2.4 The
Concept of television viewership
TV
programmes are design and packaged to attract and retain audience viewership
interest and the same time influence behavioural attitude.
This
account for why TV performs socializing functions as well as social control
functions
Nwosu
(2004, p.32) explained the social change intent/focus of TV foreign programme
thus:
The
culture, politics, the sophistication of society has crime about principally
through communication of forces knowledge, influence and development.
Through
TV programmes issues are raised and agenda is set for discussion which helps in
the formation of public opinion and influence.
It therefore suffices that the
consistent repetition of foreign TV programmes either soap operas, talk shows
etc set raise an issue for public debate for the purpose of opinion formation,
attitude change and impact.
This supposes that the TV media
practitioner has already predetermined what the impact should supposedly be in
the mind of the target audience, this account for the use of audio and visual
effects that would help at persuading the target audience members.
Better still, the audio-visual
characteristics of TV programmes creates a sense of reality in the psyche of
the viewing audience so much so that this audience perceives such programmes to
be real.
This justifies the substance of the
cultivation analysis which is summarized by
Gerbner
Baran (200, p.397) claims: “That television cultivates or constructs a reality
of the world that although possibly inaccurate, becomes accepted reality simply
because we as a culture believe it to be reality. Heavy viewers are more
susceptible to cultivate than are light viewers “.
Suffice it then to argue that students
who are heavy viewers of foreign TV programmes are more likely to be influenced
by the substance of such programmes than those who are light viewers.
However, the frequency of viewing would
derive from frequency at which the TV station transmits programmes. More so,
availability of power supply also qualifies as a factor determining the rate of
student’s viewership of foreign TV programmes.
Analyzing the concept of heavy viewing as it
affects transmission of TV foreign programmes, Baran and Davis (2007, p.334)
stated that:
Mainstreaming
in cultivation analysis, the process, especially for heavy viewers by which
television symbols monopolize and dominate other source of information and
ideas about the world.
The use of foreign symbols in foreign TV
programmes and its repetition implemented such in the psyche of the target
audience so much that they get influenced by them and act in consistent with
their substance.
However,
it can also be argued that since the target audiences for such programmes are
active, they are in the position to determine the degree which such programmes
would influence their attitude.
More so, university students are
critically minded and are equipped to analyze symbols, ideas and issues before
accepting them as part of their life style.
Suffice
it therefore to imply that the symbols cues used in such foreign TV programmes
would derive from the connotation meanings attached to them by the viewers.
2.5 CHARACTERISTICS OF TELEVISION
AUDIO VISUAL MEDIUM
While
radio has sound, television content includes both sound and visuals. This audio
visual character of television makes it a magic medium which allows us to watch
the world from our drawing rooms. This powerful visual nature helps television
to create vivid impressions in our minds which in turn leads to emotional
involvement. The audio visual quality also makes television images more
memorable.
DOMESTIC MEDIUM
To watch
television, we need not leave your drawing room. No need of going to the movie
theater or buying tickets. We can watch television in the comfort of our home
with our family. This is why television is generally regarded as a domestic
medium. It provides entertainment and information right inside our homes and
has become an integral part of our everyday lives. It can actually pattern our
daily activities. Even our family makes it a point to watch their favorite
serial at a particular time and adjust dinner timings accordingly. This
domestic nature of television influences the content also. We have noticed that
a newspaper report has an impersonal tone, whereas the television anchor
addresses us directly. The domestic nature of television makes it an
intimate medium. This makes the viewers experience a sense of closeness to the
Television.
LIVE MEDIUM.
The
important characteristic of television is that it is capable of being a live
medium. This is because the live nature of television allows it to transmit
visuals and information almost instantly. The visuals of an earthquake in
Indonesia can reach our television set in almost no time. This capacity of the
medium makes it ideal for transmitting live visuals of news and sports events.
If we are watching a football match in a television channel, we can almost
instantly see our best player. The Television allows you to witness events
which happen thousands of miles away.
MASS MEDIUM
It is a
known fact that there are a large number of people who cannot read or write.
Such people may not be able to read a newspaper, but they can watch television.
Anyone with a television receiver can access the information shown on
television. This makes it an ideal medium to transmit messages to a large
audience. In a country like ours, with a huge illiterate population, this
characteristic of television makes it an ideal instrument for transmitting
social messages. Television also has a very wide output, range and reach. It is
truly a mass medium.
EXPENSIVE MEDIUM
There is
need to large amount of machinery and expertise needed to run a television
station. We can write articles and stories and draw our own pictures. All we
need will be paper, pen, drawing instruments and time. However, a television
programme can never be made this easily. It requires lots of money, machinery
and experienced people. Broadcast media in general and television in particular
involves complex technology and organization.
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