinions, and nuances. The primary mission of AIT is to project Africa from a comprehensive African perspective. AIT, untainted, undiluted, and completely original, provides the world with a new perspective on the African experience (http://www.daarusa.com/ait).
Communication researchers have long been interested in audience perceptions of television news content. Perceptions of credibility have been found to be influenced by the content of news reports and the characteristics of the news anchor, implying that presentation variables may influence perceptions of credibility. The sum of individual attitudes or beliefs in a system is referred to as public perception.
It can also be viewed as a complex collection of many different people’s opinions and the sum of all their views, or as a single individual’s opinion on a socioeconomic or political topic. “Framing” is a critical component in the formation of public perception. When a story or piece of news is framed in a specific way, it is intended to sway the consumers’ opinion one way or the other.
Another important factor in the formation of public perception is social desirability. The concept of social desirability states that people will form their perceptions based on what they believe to be popular opinion. Based on media agenda setting and media framing,
a particular opinion is frequently repeated across various news mediums and social networking sites, creating a false vision in which the perceived truth is actually very far from the actual truth. Public relations and political media can also have an impact on public perception.
To get their message out and change people’s minds, the mass media employs a wide range of advertising techniques . Television has been one of the most important media for shaping public perception since the 1950s, but with the advent of the internet and social media, that has changed dramatically.
The formation of public perception begins with the subtle promotion of an idea or suggestion, primarily through the mass media. Questions like, “Why does the North always rule?”
The government is full of corrupt politicians, and what should the government do about public transportation, for example? As a result, when citizens gather, they discuss politics. In general, they express their views on what their governments should do about this or that issue (Agbo, 2013).
Channels of news transmission in mass media include the press, radio, television, and the internet. All of these media have distinct technical-technological characteristics through which they disseminate information. The role of the media in shaping and strengthening public opinion is critical.
The emergence of independent media outlets in today’s democratic environments has aided the growth and freedom of expression and perception. Obtaining authentic information is critical in modern societies for citizens and legislators to make sound decisions.
The growth of the mass media, as well as their ability to transmit information and messages to a large population at the same time, combined with the ever-ready, ready-to-go journalists, has transformed the media world into a large social institution.
In the past, traditional media organizations were the primary means of providing the public with information about the social and political worlds. For a long time, such media have been observed as a means of preventing citizens from learning about some of the government’s misdeeds, particularly in politics.
Politics in modern societies can be defined as a system that organizes and governs the public way of life while also looking after the general interests of citizens. The role of the media in shaping and sustaining public opinion is critical. As a result of the emergence of independent media outlets during the democratization process, the general public’s expressions and thoughts have become more accessible.
Public perceptions may also be linked to their attitudes, opinions, and beliefs on specific political news and political programs, which may influence their behavioral patterns and dispositions toward political leaders and stakeholders. Public perceptions are also influenced by three key factors: the public, the message, and the channel through which the message is delivered.
The television today represents a channel of information dissemination, such as political happenings, events, quarrels, and debates, and the manner in which the television station packages and transmits the information has an impact on the audience,
because it is through the media that the audience learns, judges, analyzes, makes contexts, and makes informed decisions about their political leaders. Politics cannot exist without the media’s voice, because it is only through it that the public learns about the plans, activities, and agendas of political parties (Siljanovska and Ejupi, 2013).
1.2 Formulation of the research problem
One of the most common political generalizations is that today’s voters are less informed and engaged than previous generations. This perceived decline in political engagement corresponds to a decline in both news exposure and political news quality.
For decades, television viewers have been steadily declining; network news shows have lost a third of their audience, and the content of campaign coverage in these news outlets has shifted away from policy and toward scandals, gaffes, and the horse race. It’s no surprise, then, that citizens are perceived to be less prepared to make electoral decisions today than they were 50 years ago (Gilens, et al., 2009).
Despite the efforts of the private electronic media to aid in the growth and development of the country by keeping audiences informed about political activities in the country through their political news and programs, these media houses have shortcomings that prevent them from effectively serving the audience.
This work will investigate the audience perception of political news 8 coverage on Africa Independent Television (AIT) in Enugu metropolis. The study will attempt to offer and suggest solutions to some of the issues raised above.
1.3 The study’s objectives
The study’s goals are as follows:
1. To investigate audience perceptions of political news coverage on Africa Independent Television (AIT).
2. To investigate the effects of AIT’s political news coverage on Nigerian politics.
3. Determine the audience’s perception of the credibility of political news on AIT.
1.4 Research concerns
The study’s findings will provide answers to the following research questions:
1. What are the audience’s thoughts on AIT’s political news coverage?
2. What are the effects of AIT’s political news coverage on Nigerian politics?
3. How credible do AIT’s political news coverage appear to the audience?
1.5 Importance of research
This study will benefit the audience because it will allow them to express their opinions on how they perceive AIT political news coverage. It will also benefit them because it will help them understand the mission and vision of establishing privately owned media.
Furthermore, it will benefit both government and private electronic media owners, as it will assist media owners in understanding their audience’s attitude and behavior toward their political news, while also assisting the government in understanding the public’s reaction to their political activities.
The study will pave the way for an improvement in the quality of news programs, specifically election coverage. Finally, this study will be important to electronic media researchers because it will provide useful 9 solutions to communication problems;
it will also serve as a springboard for further research into television ownership and as a useful recommendation for additional studies.
1.6 The Study’s Scope
This study will look into the public’s perceptions of political news coverage on Africa Independent Television (AIT) in Enugu. It will look into how the general public perceives political news programs on AIT. It will also go over the effects and roles of the media in politics.
Finally, the study will evaluate the quality of political news programs in terms of broadcast and coverage quality, news item quality, news source authenticity, and staff competency.
1.7 Term operational definition
Audience: A group or individual who watches political news and programs on AIT and other television stations.
Individual attitudes or beliefs in a system are aggregated to form audience perception. It can also be viewed as a complex collection of many different people’s opinions and the sum of all their views, or as a single individual’s opinion on a socioeconomic or political topic.
Political news refers to information and report contents such as political happenings, events, quarrels, and debates on government activities around the world that are made available to the public for viewing.
Politics: In modern societies, politics can be defined as a system of organizing and governing the public way of life, as well as looking after the general interests of citizens.
Television station: a channel for disseminating information, such as political happenings, events, quarrels, and debates, through which the audience learns, judges, analyzes, constructs contexts, and makes informed decisions about their political leaders.
Mass media: The use of various channels of transmission, such as the press, radio, television, and the internet, that have specific technical-technological characteristics that allow them to transmit news and other programs.
Coverage in the media
This is the actual style, language, positioning, and viewpoint given to a story in any of the various mass communication mediums.
The use of computerized equipment and electronic devices to process and disseminate news and information is referred to as digital technology.
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AUDIENCE PERCEPTION OF POLITICAL NEWS REPORTS
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