1.1 Background of the Study
Radio is an essential
mass medium that virtually every member of the society benefits from. Kuewumi
(2009) asserts that Radio has radicalized the face of human communication and
ultimately become a fixed point in the daily lives of humans whereby people are
informed, taught, nurtured and reformed by way of relaxation, reinvigoration
and resuscitation. This he argued, makes radio as a medium of mass
communication being constantly sought after by its ardent listeners. 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.
defined radio as: a mobilizer anda formidable factor in the new world order in
economy, technology and politics. Radio is best described as the cheapest,
safest and the most effective medium of communication available to man.
According to Onabajo
(1999), in the developing world as in Asia and Africa, radio is cheap; it does
not cost much compared to television which is expensive. It is also portable
i.e. it can be easily transported from one place to another. It is credible as
it transmits messages that its listeners hold important. Radio can also present
news as it happens, brings the voices of news makers and artists into the homes
of listeners. It also provides dramatic shows and other entertainment, which
listeners can visualize even in the absence of visuals. For that reason, radio
enjoys the advantage of simultaneity. It requires little effort of its
consumers to comprehend its message. It is a good companion that entertains and
informs its listeners.
Kuewumi (2009:148) has this to say
about radio: “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.” Radio is a vehicle for projecting personality through which it
attracts and holds an audience. It is an efficient instrument for getting a
message to a large number of people at the same time, because it transcends the
boundary of space and time, and also leaps across illiteracy barriers (Onabajo,
1999). Egbuchulam (2002) asserts that radio has been a major communication tool
for improving the quality of people’s lives, bringing to their doorstep news,
entertainment and education through its programmes. Despite the world wide
enchantment with the internet and web-based learning, radio still retains the
advantage of being able to serve dispersed, isolated, and disadvantaged
communities aspiring to overcome the barriers of illiteracy and physical
distance in many countries. Listeners use and relate to radio in very different
ways compared to other media. Listeners use radio for various reasons one of
which is for emotional support, to keep their spirits up through programmes,
and the result will determine to a large extent the attitude listeners would
have to programmes.
People listen to radio to be informed, entertained, educated, follow their
favourite football team, and follow fashion trends or popular music, among
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.
It is therefore no argument that radio
serves as a means of communication. In the aspect of information, radio
provides information in terms of news that is, the day-to-day information
within and outside the country. 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.
of the Problem
Deregulation of the
broadcasting industry in 1992 led to increase in the number of commercial radio
stations in Nigeria; this in turn posed a big challenge to radio proprietors,
producers and directors to have a well packaged content that will gratify
Nigerians, with about 70% of the total population of Nigeria as youths
(Ismaila, 2013).The significance of radio in informing, educating, and
entertaining students in the educational institution is not in doubt, and it is
one way by which they keep in touch with the contemporary world. It can be
assumed that before the advent of radio,
information on what is
happening outside the school premises especially in the educational and social
world was (would be) difficult to discern by students. Even after the advent of
radio and going a step further to establish campus radio stations, there is
still doubt as to how many students are aware of what is happening beyond the
walls of their school premises, and in the global world.
As students, especially of higher
institutions, it is imperative that they keep abreast of goings-on around them,
in the country and the world at large.
of the Study
This study is aimed at achieving the
To measure the level of
student’s attitude and interest in the total content of radio programmes.
If gender play any role in
the contents of radio programmes.
To know if the students
course of study influences his/her radio listening habit.
If there is a relationship
between age and radio listening habits of student in higher institutions.
To know if students listen more to radio when the academic load is minimal or
To help in carrying out this
investigation of following research questions were posed.
a student’s course of study influence his or her radio listening habit?
(b) Is there
a relationship between age and radio listening habits of student in higher
gender play any role in the contents of radio programmes?
(d) Do students
listen more to radio when the academic load is minimal or reduced?
e. What is the level of student’s
attitude and interest in the total content of radio programmes?
Ho: Students tend to listen
more to radio when the academic load is minimal or reduced.
Hi: Students do not tend to
listen more to radio when the academic load is minimal or reduced.
of the Study
It is important that radio station at times take a critical look
outside and feel the hearing of its audience. This study is not only important
to the students but will also serve as a green light to the media houses.
Lecturers and media practitioners on how best they will restructure their
programmes so as to suit, and attract more audience and patronage from the general
public especially students.
of the Study
paper is designed to examine the radio listening habits of university students
and their attitude toward radio programmes, using students of Bowen University
as the focus of study.
Financial constraint- Insufficient fund tends to impede the
efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature
or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire
Time constraint- The researcher will simultaneously
engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down
on the time devoted for the research work.
Radio: Is the use of radio waves to carry information, such as
sound, by systematically modulating some property of electromagnetic energy
Habit: Is a routine of behavior that is
repeated regularly and tends to occur unconsciously.