News Preference in Enugu State; An Analysis of Broadcast Media And Social Media News Consumption

Abstract 

The technological breakthrough of web 2.0 revolutionized communication channels, increasing information traffic from source to sender and vice versa. Media convergence is one of the many outcomes of this technological revolution whereby traditional media and the internet merge to disseminate information to audience. However, news preferences seem to relegate different audience demographics to particular channels of communication. This study which analyzed the most preferred medium for news consumption in Enugu between the broadcast media and social media was anchored on the Uses and Gratification theory as well as Choice theory. The study was based on survey research method which involved the use of multistage sampling technique to distribute 384 copies of the questionnaire to residents in Enugu state. Data retrieved were analyzed using descriptive technique including percentages, frequencies, and bar chart. The results of the research found that people of Enugu state were largely exposed to broadcast media and social media and these media were used to by the residents of Enugu state to a high extent. Broadcast media was chosen to be more credible than social media. The most preferred news media for the people of Enugu state was the broadcast media for mostly reasons of its news credibility, reliability and currency.