CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
- Background of the Study
The importance of Communication in any society cannot be overemphasized; it is a veritable tool in the realization of individual, corporate and societal objective or goal. Among the means of these communication is radio. Radio is a powerful electronic medium utilized in bringing political, economic and social news to any community or group of communities faster than other media. Radio is an essential mass medium that virtually every member of the society benefits from. Radio is the wireless transmission of signals through free space by electromagnetic radiation of a frequency significantly below that of visible light, in the radio frequency range, from about 30 kHz to 300GHz.(http://www.historyofradiowiki. org).
Asemah (2011) avers that the information dissemination function of the radio covers areas such as information to people’s alertness to health, agriculture, education, economy, politics, etc. People listen to radio to be informed, entertained, educated, follow their favourite football team, and follow fashion trends or popular music, among others. According to Oliveira, Portela, & Santos (2012), it is assumed that listeners make their own interpretations of a radio programme – if the presentation includes something they can relate to, something familiar. The encounter between the radio programme and the listener is regarded as a meaning making process within a cultural context. This meaning making process is influenced by a variety of factors, such as the radio programme topic, design and the socio-cultural variations in experiences, knowledge and cultural dispositions. “The figures of those who listen to radio continue to increase thus indicating an increasing affinity for the free and participatory opportunities offered by radio stations” (Bamgboye, 2013). Radio plays an integral role in providing its listener with news, music and other programmes, while also acting as a voice that represents them as well as the society at large. Radio also encourages its listener to know more about entertainment, education, and politics; they can also participate through phone-in programmes, talk shows and motivational programmes. Radio generally helps to broaden the knowledge intellectually and morally. Thus, one can rightly infer from the above that communication via radio has always played an important role in human life, hence a basic human need.
The value of any programme becomes known through audience perception and response. Perception is the immediate apprehension of an object or all of the sense organs by way of sensation (Bello, 2017). The prime function of the mass media is to, educate, enlighten, mobilize and inform both the literate and non-literate audience, hence, bringing them to speed with the events of the time. One of the distinct characteristics of mass communication is the large and heterogeneous audience (Okon, 2011). The audience are heterogeneous, as they are made up of divergent groups who may differ in sex, age, intelligence, political beliefs, ethnic backgrounds, and so on. Prior to the advent of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), audience participation and research was not widespread and mass communication relationship was unbalanced, with the advantage tending to lie with the communicator. Until the recently, thanks to ICT, broadcasters in the early days of radio and television world over, knew remarkably little about their listeners. Today, the situation is different with programmes that make audience participation possible, such that producers can meaningfully gauge the involvement and feedback from the audience. The electronic communication has created a dynamic situation in which one can communicate simultaneously at the interpersonal and mass communication levels with people who may be located in the next room, or dispersed among the farthest continents.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Live interactive programmes have over the years served as a platform for audience participation and contribution to issues of national interest. The citizens of any country are critical stakeholders in decision making process of that country and their views are amplified via the mass media. If the media succeeds in creating an avenue for audience participation via live interactive programmes through phone-ins, e-mails, text messages etc., it becomes imperative that audiences of this platform be assessed to understand if these programmes platform has overtime met the objectives for which it was established. Thus, the major question this study attempts to answer is: How does the audience perceive The Issue in the Newson Comfort and Peoples Parliaments and what prompts their participation in the programme?
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The objectives of this study were to
- determine the extent of audience participation in Peoples Parliament on Planet FM, the Issue in the News on Comfort FM.
- find out audience perception of the programme, “Peoples Parliament on Planet FM and Issue in the News on Comfort FM”.
- find out the extent to which “People Parliament on Planet FM, Issue in the News on Comfort FM” encourages meaningful discussion of issues of public interest.
- identify the challenges to effective audience participation in the programme, “Peoples Parliament on Planet FM and The Issue in the News on Comfort FM”.
AUDIENCE PERCEPTION’ OF LIVE INTERACTIVE PROGRAMMER ON RADIO STATIONS IN AKWA IBOM STATE
