Evaluation Of The Level Of Newspaper Readership Among Career Women In Abuja

Evaluation Of The Level Of Newspaper Readership Among Career Women In Abuja

Chapiter 1

Introduction

Background information for the study

It is well known that the media is the most efficient approach to raise awareness because it allows for the dependable dissemination of information to thousands of individuals in a certain location. With this in mind, it can be said that all cultures use newspapers, radio, television, magazines, posters, pamphlets/leaflets, billboards, the internet, and other forms of mass media to inform, communicate, and educate their citizens, among other things, and to effect change.

Newspapers are a type of mass media that regularly disseminates up-to-date information. As a mass media, newspapers are useful for education, information, enjoyment, relaxation, and amusement. This explains why newspapers are important since they disseminate up-to-date information and keep readers informed of events and activities both inside and outside of their immediate surroundings, according to Ola and Ojo (2007). Newspapers, according to Okunna (1999), are essential because they provide as a source of up-to-date news and information, supporting this assertion. Obaid (2014) concurs that newspapers serve as textbooks, giving readers the most recent information on local, state, national, and international affairs as well as the most recent analyses and critiques of executive and legislative decision-making. They also feature the newest in music, theater, television, fine arts, and even columns and comics to make readers laugh. Newspapers, according to Babalola (2002), promote critical thinking, knowledge retention, problem-solving, and questioning of information sources. Newspaper reading is also a key activity for career women since it fosters civic-conscious attitudes, tolerance, and a sense of community (Igwe, 2011).

According to Michelle O. (2017), a career woman is a woman whose main goal in life is to build a career for herself. The term was first used in the 1930s in the United States to distinguish between women who either worked at home or outside the home in low-paying jobs out of need for the family’s financial well-being and women who desired and were able to seek employment as professions. The outcome was jobs in commercial or professional fields with room for creativity, promotion, and organizational prowess. Women who, for example, “wish to work not merely to support their families, but for a measure of personal economic independence, or as a byproduct of escaping from dull country life, or simply for the sociability of working with other women,” may still be considered “career women” due to their objectives (Frank S. 2012).

As a result, reading the newspaper can provide professional women with useful information, such as job openings, government incentives, and admittance to universities. This is because reading is the primary method of instruction, especially for those who attend formal schools outside of the formal system, like working-class women. Reading increases one’s understanding of a subject and their viewpoint on it as well as on society at large. According to Onwubiko (2015), there are four reasons to read: for fun and leisure, for knowledge, for information, and for all of the above. He continues by stating that a reader has access to a wide range of items, including newspapers, which are among the most widely used reading materials. According to Elmadwi (2014), reading newspaper articles is one of the best forms of mass communication since it gives people access to a variety of reading and visual resources that will help them learn more.

1.2 A description of the issue

Without a doubt, the advent of the internet has led to the conventional newspaper going through its most challenging time in history. The online capabilities and prospects provided by the internet much exceed those of a conventional newspaper. For instance, the internet provides simple access via relatively entry-level portable technology, such as mobile phones and personal computers, as well as quick and inexpensive access to news and information with interactive and multimedia features. The internet, in the opinion of Varian (2013), is a better medium for disseminating and reading news and information.

Data from a large body of empirical literature suggests that teenagers’ newspaper reading is declining, despite the significance of newspaper reading in students’ lives. For instance, Dominick (2002, p. 14) claims that newspaper reading has decreased recently. Only around half of Nigerian students, according to Udie (2002, p. 100), read newspapers. As a result of non-readership, fewer newspapers have been published overall since the 1970s, claims Biagi (2003). The printed newspaper has been put in danger by new media and social media, claim Rajendran and Thesinghraja (2014). They claim that reading habits are changing as more people turn to the internet for free news and information. The rapid nature of social media and online news was one of the clever ways for consumers to embrace it abroad.

By forcing them to use the immense resources of the internet, this situation unintentionally impacts well-established mass media, such as newspapers, in their traditional stronghold of the news industry. It is also clear that audience reading habits have an impact on whether the traditional newspaper industry survives in Nigeria and many other countries. The purpose of this study was to better understand newspaper readership among working women in Abuja.

1.3 The purpose of the study

The study’s main goal is to determine how many career-minded women in Abuja read newspapers. The study specifically aims to:

1. Find out which newspapers Abuja’s working women read.

2. Examine the newspaper reading habits of Abuja’s working women.

3. Look into how Abuja’s working women get their hands on the newspapers they read.

4. Discover the kinds of news articles that career women in Abuja typically read.

1.4 Questions for Research

What newspaper brand do professional women in Abuja typically read?

2. How frequently do professional women in Abuja read the newspapers?

3. How do working women in Abuja get their hands on the periodicals they read?

4. What kinds of news articles do career women in Abuja read the most frequently?

1.5 Importance of the research

Other mass media have been urged by newspapers to give their information digitally as well. However, it’s likely that readers of traditional print newspapers will stop reading them as they turn to internet content. The study’s conclusions will have a big impact on society since they will raise awareness of the effects of online newspapers on print media. This survey will be significant for the various mass media outlets because it will inform them of readers’ preferences. The study’s findings will also add to the body of current literature and be used as a resource for students and academics who wish to pursue future research in a related area.

1.6 Study’s range of inquiry

This study’s focus is on career-oriented women readers of newspapers. The study will determine which newspapers are read by working women. It will impact how Abuja’s working women read the newspaper. It will look into how career women in Abuja access the newspapers they read and determine the kinds of stories they prefer to read in those publications. However, the study is restricted to professional women in the FCT in Abuja.

1.7 The study’s limitations

While conducting the study, the researchers ran into some minor obstacles, just as in every human endeavor. The researcher had to choose from a small number of sample sizes due to the significant constraint of the paucity of available literature on the topic, which resulted in higher costs and time requirements for the researcher to find the necessary materials, literature, or information and conduct the data collection. The researcher will also work on other scholarly projects while conducting this study. The researcher ensured that the best was provided while downplaying each despite the restriction.

1.8 Definition of key words

Print Media: One of the earliest and most fundamental kinds of public communication is print media. It comprises periodicals like newspapers, magazines, and weeklies as well as other printed publications. With more in-depth reporting and analysis, print media has the advantage of leaving a lasting impression on readers.

Readership: The term “readership” refers to the quality or state of reading.

A career lady is a woman who values her career and advancement within it highly.

Reference

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