ACCESS AND PATTERN OF READERSHIP OF THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER ONLINE NEWSPAPER AMONG BENIN RESIDENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such aspolitics, business, sports and art, and often include materials such as opinion columns, weather forecasts, and reviews of local services, obituaries, birth notices, crosswords, editorial cartoons, comic strips, and advice columns. Newspaper, which came after the introduction of book as a medium of communication in 1580-135BC essentially represents one of the earliest attempts at mass communication.

Besides acting as a medium of education and entertainment to readers as well as promotion of business, newspapers also spearhead the fight for socio-political justice. Sobowale (2015) notes that one of the factors that spurred the growth of the press in Nigeria included not only increased literacy levels among Nigerians, but also the consciousness of intellectuals whose interest insocio-politicaland economic matters fueled the quest to contribute to national discourse through the mass media.

The marriage between the newspaper Industry and Information and Communication Technologies ICTs has made many, if not all, national newspapers in Nigeria to have online versions. Mbachu (2003). Readership of online newspapers is an information sourcing and sharing activity. The phenomenon of online newspapers is believed to have greatly enhanced information sourcing and sharing activities in several ways. A number of benefits accrue to online newspapers in their information sharing efforts. Online newspapers provide easy, widespread, and timely access to information, allow for interactivity among information users, and enable users to store, share and retrieve their content quickly and easily, Ijeh (2008), McQuail ( 2007).

This suggests that people who read online newspapers and use the information provided to gain control of their environment in different ramifications have the likelihood to attain human development than people who do not. In other words, it may be assumed that readership of online newspapers can contribute to human development in Nigeria.

To read online newspapers, people need to have access to the Internet. Internet accessibility facilitate online newspaper readership. Aside from having access to telecommunications infrastructure that supports the publishing and readership of online newspapers, there is the challenge of poor internet services in Nigeria. It is not uncommon to find internet users in the country complaining of facing a lot of frustrations in their efforts to access online materials as a result of unsteady internet connections or slow pace of opening or downloading selected websites. Perhaps the most daunting constraint of publishing and readership of online newspapers in Nigeria is poor electricity supply.

It is widely believed that poor electric power supply is a major infrastructural lapse of internet related communication in Nigeria as a substantial part of the gadgets involved are electronic appliances Ijeh (2008), Eze (2007). The frequent disruptions in electricity supply and fluctuating voltages which endanger electronic appliances pose a big problem to the business of online newspapers in Nigeria, especially in the area of readership by members of the public.

The availability of news on the internet has engineered online readership of newspapers across Nigeria with print media organizations responding by lowering production, reducing the number of hard copies that goes into daily circulation and going online to remain relevant in the scheme of things. This is because of the numerous features and benefits of online newspapers over the print editions; for example, it is cheaper, convenient, portable, interactive, spontaneous and on-the-go (Quandt et al, 2006; Talabi, 2011).  

In Nigeria, The Nigerian Observer is one of the major thirty national dailies (newspapers). It is the newspaper published by Bendel Newspaper Company (BNCL) in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. It is a state-owned newspaper established in May 29, 1968. In August 2008, The Nigerian Observer newspaper went online as  www.nigerianobservernews.comto publicize the regional news and to meet up with latest trends and delivering news content to people around the world. Since the turn of the 21st century, newspapers across the country have recorded a sharp decline in revenue and drop in production and circulation. According to a (2010) study by the Advertisers Association of Nigeria, the daily sales figures of all the newspapers in Nigeria were less than 300,000 copies as a result of internet availability which gave rise to online newspaper

Online newspaper readership has affected the newspaper revenue in terms of   revenue from advertising and sale of print copies (Kirchhoff, 2010) as well as impacted on all stages of the newspaper production routines and processes (Rogel et al, 2015).

This study seeks to examine the access and pattern of readership of the Nigerian Observer online Newspaper among Benin residents, Edo State, Nigeria.

Statement of the Problem

Over the past century, print newspapers have played a dominant role in public communication and are now struggling to adapt to the information age that has shrunk the mediabusiness that has proven so successful in the past which led to the rise of online newspapers.

Most readers purchase less print version of newspaper and rather prefers the Online version of newspaper hence it is cheaper and accessible. Faced with such an adversary, The Nigerian Observer newspaper has not abandoned the traditional method (print version) but has embraced the innovative approach by which it went online aswww.nigerianobservernews.comwhich publicizes the community newspaper to residents in Benin and the country at large as well as rebranded the newspaper in the minds of the people.

According to Gasher & Reisa (2008: 193-211) mapping the geography of on-line news is unknown therefore, all these call for a critical research since increasing competition from traditional and on-line media have made readership research an important area of study. Since the only phenomenon that is constant is change hence, newspaper readers also change with the reading habit vis-à-vis the changing nature of print media which is being shaped by the new media. Before the advent of Internet people read hard-copy to get their information. But with the invention of Internet it is now difficult to know the readership situation of hard-copy as different from the on-line newspapers.

While existing research has been useful in outlining some trends in on-line journalism and publishing, a significant number of these results are limited largely to western media contexts, where computer ownership and connectivity to the Internet is relatively higher. Owing to the specific research questions addressed, most of these studies do not account for the dynamics of on-line news publishing in developing countries in general, Africa in particular, and Nigeria to be specific where weak telecommunications infrastructures, inadequate financial resources and comparatively low levels of computer literacy impair access to, and use of, the Internet. The need to extend the same gesture to Nigeria situation has stimulated this research work.

Notwithstanding, despite the new media (Internet) readers in Nigeria especially in Port-Harcourt metropolis still read the print version and this has made it difficult to ascertain who really are on-line readers. This can be described as what Howard Gold ( as cited in Baran 2009: 118), called crisis of confidence as combined with technological revolution and structural economic change to create what can only be described as a perfect storm.

In view of this, it has been viewed as a problem in Nigeria seeking what could probably be the influence of Internet on newspaper readership. What are the economic impact on both the print media (traditional print media) and the on-line readers? As a matter of fact will news on-line be still be represented as “news print”; and will on-line news replace the traditional media? All these call for concern.

Objectives of the study   

The purpose of this study is to examine the access and pattern of   readership of Nigerian Observer online   newspaper among Benin residents. The study therefore aims to:

1. To determine the pattern of access to Nigerian Observer online news platform.

2.  To determine the level of audience exposure to Nigerian Observer online newspaper.

3. To determine the level of readership of observer online newspaper by the audience.

  Research Questions

 This study will undertake to answer the following research questions:

1. What is the pattern of access to Nigerian Observer news platform?

2. What is the level of audience exposure to Nigerian Observer online newspaper?

3. What is the level of readership of Nigerian Observer online newspaper by the audience­­?

 1.5. Significance of the Study

This study seeks to examine the level of the access and pattern of readership of Nigerian Observer online newspaper audience exposure to Online Nigerian Observer newspaper and the level of audience exposure to Nigerian Observer online newspaper. Also, potential investors and present investors in the print media industries will find this study valuable.

 Scope of the Study

The scope of this study is limited to Airport road and Irhrihri community in Oredo local government, Benin City, Edo State.

 Limitations of the Study

This study has limited materials used as it is new field that is yet to be covered by scholars.

 Definition of Terms

Within the context of this study, the following terms are defined thus:

Access: it is a way or means of approaching or entering, an entrance, a passage, the act of approaching or entering.

Pattern: it is something from which a copy is made, a model or outline. It is a model or something seen as an example to be imitated.

Readership: the people who read or are thought to read a particular book, newspaper, magazine, etc.

Online Newspaper: a newspaper that exists on the internet either separately, or as an online version of a printed newspaper.

Newspaper Readership: the number of people who read or expose a particular newspaper.

Online Newspaper Readership: the number of people who read or are exposed to read a particular newspaper on the internet.