Full Project – Assessment of newspaper reading habit of students in Nigerian tertiary institutions

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background of the Study

Newspaper readership studies do perhaps seem to be confined to an observe corner of extent literatures. This probably many be as a result of the assumption that almost everybody reads newspapers for clear reasons;  therefore, doing a newspapers readership study to ascertain how frequently, newspapers are read, why they are read and preference for a particular newspapers to the other appear rather too easy to deal with. However most researchers seem to concern themselves with matters of newspapers coverage of events in the society. As elementary as newspapers readership studies may appear to be, their centrality as forming sound foundation upon which further studies are built cannot be exaggerated (Layefa et al, 2016).

Readership studies, besides being the hub of further studies function as a key marketing tools. Advertisers probably would prefer a newspapers of wider coverage with a wider readership reach. Evidently, newspapers readership tends to indirectly influence the what and why of coverage of news events; for reporters, editors give space for events they know would be of interest to the readers. Oloruntola cited in Morka & Orukamayan, (2015) states that news should not only be in an absolute sense of being news, it should be the sort of news that the reader of the paper will likely want to read, a newspapers that satisfies the curiosity or readers is most likely to be preferred to others.

There are plethora of newspapers researches; a greater percent bordering on newspapers coverage, ownership influence, and editorial readership. But none of those studies ever touched on newspapers reading habit among students.

Student rarely read in-depth, rather reading is taken as part of the textbook-related activity, and thus reading is only accorded serious attention when students are preparing for quiz, continuous assessment and examination. This has culminated in a poor reading habit among students at different education levels. Subsequently, governments of Nigeria have tried to improve the reading culture of Nigerians. For example, “the bring back the book”, could only have a middling to low impact on the poor reading habit identified among Nigerians, resulting from an absence of a clear-cut framework for implementation.

Reading is a very important activity that allows an individual to gain access to all knowledge in the world. Through reading, one has access to a wide range of knowledge found in various reading materials like books, magazine, newspapers, journals, and other electronic sources that are utilized to acquire knowledge.

The abysmal performance of students that sat for the recent Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination as released by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board was blamed on the poor reading habits of the students. The federal government, parents and guardians attributed the poor performance of students in that examination to their poor reading habits. This culminated in JAMB dropping the cut-off mark to 180 for university admission; out of a total obtainable score of 400 Reading habits are well-planned and deliberate pattern of study that has attained a form of consistency on the part of students toward understanding academic subjects and passing at examinations (Owusu-Acheaw & Larson, 2014).

Students therefore need to cultivate a good reading habit in order to succeed in their academic pursuit. Reading habits cultivated early in life helps a child to grow in to an independent adult. Just as it is commonly believed “Today’s readers are tomorrow’s leader”.

According to Rubin (2002) reading is an integrative process that starts with the reader and includes the affective, perceptual, and cognitive domains. Interestingly Carson (1992) agreed with the famous quote of W.E. Channing:
“It is chiefly through books that we enjoy intercourse with superior minds. In the best books great men talk to us, give us their most precious thoughts, and pour their souls into ours, God be thanked for books….books are true leveller’s. They give to all, who will faithfully use them, the society, the spiritual presence, of the best and the greatest of our race”. [Channing, 1992]

It is pertinent to note that students’ who engage in in-depth reading have developed self-confidence and they know that their ability to read open doors for them. According to Thanuskodi (2011), students have to read books other than textbooks to improve thinking and other cognitive activities. An individual’s interests are determined to a considerable extent by the amount of textual materials consumed and the intensity with which he will pursue his reading activity. By reading books, one gets confirmation or rejection of one’s own ideas which in turn increases the knowledge level of the reader. In addition, reading provides people with a sense of values, which enable them to discriminate between what is acceptable in the society and what is not.

1.2      Statement of the Problem

Newspapers are known for the provision of up-to-date information on local, state, national and international events. Newspapers credibility is likely to determine high readership among Nigerian students. Newspapers often contain current and interesting information meant for the reading pleasure of the vast majority readers in all walks of life. As an important medium of mass communication the newspaper is a vital source of information to Nigerian undergraduates. Therefore, this study is channelled at assess the reading habits of student in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

1.3     Objectives of the Study

This research is geared towards the Assessment of Newspaper reading Habits of Students in Nigerian Tertiary Institution using Delta State Polytechnic Ogwashi-Uku as a study. The research is aimed at:

1. Determining the rate at which students in Delta State Polytechnic Ogwashi-Uku read newspaper.
2. Examining the nature of news stories or features and articles they read and why they read them.
3. Examining the extent to which information gathered from newspaper is made useful by students of higher learning.
4. Obtaining scientific information regarding the habits of newspaper readership of Nigeria undergraduates.

1.4     Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide the study.

1. What is the rate student in Delta State Polytechnic Ogwashi-Uku read newspaper?
2. Which news stories or features and articles do students read and why they read them?
3. What extent information gathered from newspaper is made useful by students of higher learning?
4. What are the habits of newspaper readership of Nigeria undergraduates?

1.5       Significance of the Study

An effective newspaper editor should have foresight to always meet its target audience. This study on media pattern in Nigeria has not been extensive as we think would have been adequate, instead an impediment to dissemination of information. It is of this reason that the researchers were motivated to carry out this research. This study will enable the editors to give insight into what their readers want to read. Again, this study is very important because it will help both editors and the media in general and for scholarship in communication.

1.6     Scope of the Study

The newspaper reading habit is fairly wide in scope. However, in this study the researcher will only focus on the newspaper reading habit of students in Delta State Polytechnic Ogwashi-Uku.

1.7     Limitation of the Study

This research work was immensely constrained by the;

Time scheduled based on other school engagements like newspaper production and my final semester examination.

On a similar note, not all my respondents returned their questionnaires as at the time needed. So many of the respondents shy away from the questionnaires.

 1.8     Definition of Terms

Conceptual Definition

1. Institution: A large important organization that has a particular purpose.
2. Newspaper: an organization, establishment, foundation, society, or the like, devoted to the promotion of a particular cause or program, especially one of a public, educational, or charitable character.
3. Periodical:A newspaper published every week, month especially one that is concerned with an academic subject.
4. Audience: Group of people who gather to watch or listen to something like play, concert etc.
5. Reading: “Reading” is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting meaning from them. Reading is a receptive skill – through it we receive information. But the complex process of reading also requires the skill of speaking, so that we can pronounce the words that we read.
6. Habit: A habitis something that you do often or regularly
7. Students: person formally engaged in learning, especially one enrolled in a school or college
8. Assessment: Assessment is the systematic basis for making inferences about the learning and development of students. It is the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using information to increase students’ learning and development.

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Full Project – Assessment of newspaper reading habit of students in Nigerian tertiary institutions