CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

The debut of broadcasting in Nigeria can be traced to the introduction of the British Empire Service in
Nigeria in 1932; which established its repeater station in Victoria Island Lagos where information was
disseminated to major towns and cities in Nigeria through the wired wireless device called re-diffusion
box (Raufu A. (2011); Opubor A., Akingbulu A. and Ojebode A. (2010). Man’s constant need for
information called for the extension of the relay stations to other major cities in Nigeria like Ibadan,
Kano, Enugu and Abeokuta. From here, broadcasting began to grow in leaps and bounds albeit with only
radio being the source of broadcast information. It was not until twenty seven years after, before Nigeria
citizens were introduced to what is today known as television with the establishment of Western Nigerian
Television in 1959 by the Obafemi Awolowo led Western Government. Despite the advent of television,
radio has remained a veritable source of information which cuts across age, sex, cultural, religious and
educational differences etc. this has remained so because as opined by Adeosun (2005:58) quoted in
Adeosun, Togunwa & Raufu A. (2011:13) :

Television is purchased by the elites and haves in the society. The

newspapers and magazines are patronised by the literate audience, but

radio serves all classes in the society, the rich, the poor, the average,

the young and the old. The educated and rural dwellers are not

exempted from programmes presented in local languages on radio.

This opinion was further corroborated thus by Oso L. (2003:45):

Apart from publications, radio is probably the most popular

community media in many parts of the world. Its popularity has come

from its portability and ability to transcend literacy barrier. Battery

powered radio sets are easily accessible to many rural dwellers. Its

signals can be received in many dispersed and scattered communities

from a single location at no extra cost.

Reflecting on the early years of radio and its developmental challenges, Aspinall (1971:15) described
radio as “a novelty for listeners and broadcasters alike.” He added that “there was an element of
excitement and adventure about it which even today marks the best of broadcasting, “for radio” according
to him, it “is essentially a fun-game no matter how serious or important the programme material.” These
features of radio position it as the only medium which can be accessed easily by all and sundry; such that
everyone finds a programme to be identified with on radio. According to Akintayo (2013) Radio has
become a part of everyday life; and people for various reasons beyond the traditional entertainment,
education and information purposes, depend on radio. Thus, that radio is an agent of social mobilisation
and development is not based on value judgement (Aina S. 2003) but rather on its many visible
contributions to national development through its rich programmes which come in diverse languages.
Kuewumi (2009:148) commented on radio saying “imagine a world without radio; it will be like a garden
without flowers and trees. Radio daily feeds us with information, teaches us and calms our nerves. If
radio is well understood and its potentials realized, hardly will there be any one that will live without a
radio. Many anxious moments will be healed.”

Onabajo (1999:2) while lending a voice on the persuasive power of radio, its immediacy, and the
importance of radio to national development says:

Within limits, radio can persuade and effectively influence large

audience, thereby contributing substantially, to building of

national consensus. It is a powerful instrument in the area of

public enlightenment, on health issues, family planning, cultural

re-awakening, business improvement and other social

development issues.

Radio therefore becomes about the easiest and cheapest tool for social mobilisation and public
enlightenment breaking the barrier of class and education Rantimi (2011). Radio is also a powerful
developmental medium because of its ability to air programmes in people’s indigenous languages as well
as foreign languages. Same programme can be packaged in different languages to meet the needs of the
various segments of the audience and languages within a particular community. Kuewumi (2011) further
affirms this position stating:

“There is need for broadcasters to be more realistic, in understanding the people for whom a message is
intended, and then construct the message to be sent in such a way that it speaks to not just specific needs
of the people but also the complex mix of the people in terms of who they are and the values they hold
together with words or language that they will not mistake or misinterpret when they receive it.”

This affords radio the opportunity of reaching far more people than any other medium (like print) where
messages are either published in the indigenous or foreign language. Radio programmes are not also one
off programmes as there are opportunities of listening to them again through repeat broadcasts which
radio is known for. When adroitly used, radio can be the most effective means of communication among
the vast population of illiterate Nigerians Moemeka (2012).

It is important to note that African nay; world leaders are beginning to recognise the importance of radio
in National Development. This perhaps brought about the deregulation of the broadcast industry in
Nigeria in 1992. The deregulation has brought about private initiatives into the industry (which was an
exclusive reserve of the government for over sixty years) thereby creating a large platform for
competition, quality service delivery as well as rapid growth and development in the industry. Since the
deregulation also, the number of radio stations in Nigeria has increased from “less than 30 to 137, made
up of 44 federal government owned, 41 state government owned, 25 private owned and 27 campus radio
stations.” Omonhinmi (2012).

Although Campus radios were licensed in Nigeria as a litmus test for the establishment of community
radio; the Nigeria Broadcasting Code (NBC 2010:9.7.1.a) stipulates that campus radios emerged
principally to allow for training of University students especially those in broadcasting and other related
fields like engineering, information technology, creative arts, use of English and drama thereby providing
opportunities for practical experience and social well-being of the campus’ community in general.

Research has shown that successful universities are rated on how well organized their system of
operations and academic standard of students in the institution. The way and manner a university is
governed directly or indirectly reflects on the behavioural pattern and perception of its students. In a well
disciplined tertiary, the media especially the radio station is the major source of communication between
the university and the students. The media through the radio stations disseminate information, news items,
educational programmes, developmental projects and plans of the university to the students.

Radio stations such as Fusion FM has been known for promoting news and information related to the
students as well as major happenings in the university environment. Hence, there is close relationship
between communicating educational and other informative news contents and students’ dispositions,
attitudes, behavioural pattern and perception of their university management. Listeners not only listen to
news, they also analyse, select, make comments, give opinions and share comments on how they perceive
media effects on the society generally. It is against this backdrop that the researcher seeks to investigate
the perception of audience on issues covered on radio stations using Fusion FM as her main focus. Efforts
shall be made to find out the impacts of radio in the dissemination of educational, informative as well as
entertainment news in general. How do audience and the general public perceive educational news and
other informative programmes on Fusion FM in terms of quality of news items, quality of broadcast and
coverage, authenticity of news source, competency of staff to mention just a few.

An informed society, they say, is a rich society. In other to establish a robust and information rich society,
adequate communication is necessary and a media house that has distinguished itself will definitely excel
especially in the present juggernaut around the institution. Fusion FM is a foremost Broadcast Medium in
Kogi State University charged with the responsibility to disseminating educative and informative news
across the institution at large.

The perception of audience regarding radio news content has long been of interest to communication
researchers. Perceptions of credibility have been found to be influenced by the content of the news reports
and characteristics of the news anchor, suggesting that perceptions of credibility may be influenced by
presentation variables. Public perception is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs in a system. It
can also be seen as the complex collection of opinion of many different people and the sum of all their
views or as a single opinion held by an individual about a socio-economic or political topic. Key
component in the formation of public perception is “framing”. Framing is when a story or piece of news
is portrayed in a particular way and is meant to sway the consumers’ attitude one way or the other. Social
desirability is another key component in the formation of public perception. Social desirability is the idea
that people in general will form their perceptions based on what they believe is the popular opinion.
Based on media agenda setting and media framing, most often a particular opinion gets repeated
throughout various news mediums and social networking sites, until it creates a false vision where the
perceived truth is actually very far away from the actual truth. Public perception can also be influenced by
public relations and the political media. Mass media utilizes a wide variety of advertising techniques to
get their message out and change the minds of people. From the 1950s, radio was one of the main media
for moulding public perception, but with the advent of the internet and social media, that has changed
considerably. Public perception starts from an idea or suggestion being subtly mooted, mainly through the
mass media.

The role of the mass media in creating and strengthening the public opinion is pivotal. Hence, with the
advent of media houses in the process of democratization, expressions and thoughts of the general public
have been made easy. Public perceptions could also be related to their attitudes, opinions, and believes on
certain educational and informative programmes; these sometimes influence their behavioural patterns
and dispositions toward their university management. Public perceptions are also conditioned by three
key elements: public, the message and the channel through which the message is passed. The radio today
represents a channel of information dissemination, such as the university environmental happenings,
events, quarrels and debates, the manner in which the radio station package and transmit the information
has an influence on the audience, since it is through the media the audience learn, judge, analyse, makes
contexts and make informed decisions about their management.

1.2 Statement of the research problem.

The Campus Watch programmes have over the years served as a platform for audience participation and
contribution to issues regarding the Kogi State University. The audience are critical stakeholders in decision
making process of the University and their views are amplified via the mass media. If the media succeeds in
creating an avenue for audience participation via campus watch programmes through phone-ins, e-mails, text
messages etc., it becomes imperative that audiences of this platform be assessed to understand if these campus
watch 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 are:

1. To investigate audience perceptions of Campus watch programme on Fusion FM.

2. To find out the impacts of Campus watch programme students of Kogi State University.

3. To find out how audience perceive the credibility of Campus watch programmes in Fusion FM.

1.4 Research questions

The study will proffer answers to the following research question:

1. What are the perceptions of audience on Campus watch programme on Fusion FM?
2. What are the impacts Campus watch programme on students of Kogi State University

3. How credible do audience perceive Campus watch programme on Fusion FM?

1.5 Significance of study.

This study will be of benefit to the audience; this is because it will create room for the audience to air
their views on how they perceive Campus watch programme. It will also benefit them because it will help
them have a better understanding of the mission and vision of establishing a Campus Radio. Furthermore,
it will benefit both University and media personnel; because it will help media personnel to understand
their audience attitude and conduct towards their programme and on the other hand help the university
know the public reaction towards their general activities. The research will make room for increase in
quality of news programs basically educational and informative news. Finally this study will be of
significance to electronic media researcher because it will offer useful solutions to the problems facing
communication; it will also serve as a springboard for further research into Campus Radio ownership and
as a useful recommendation for more studies.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This study will investigate audience perceptions of Campus watch programme on Fusion FM in Kogi
State University. It will investigate how the public perceive Campus watch programmes on Fusion FM. It
will also discuss the impacts/roles of media in education. Finally the study will assess the quality of
educational and informative news program in term of of quality of broadcast and coverage, quality of
news items, authenticity of news source and competency of staff.

1.7 Operational definition of terms

Audience: Group of people or individual that view political news and programmes on AIT and other
television stations.
Audience perception: This is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs in a system. It can also be
seen as the complex collection of opinion of many different people and the sum of all their views or as a
single opinion held by an individual about a socio-economic or political topic.

Radio station: a channel of information dissemination, such as the happenings, events, quarrels and
debates, through which the audience learn, judge, analyse, makes contexts and make informed decisions
about their immediate environment.

Mass media: The use of different channels of transmission which include: the press, radio, television and
internet with specific technical-technological characteristics with which they transmit news and other
programmes.

News coverage : This is the actual style, language, positioning and viewpoint given to a story in any of
the various medium of mass communication.

Campus Radio: Campus radio can otherwise be referred to as college radio, university radio or student

radio. It is therefore a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university

or other educational institutions.

Campus Watch: A program aired on Fusion FM (91.7) in Kogi State University. It contains educational,
informative and entertaining packages.