Listeners, Usage Patterns, and Preferences of Social Media as a Feedback Mechanism for Television Programming: A Comparative Study of Twitter and Facebook
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are;
- To ascertain the impact of social media on news reportage
- To examine the effect of social media reporting on the listenership of TV broadcasting
- To ascertain if there is any relationship between social media reporting and TV reportage
- To examine the role of social media in restructuring news reporting in Nigeria
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
INTRODUCTION
The Internet has profoundly changed the human experience. People use the Web to find information, buy and sell products, watch television shows, seek mates, search for entertainment, and participate in political spheres, (Gil de Zúñiga, Puig, & Rojas, 2009); (Gil de Zúñiga, Veenstra, Vraga, & Shah, in press; Park, Kee, & Valenzuela, 2009). People also use it to connect with others. Jones & Fox (2009), state that three-quarters of American adults have been online, with even more teens (93%) reporting they do so, and almost all Internet users say one of their primary purposes for going online is for communication. The Internet is part of our everyday lives, and who we are guides how we use it. The predominant Social Network Services (SNS) users are young adults; threequarters of adult Internet users under age 25 have a profile on a social networking site (Lenhart, 2009). Lenhart argues that the popularity of these sites is attracting more and more adult users. In 2005, only 8% of adult Internet users had an online profile; today, that number has quadrupled to 35%. Social networking site users are also regular visitors, with more than one-third checking their profile page daily and almost another 25% visit every few days. According to Iverson &Vukotich (2009); Kozinets (2009), the reality of social communications obtained new dimension post year 2000, as new models of communication via interactive online channels emerged and started gaining incredible 2 popularity and mass acceptance at rapid pace unseen before. Commonly referred to as Web 2.0 or “social media”, they introduced a dramatically different perspective on information-sharing and interaction on the Web, by shifting the power over online content from the authority of organizations to the collective force of independent web users. Introduced in the form of user-friendly sites, tools, platforms and applications (such as blogs, online social communities, wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds, vlogs, tweets etc ), according to Ewing (2008), social media used “pull technology” that “connects people” and actively engages them in the creation and management of online content, allowing individuals to freely contribute to information publication and information sharing (through interactive exchange of individual’s experiences, knowledge, opinions, criticisms, reviews etc and networking). The issue of communication and interaction in exchanges constituting formation, development and maintenance of relationships is placed on the high rank of importance, especially for firms operating in services industries, where the interaction between service supplier and customer largely influences service delivery, service quality, and likelihood of exchange reoccurrence (Zeithaml et al, 2006); (Gummesson, 2002). This is especially true for companies operating in service industries with highly intangible products, such as financial service institutions and mass communication companies.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research design
The researcher used descriptive research survey design in building up this project work the choice of this research design was considered appropriate because of its advantages of identifying attributes of a large population from a group of individuals. The design was suitable for the study as the study sought to Listeners, usage pattern and preference of social media as a feedback mechanism for television programming in comparative study of Twitter and Facebook
Sources of data collection
Data were collected from two main sources namely:
(i)Primary source and
(ii)Secondary source
Primary source:
These are materials of statistical investigation which were collected by the research for a particular purpose. They can be obtained through a survey, observation questionnaire or as experiment; the researcher has adopted the questionnaire method for this study.
Secondary source:
These are data from textbook Journal handset etc. they arise as byproducts of the same other purposes. Example administration, various other unpublished works and write ups were also used.
Population of the study
Population of a study is a group of persons or aggregate items, things the researcher is interested in getting information Listeners, usage pattern and preference of social media as a feedback mechanism for television programming in comparative study of Twitter and Facebook. 200 selected residents in Abuja was selected randomly by the researcher as the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION ANALYSIS INTERPRETATION OF DATA
Introduction
Efforts will be made at this stage to present, analyze and interpret the data collected during the field survey. This presentation will be based on the responses from the completed questionnaires.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain Listeners, usage pattern and preference of social media as a feedback mechanism for television programming in comparative study of Twitter and Facebook. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of usage pattern and preference of social media as a feedback mechanism for television programming in comparative study of Twitter and Facebook
Summary
This study was on Listeners, usage pattern and preference of social media as a feedback mechanism for television programming in comparative study of Twitter and Facebook. Four objectives were raised which included: To ascertain the impact of social media on news reportage, to examine the effect of social media reporting on the listenership of TV broadcasting, to ascertain if there is any relationship between social media reporting and TV reportage, to examine the role of social media in restructuring news reporting in Nigeria. In line with these objectives, two research hypotheses were formulated and two null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 200 staff of selected residents in Abuja. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 133 respondents made up civil servants, students, youths and elderly men were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies
Conclusion
To determine whether social media has an effect on television programming, the study found out that social media mainly facebook and twitter affects content of local programmes. This happens when the feedback given through these mediums are implemented or taken into consideration by programme hosts or programme crew. Feedback comes through segments of the programme like song request hour, questions to the guests and questions to the hosts. A significant percentage of viewers (71.3%) attest to the fact that their wishes have been granted during their interaction with the television programme. This confirms that television programmers are taking the feedback they get from their viewers seriously even if they come in the form of song requests, complaints, and commendations hence affecting the delivery of the programme
Recommendation
That programmer of television content should embrace the interaction between their respective media houses and the audience even if the interaction is informal, as in the case of social media. This can help the management get crucial information like demographics and psychographics of their viewers and information related to their programme and hence make it better by granting viewer requests.
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