Audience's Perception of Campus Radio Station Local News Programs As A Tool For Public Enlightenment: A Study of Redeemer's 103.5FM
Audience's Perception of Campus Radio Station Local News Programs As A Tool For Public Enlightenment: A Study of Redeemer's 103.5FM
Audience's Perception of Campus Radio Station Local News Programs As A Tool For Public Enlightenment: A Study of Redeemer's 103.5FM
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Audience's Perception of Campus Radio Station Local News Programs as a Tool for Public
Enlightenment: A Study of Redeemer’s 103.5FM
OKO-EPELLE LYDIA
Department Of Mass Communication, Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State
Abstract
Radio is a powerful medium for communication, especially when spreading knowledge about various issues as they
arise in society. Radio also provides citizens who need news and updates about current events. Because of the
usefulness of radio, the audience tends to perceive radio programs differently as it appeals to them. Thus, this study
examined the audience's perception of campus radio station local news programs as a tool for public enlightenment.
This study aimed to understand the audience's perception of Redeemer's 103.5FM local news programs, determine
which programs they considered more educative and informative and examine the frequency of exposure to these
programs. The psychological theory of perception was adopted. Descriptive research was used, and the purposive
sampling technique was adopted in the study to ensure that only those who had been exposed to Redeemer's 103.5 FM
local news programs were selected from the two local government areas. Taro Yamane's sample size formula was
used to determine a sample size of 383. The questionnaire served as the research instrument used to administer
questions to respondents in Ede North and South Local Government Areas in Osun State. Findings showed that most
respondents were frequently exposed to the Redeemer's 103.5 FM local news program. These local news programs
enlightened respondents on sports, politics, security, state of the nation and economy. The study concluded that the
perception was rated low due to some challenges identified as a limitation by respondents, such as the inability of the
radio transmitter to cover some locations, inconsistencies in programs, lack of incorporation of more entertainment
content into some programs of the station and inability to bring on air more knowledgeable news analysts and social
commentators. The study recommended that Redeemer's 103.5 FM needs to critically examine these challenges and
improve its local news to enhance the desired perception.
Introduction
Radio has emerged as one of the most powerful channels in all facets of mass communication
because of its societal effect. It is argued that radio is a powerful medium for communication and
an effective tool for achieving objectives, including public opinion formation, mobilisation, and
education (Sharma (2020). Ephraim, (2020) observes that, before now, people have been exposed
to public enlightenment programs, which call for people-oriented programming due to radio's
influence. This is why radio continues to be an essential form of communication in developing
nations like Nigeria (Ephraim, 2020). According to Rodero (2020), radio is a powerful medium
for communication, especially when it comes to spreading knowledge about various issues as they
Zaria Journal of Communication Vol.7 No.2, September, 2022 (ISSN: 2408-5820)
arise in society. Once more, Rodero (2020) argues that radio provides citizens who need news and
updates about current events or may be caught in a crisis with topical information. It is impossible
to over-emphasise radio's significance in informing, educating, and analysing matters of current
or general interest. The more radio educates its audience about current events in politics, sports,
the economy, agriculture, education, and entertainment, the more interested, knowledgeable, and
enthusiastic they are to participate.
According to Sharma (2020), radio has gained a prominent position among the mass media as the
least expensive and most portable medium, which has helped to improve adequate societal welfare,
particularly in developing nations like Nigeria. Radio encourages and draws growth through
mobilisation, enlightenment, and education among the public and is the most efficient means of
communicating citizens' problems to the government. In recognition of the radio's power, the
Redeemers University Ede, Osun State, has established radio stations to broadcast in local and
official languages and reach the citizens.
However, there have been various perceptions about the operation of Redeemer's 103.5FM since
its inception. Funmi Shodipe, the studio manager, organised an audience survey in 2019 to learn
about how people perceived the radio station. The findings revealed that perception was fairly
positive. Because radio programmes inform, educate, entertain, enlighten, and sensitise the
audience on various issues, it is critical to investigate the audience's perception of this radio
station's local news to determine whether or not there has been an improvement. Furthermore,
research in this area will aid in improving the radio station's performance. Despite previous
research: Research Base 2020; Ofcom, 2013 have investigated audience perception of political
radio programs, there is little evidence in the literature on audience’s perception about radio local
news programs, especially in a campus radio station. Thus, research in this area has bocome
necessary because, since the inception of the radio station, this is the second time audience research
has been conducted to ascertain audience’s perception and engagement with the radio station's
local news programs. The outcome of this research will further strengthen the station's
Zaria Journal of Communication Vol.7 No.2, September, 2022 (ISSN: 2408-5820)
performance, especially in its local news programmes. Consequently, against this backdrop, the
researcher examines the following objectives:
1. To investigate the audience's perception of Redeemer's 103.5 FM local news programs as a
tool for public enlightenment.
2. To determine which local news programs the audience perceives as more informative and
educative.
3. To ascertain the frequency of exposure to Redeemer's 103.5FM local news programs amongst
the audience.
Conceptual Framework
Radio as an Enlightenment Instrument
When assessing the idea of radio as a tool for enlightenment, Bittner (2005) believes that radio is
a practical and active way to educate and enlighten people, especially in developing nations like
Nigeria, where rural communities appear to have been left out of the digital revolution. Enyioko
(2016) asserts that the usage of radio as a medium for information continues to be effective in
encouraging the general public to stay informed about governmental operations and concerns
affecting their society. Enyioko says radio has primarily been utilised as a tool for integration and
enlightenment for rural development.
Similarly, Familusi and Owoeye (2014) assert that radio is a trustworthy source of information,
particularly regarding educating, informing, and enlightening people about various societal
happenings. Damaris (2021) claims that the radio is a useful tool for highlighting widespread
causes or effects, illnesses, viruses, government policies, legislation, and law, and adds that several
enlightenment programmes have been broadcast on radio to control how listeners perceive or
respond to issues. According to Abubakar (2011), radio is one of the leading media utilised for
public education, particularly in rural regions.
The Morning Drive: The Morning Drive is a current affairs program. It is divided into segments.
The programme features a critical review of top stories in national dailies and a detailed analysis
of issues by in-house analysts/ socio-commentators. It is a live program broadcast in English and
is scheduled from 8:30-10 am. It is broadcast on Mondays and Fridays.
Njetibo: This is also a current affairs programme broadcast in Yoruba. It features a critical review
of top stories in the national dallies. It is scheduled for one hour, 10-11 am on Mondays and
Fridays.
Zaria Journal of Communication Vol.7 No.2, September, 2022 (ISSN: 2408-5820)
Jolly Express: Jolly Express is divided into three segments: the Tori4 Town segment does a critical
review of top stories in the national dallies, Watin dey shelle on top social media, looks at trending
issues in the social media, while Talk your own segment discusses other issues of life. It is also a
call-in program scheduled from 2-4 pm on Mondays and– Fridays.
Breakfast News: This is a programme that features community news, national news and foreign
news. It is a live program, scheduled from 8 am-8:20 am on Mondays and Fridays.
News around the Globe: News around the globe is a live program featuring more foreign and less
local news. It is scheduled from 12 am-12:30 am Mondays-Fridays.
News across the Country: This local news programme features community news and news within
Nigeria. It is a live programme broadcast in English scheduled to broadcast from 6 pm-6:30 pm
Mondays-Fridays.
Lori Papa: This is a sports programme that features sports news and activities, both local and
international, transfer sagas and the sporting business broadcast in the Yoruba language. It is a live
programme scheduled for 5:30-6 pm.
News week: This live programme features a retrospect of top stories for the week. This programme
does a critical review of stories in the dallies. It encourages the audience to call in and share their
opinions on different stories. It is broadcast in English and scheduled to air at 10-12 am on
Saturdays.
Iroyinirole: This is a Yoruba live programme that features local news. It is scheduled to air at 5-
5:15 pm Mondays-Fridays.
Empirical Review
Sale (2018) a conducted research on the audience assessment of the political programming on
Bauchi Radio Corporation (BRC) and Globe FM (98.5) during the 2015 Nigerian presidential
election. According to the findings, the respondents viewed both Globe and BRC's political
programming as very informative. According to the findings of this survey, Globe FM performed
better than BRC in terms of political programming.
Egbai (2018) looked into how Nigerians saw the news programs on government-run television.
The study used the survey approach to examine how the public, who made up the audiences for
these programs, perceived news programs on government-owned TV channels. The Nigerian
Television Authority (NTA) was the subject of the study's analysis. Results from the study revealed
that NTA News was timely and accurate. However, it was also found that NTA news programs
lacked news accuracy, relevance to current events, dependability, and bias-free reporting.
According to the study, media stories should be factual, free of bias, and pertinent to society at
large.
In the city of Enugu, Maudly (2014) conducted a study on how viewers perceived the way Africa
Independent Television (AIT) covered political news programmes. Results revealed that the
prestige and reputation of the AIT are essential to the public, which affects their perceptions and
beliefs as well as how they respond to various events in life and serve as a watchdog over the
government. The survey also showed that political news broadcasts on the AIT are high-quality,
timely, precise, and detailed.
Zaria Journal of Communication Vol.7 No.2, September, 2022 (ISSN: 2408-5820)
Theoretical Framework
The psychological theory of perception is the foundation of this investigation. According to
Onyebuchi and Akpan (2012), perception, which is referred to as social perception, is the process
of evaluating information about another person.
According to this concept, how one perceives other individuals depends on the amount of
information available and how well that information can be appropriately decoded. Selective
exposure, selective attention, selective perception, and selective retention are the four stages that
make up the process of media audience perception. When someone exposes themselves to
communications that support their current opinions while disregarding those that do not, the
situation is known as selective exposure. Information that is paid attention to in order to prevent
confusion is what is meant by selective attention. According to selective perception, the receiver
determines how any message is interpreted. While the public's capacity for recalling information
in light of his preferences, requirements, views, et cetera is referred to as selective retention. This
theory is essential when doing a study of this kind. First, the general public had to be exposed to
Redeemer's 103.5FM's local news programs to be considered an audience. Following exposure to
local news programs, viewers pay attention to or concentrate on particular parts of the news
programme based on their needs and expectations. The audience is thought to create an opinion
based on their comprehension of the content at the next level of perception, once this selective
attention has moved on. Then, the final stage of selective retention automatically comes into play.
The significance of this theory to the present study lies in the fact that it provides insight into how
to consider individual differences while examining a situation akin to the present context under
investigation. .
Methodology
The quantitative research method was adopted for this study using the survey method. The
population of this study consisted the residents of Ede North (83,831) and South local (83,831)
government areas. According to the 2006 population census, the total population is estimated to
be about 159,867. Therefore, the sample size of 383 was drawn from the population using the Taro
Yamane sampling formula (1967) with a confidence level of 95% and confidence interval of 5.0.
Descriptive analysis was used to explain the data gathered through the administration of copies of
the structured questionnaire served to the respondents by the researcher to retrieve opinions on the
problem under study. Data collected was presented using table distribution and analysed using
percentages. Thus, a purposive or judgmental sampling technique was used in this study to ensure
that only those who had been exposed to Redeemer’s 103.5 FM local news programs were selected
from the two local government areas, which comprise Ede South and Ede North local government
areas.
the presentation of data was done using tables, while the analysis used frequency distribution and
the calculation of percentages.
Table1: Respondents’ gender distribution
Responses Frequency Percentage (%)
Male 195 55.2
Female 158 44.7
Total 353 100
Table 1 shows that most respondents were males, with 195(55.2%). The dominance of male
respondents in the sample was not deliberate but borne out of the study's outcome. This result
implies that Redeemer's 103.5FM has more male listeners than female listeners.
Table 2: Respondents’ age
Responses Frequency Percentage (%)
18-26 56 15.8
26-35 109 30.8
36-45 91 25.7
46-55 52 14.7
56 and above 45 12.7
Total 353 100
[
Table 2 shows that most of the respondents, 109(30.8%), were within the age bracket of 26-35.
This implies that most of the audience listening to local news programs on Redeemer’s 103.5FM
are youths.
M.Sc. 38 10.7
PhD 16 4.5
Total 353 100
Table 4 shows that 99(28.0%) of the respondents are B.Sc. holders. Most of the respondents are
educated enough to interpret media messages. This result implies that most of the listeners of
Redeemer’s 103.5FM are educated, as indicated in the frequency table. Hence, it becomes
necessary to create programs or improve the existing ones to appeal to and engage this group of
audience.
[
The result from Table 7 shows that the majority of the respondents, 298(84.4), are frequently
exposed to the local news programs on Redeemer’s 103.5 FM. This is because the majority of the
respondents consider these programs to be informative and educative for public enlightenment.
Table 8: on a scale of 1-5, how respondents rated the performance of Redeemer’s 103.5 FM local
news programs
Responses Frequency Percentage (%)
1-Poor 36 10.1
2-Averagely okay 33 9.3
3-Good 126 35.6
4-Better 109 30.8
5-Best 49 13.8
Total 353 100
Table 8 shows that the most of the respondents, 126(35.6%), perceived the performance of
Redeemer’s 103.5FM local news programs as good. Although on the table, item 4-Better and 5-
Best is rated lower. Respondents feel there are other areas of development the station need to
consider further enhance the required perception. Such as ensuring improvement on the breakfast
news, the regular transmission of the programs to avoid listeners losing interest, getting
knowledgeable analysts for Morning Drive, keeping taps on recent information or trending stories,
upgrading the radio transmitter for wider coverage and improving the quality of the programs.
Table 9 shows that the majority of the respondents, 103(29.1%), perceived the Morning
Drive program to be more informative and educative. This is because respondents considered this
programme to provide credible and reliable information. Respondents also agreed that they were
more familiar with this program as it helps to enlighten them about national issues. Similarly,
respondents revealed that Morning Drive provides news ranging from politics, foreign news and
business news.
Zaria Journal of Communication Vol.7 No.2, September, 2022 (ISSN: 2408-5820)
Table 10 reveals that most of the respondents, 108(30.6%), perceived politics as the most area of
enlightenment enjoyed. This is because the audience perceives Redeemer’s 103.5 FM to provide
reliable, credible and updated news on politics and the state of the nation.
These findings imply that if there are no efforts to address these issues, it could reduce or affect
the listenership of the radio station. Issues like inconsistent program transmission discourages
listeners from tuning into the radio station. Apart from creating a good programme, it is also
paramount to make available knowledgeable resource persons to engage the audience.
Discussion
The first objective of the study is focused on the audience's perception of Redeemer's 103.5 FM
local news programs as a tool for public enlightenment. Findings show that respondents were able
to recall these local news programs. Respondents also agreed that these local news programs
enlightened them in politics, state of the nation, security, sports, agriculture, economy and
education. Respondents also believed that these local news programs provided credible and
reliable information for adequate enlightenment on issues of the day. Findings of the study align
with Enyioko (2016), who observed that the use of radio as a means of enlightenment continues to
Zaria Journal of Communication Vol.7 No.2, September, 2022 (ISSN: 2408-5820)
contribute effectively in encouraging the public to get updated on government activities as well as
society related issues within which they are invariably involved.
However, most of the respondents rated these local programs as 4-Good, while other items like 4-
Better and 5-Best are rated lower. This is due to other areas of development that respondents
believe the station should focus and improve on such as the Breakfast News, the regular
transmission of the programmes so as to prevent listeners from losing interest in the FM Station.
Other aspects to be worked on include deployment of competent and knowledgeable analysts,
specifically, for the Morning Drive programme as well as watching out closely for the latest news
and trending stories. Technically, the Station is expected to upgrade its radio transmitter for
broader coverage and generally improve the quality of the programmes. Thus, for adequate
enlightenment and positive perception, it is imperative for Redeemer's 103.5 FM to address all
these concerns identified by the audience.
The second objective of the study is concerned with how the local news programs audiences
perceive as more informative and educative. Findings showed that most of the respondents,
103(29.1%), perceived the Morning Drive program as more informative and educative. This is
because respondents considered the information provided in this programme to be credible and
reliable. Respondents also agreed that they were more familiar with this program as it helps
enlighten them about national issues. Similarly, respondents revealed that Morning Drive provides
news articles dealing with politics, foreign affairs and the business world. Thus, the findings of
this study agrees with Damaris’s (2021) who claims that the radio is a useful tool for highlighting
widespread causes or effects of government policies, legislation, and law. Damaris (2021) also
believes that several enlightenment programmes have been broadcast on radio to control how
listeners perceive or respond to issues. Also, the findings of the present study appeared to have
aligned with that of Abubakar (2011), who states that radio is one of the leading media apparatus
utilised for public education, particularly in rural regions. Thus, in line with the psychological
theory of perception, the implication of this findings is that respondents have been exposed, paid
attention to the Morning Drive which turned out to have some influence on their opinion or
perception of the programme.
The last objective of the study looked at the frequency of exposure to Redeemer's 103.5FM local
news programs amongst the audience. Findings showed that most respondents, 298(84.4), are
frequently exposed to the local news programs on Redeemer's 103.5 FM. This is because
respondents consider these programs as informative and educative meant for public enlightenment.
Also, the result indicated that the majority of the respondents, 256(72.5 %), have constantly
exposed themselves to Redeemer's 103.5 FM, while a few respondents (27.4%) listened to the
station occasionally. Findings from the present study have also revealed some challenges such as
the limitation of the radio transmitter to cover specific locations, inconsistencies in programs
transmission, lack of incorporating more entertainment contents into some programs as well as the
inability of the Station to bring on air more knowledgeable news analysts and social commentators.
This finding is consistent with Familusi and Owoeye’s (2014), who see that radio is a trustworthy
source of information, particularly regarding educating, informing, and enlightening people about
various societal happenings. Therefore, radio is considered to be an effective medium of
communication, hence effective utilisation of this medium in creating engaging programs will
produce required perception for Redeemer’s 103.5FM
Zaria Journal of Communication Vol.7 No.2, September, 2022 (ISSN: 2408-5820)
Therefore, the findings of this study indicate positive exposure to the local news programs of
Redeemer’s 103.5 FM, indicating a frequency of 298(84.4), as indicated in Table 7. However, the
perception rate was low due to some challenges pointed out by respondents, such as the inability
of the radio transmitter to cover some locations, inconsistencies in programs, lack of incorporation
of more entertainment content into some programs of the station and its inability to bring on air
more knowledgeable news analysts and social commentators. It is expected that the management
of Redeemer’s 103.5 FM review these challenges for improvement to enable the desired
perception.
Conclusion
Based on the aforementioned findings, this study concludes that most of the respondents were
exposed to the Redeemer’s 103.5 FM local news program very often. These local news programs
enlightened respondents in various areas like sports, politics, security, state of the nation, economy,
et cetera. However, the perception was rated low due to some challenges identified as a limitation
by respondents, such as the inability of the radio transmitter to cover some locations,
inconsistencies in programs, lack of incorporation of more entertainment content into some
programs of the station and inability to bring on air more knowledgeable news analysts and social
commentators.
Recommendations
1. The Redeemer’s 103.5 FM needs to improve its local news programs as the public seemed to
have rated it poorly.
2. Radio stations should be proactive and involved in ensuring that the masses are properly and
timely updated on pivotal societal issues.
3. Further studies should focus on other factors that influence public perception of enlightenment
programs from radio and other avenues of mass communication
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