AUDIENCE ASSESSMENT OF “AVE YA KA EBIRA DERE”PROGRAMME ON TAO FM STATION IN PROMOTING INDIGENOUS LANGUAGE IN EBIRA LAND
ABSTRACT
This study was undertaken to evaluate the success of theprogramme“Ave YaKaEbiraDere”on Tao FM station in promoting the indigenous Ebira Language Adavi, Ajaokuta, Okehi and Okene Local Government areas based on the assessment of the audience. The study was based on the following objectives:  to  identify the factors  that attract  the audience  to  the programme, to document the audience‟s assessment of the programme, to identify the kind of information received  by  the  audience  of  the  programme  and  toexamine  the  areas  the  audience  expect improvement on the programme.In conducting the study, survey was conducted with a sample of
384 respondents, focus group discussions were also used to gather data from the audience of the programme.The Uses and Gratification theory was used as a framework for the study being an audience based theory which suggests media users take an active part in the communication process and are goal oriented in their media use. Findings reveal that theaudience are drawn to theprogrammeby its mode of presentation. Also, majority of the respondents (65.5%) believe that the programme is successful in its objectives of promoting the Ebira Language and encouraging the youth to speak it in the traditional way. The findings also showed that the audience learn various things such as new words, expressions and proverbs among others from the programme and most importantly they are learning how to speak the Ebira language correctly. However the audience expect that the programme will bring in more avenues for audience participation and have a repeat broadcast.The study concludes that the programmeAve YaKaEbiraDere to a large extent has been successful in its objectives as well as meeting the needs of the target audience as regards the EbiraLangauge. Among the recommendations made in the study is that the radio station embarks on constant programme evaluation and audience research to ensure its relevance and sustainability. Also, a repeat broadcast of the programme would be an added advantage for it. It was also recommended that more audience participation is required to ensure effectiveness.
CHAPTER ONE
1.1    BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Communication is fundamental to human existence, be it in the economic, political or socio- cultural spheres of life. It is equally pivotal to governance, development and progress in any society. In its simple form, communication is the transmission of a message from a source to the receiver. It has been broadly defined as the process by which elements of a society- whether as individuals or members of groups or organizations- transmit their intentions, desires and feelings about any matter to their fellows by means of words and symbols (Ayeni-Akeke 2008). Rayudu (2007) also sees communication as a process involving the sorting, selecting and sending of symbols in such a way as to help the listener perceive and recreate in his own mind, the meaning contained  in  the  mind  of  the  communicator.According  to  Castells  (2012)  interpersonal communication  and  other  forms  of  communication  must  be  differentiated  from  societal communication.  In  the  former,  the  designated  sender(s)  and  receiver(s)  are  the  subjects  of communication. In the latter, the content of communication has the potential to be diffused to society at large: this is what is usually called mass communication.
Baran (2012) regarded mass communication as the process of creating shared meaning between the mass media and their audience. Dominick (2011) asserts that mass communication is the process by which a complex organization with the aid of one or more machines produces and transmits   public   messages   that   are   directed   at   a   large   heterogeneous   and   scattered audience.Similary,  Pearce  (2009)  defined  mass  communication  as  "the  process  by which  a person, group of people, or large organization creates a message and transmits it through some
type of medium to a large, anonymous, heterogeneous audience."  This implies that the audience of mass communication are mostly made up of different cultures, behavior and belief systems.
In the broadest sense of the word, a medium is the channel through which a message travels from source to receiver. When we talk of mass communication, we also need channels to carry the message.These channels are regarded as mass media, Mytton (1983 as cited in Vivian, 2011) defines mass media as the device or means of communication which include the mass circulation of press,  radio  and television for the purpose  of information,  education, entertainment  and persuasion.Wood  (2006)  and  Dominick  (2013)  identified  books,  film,  television,  radio, newspapers, magazines, and the internet as examples of channels  or media by which mass communication reaches great numbers of people.According to Dominick (2013), mass media does  not  only include  the  mechanical  devices  that  transmit  and  sometimes  store  messages (Television cameras, radio microphones, printing press) but all the institutions that use these machines  to  transmit  messages.The  media  of  mass  communication  have  long  played  a fundamental role in people‟s lives. The media inform, persuade, entertain and even sell. Media can  provide  companionship.  They  can  shape  perception.  They  can  also  transmit  culture (Ramanujam, 2009).
Culture according to Baran (2012), lends significance to human experience by selecting from and organizing it. It refers to the learned behaviour of members of a given social group. Culture is a historically transmitted pattern of messages embodied in symbolic forms by means of which people communicate, perpetuate and develop their knowledge about and attitude toward life. A people‟s culture includes their beliefs, rules of behaviour, language, rituals, art, technology, styles of dress, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, political and economic systems. (Geertz as cited in Taylor, 1991).Virtually all definitions of culture recognize that culture is learned.   Creation   and   maintenance   of   more   or   less   common   culture   occurs   through
communication, including mass communication and its channels.When we talk to our friends; when a parent raises a child; when religious leaders instruct their followers, when teachers teach; when  grandparents  pass  on  recipes;  when  politicians  campaign;  when  media  professionals produce content that we read, listen to, or watch, meaning is being shared and culture being constructed  and  maintained  (Baran,  2012).According  to  Wood  (2006),  communication  and culture  cannot  be  separated,  because  each  influences  the  other.  Culture  is  reflected  in communication practices, and at the same time communication practices shape cultural life. As we interact with other people and the media, we come to understand the beliefs, values, norms and language of our culture.The transmission of culture and values is a subtle but none the less important  function  of  the  mass  media.  It  has  also  been  called  the  socialization  function. Socialization refers to the ways an individual comes to adopt the behaviour and values of a group. The mass media portray our society, and by watching listening and reading, we learn how people are supposed to act and what values are important (Dominick, 2013).
For this study radio as a mass medium and its role in the transmission of culture specifically indigenous languages is the point of focus.Radio is everywhere. The signals are carried on the electromagnetic spectrum to almost every nook and cranny, hardly a place in the world is beyond the reach of radio (Vivian, 2011). Based on this fact many communication scholars believe that radio is one of the most effective communication medium for creating awareness because it is cheap  and  breaks  the  barrier  of  illiteracy  (Vivian  2011,Baran  2012).Radio  has  been  used extensively as a vehicle for health, nutrition and agricultural education in developing countries; it has however been an untapped teaching tool in some parts of the world. Although it is often assumed that education through media is limited to transmission and acquisition of information, there‟s evidence that behavioural changes can occur as well (Romero-Gwynn & Marshal, 1990).