MAGAZINE READING BEHAVIOR OF STUDENTS IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN ANAMBRA STATE

(A CASE STUDY OF FEDERAL COLLEGE OF EDUCATION (TECH) UMUNZE)

By

MARYJANE

Presented To

Department of Mass Communication

ABSTRACT

Magazine is an embodiment of detailed report, analysis and interpretation of events combined with literary and artistic works produced periodically for the generally born specific audience. Okumma, (1999,p.34) magazine as a print medium like the newspaper which is a bound periodically (not an everyday publication) that contains variety of content written by various contributions. On this platform therefore, this study looks at "magazine reading habits of students in tertiary institutions in Anambra state with Federal College of education (Tech) Umunze as the study area. The magazine emerged to satisfy their desire for education, information and entertainment as knowledge is always acquired everyday in the life of human being. The survey research method was deemed right in conducting the research. Out of a total population of 5000, a sample size of 400 was used and data was collected from respondent through the use of questionnaire. The copies of questionnaire were used as instrument to elicit or generate relevant responses from eh population of the study. At the end of the study, it was discovered that a good number of students at their early age of study could not distinguish between magazine and newspaper and in that loose interest in reading magazines. I will recommend that magazine owners' practitioners should bridge this gap by ensuring that students devote more time on reading magazine through attractive and interest in the packaging.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page

Approval page

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Table of content

Abstract

CHAPTER ONE

11 Introduction

12 Statement of problems

13 Research questions

14 Significance of study

15 Purpose of the study

16 Limitations of study

17 Delimitations

18 Definitions of terms

CHAPTER TWO

20 Literature review

21 Introduction

22 Theoretical framework

23 Empirical Interpretation

24 Summary of Literature review

CHAPTER THREE

30 Methodology

31 Research design

32 Population

33 Sampling / sample

34 Sample size

35 Sampling techniques

36 Measuring Instrument

37 Validity / Reliability

38 Method of data analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

40 Presentation of data and analysis

CHAPTER FIVE

50 Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

51 Summary

52 Recommendation

53 Conclusion

Reference

Appendix 1

Questionnaires

CHAPTER ONE

11 INTRODUCTION

Magazine is a type of printed publication It is a periodical publication containing articles and illustrations often on a past and present events aimed and written for a particular readership

Magazine are usually published weekly, monthly or bi-monthly It is like the newspaper only that they are well and better packaged, bound together and contains in-depth and well researched news

According to Nwosu (2005,p13) Magazine like the newspaper is a popular read It is ubiquitous, found in all nooks and crannies of any society It is like the newspapers an institutionalized material which has created excitement and sadness

According to Alozie (2009,p102), magazine is a bound printed publication which contains news and other forms of information on a wide range of recent and past events

Also, according to Owuamalam (2010,p12) sees magazine as the collection of materials usually text and visuals compiled into a volume as a publication

The inquisitive nature of man has been the basic instinct that has driven him to grace for the intriques of life

To assuage the thirst for information, education and entertainment, the mass media, an institution channel with the responsibility of detailing the events, of the day in words sound and pictures came as a rescue

However, the audiences of this great institution (mass media) are known to be discriminatory, responsive and are also selective in choice and perception of mass media messages They prefer a medium that can report, analyse and interpret events in a colourful package No other medium can carry out this responsibility objectively and excellently except the magazine

According to Okunna, (1999,p34) explained that magazine as a print medium like the newspaper which is bound periodically (not an everyday publication) that contains variety of content written by various contributions

Furthermore, Haulting and Nelson, (1992,p100) described it as "A publication which serves as stored house for essays, stories, news, poems and other items to entertain and instruct readers

Moreso,a magazine is an embodiment of detailed reports ,analysis and interpretation of events combined with literary and artistic works produced periodically for the generally born specific audience

The audience reacts to the contents of the message presented Different people utilize different media for different purposes or reasons The selection of a particular media meswsage depends on expectation or importance of the media to the users value

Many magazine publish special edition to reach those specialized audience What may appear to be one nationally distributed magazine is actually several specialized publication under the same cover For example, time magazine publication both demographic and regional editions There are three types of magazine, trade, consumer magazine and business magazine Trade magazine cater to different callings except professions They discuss, pricings, where to get what product etc they are principally concerned with merchandising on marketing operations The circulation is to people involved in the trade for proper information and news Retailers and distributerso could benefit from the contents

Consumers magazine, involves very popular type of magazine, the general interest and special interest appeals In Nigeria, both enjoy sizabale number of readership The general interest editorial content cuts across a lot of key demographics zones, age, sex, profession, ethnicity etc this is because the articles are broad affecting everybody in a special way Also special interest magazine is more restricted and is directed to select people of both sexes an unspecified mature age group

According to Nwosu (2005p21) Business magazine is a publication that is directed at an identified group with some peculiarity would run into the type of industry, business, professions, vacation or occupation It is educative and should enhance mobility in either status intellectual or in profession after imbibing the subject of discourse

Also there are variations of magazine based on the frequency of publication These include weekly monthly and quarterly magazine The radiation of magazine is one thing, the attitude of the generality of the people towards them is another thing People tend ot read one type of magazine or the other This different in choice can be attributed to their different contents, gender, age, educational level, profession and economic status

While some people red stories relating to national and international news like economy, spors, political, editorial etc, others are interested in reading entertainment materials like cartoon, feminine issues in terms of fashion and cookery as well as crime, accidents and disaster It is realization of the indispensable and invaluable rote, which the magazine play in keeping the society alive that a loss of question to mind What constitutes an impediment to the reading or what influences their reading behaviour of these magazine

Weber and Flaming (1989,pp142-150) had conducted a lot o studies on magazine reading behaviour Their studies have come to prove that male have more positive attitude towards reading of magazine than the female A major reason for the overall steady growth of magazines has been their ability to adapt with remarkable efficiency to the changing media behaviour of readers and the unpredicatable changes in the economy In the light of this awareness, the study reflects its search light on "Reading behaviour of students in Institution of Higher Learning in Anambra States (A case study of Federal College of Education (Tech) Umunze

12 STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS

Magazine a division of the print media, known for

disseminating detailed information of events to the public in, 15 role as the information processor, the magazine which is involved in news gathering, editing and dissemination has built, within its structure, devices to ensure the packaging of stories worthy of publication in order to perform the enormous function of mass communication The extent to which the magazine performs the functions referred to the audience perception of the content But the students of Federal College of Education (Tech) Umunze, a subsection of the public, have different attitudes towards different classes of magazine

Hence, this research was carried out on the magazine reading behavior of students in Federal College of Education (Tech) Umunze in order to unfold the factors necessitating the choice of magazine Thus, the study tended to answer the question as to why some students of this school read certain content of the magazine and others It also examined the question whether time factor, age and year of study affect the magazine reading habit of students

13 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

This esearch is primarily undertaken to uncover the degree of magazine reading behaviour of students in Federal College of Education (TECH) Umunze

1) To examining the magazine reading nature of students

2) Ascertain the frequency of issues affecting students covered by the magazine

3) To examine the extent at which the student's reads the magazine

4) To ascertain whether the magazine adequately solve the problems of the students

14 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

To realize the set objectives of this study, the following questions are posed;

1 Does the proliferation of magazines determine students 
reading habits of such magazine?

2 To what extent do magazine contents influence the 
students in Federal College of Education (Technical) 
Umunze?

3 Docs the frequency of publication affect the reading habits of students in Federal College of Education (Tech] Umunze?

4 What factors or situations influence the reading habits of students in Federal College of Education (Tech) Umunze?

15 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

1 The existing problems of magazine reading habits

of students in institution of higher learning like Federal College of Education (Tech) Umunze, are significant to justify the need to change the status quo and this study will offer solutions to the problems

The need for this study is seen in terms of the benefit the study would offer to the research, individuals, the media and the society The study will help the researcher to understand students more with a view to advising them on how best to achieve a greater improvement in their quest for academic and intellectual proficiency It will also help the media owners and media practitioners to know if information meant for students reach them It will also enable the media practitioners to know how the dissemination of information could be best handled

Consequently, it will also enable media practitioner's to appreciate more of the problems relating to information flow as it concerns the students level of commitment for information meant for them The study will be of great value in determining the extent to which the magazine reading rate has influenced the contribution of students for the issue of societal betterment- It will also help the society in gaining an insight into the role the society can play in order to boost student's awareness

16 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

1 The purpose of the study is to find out if students of this institution read magazines

2 To discover the kind of magazine that they read

3 To determine the reading behaviour in terms of where and when they read magazine

4 To discover what influences the reading behaviour of the students

5 To know the problems that militates against

the reading behaviour of the student in Federal College of Education (Tech) Umunze

TYPES OF MAGAZINES

Magazine are of different types, depending on its areas of interest As the case maybe, every magazine has a target audience whoe the magazine want to satisfy To be able to satisfy the needs of this particular audience, the magazine is packaged in a way that those needs are met, magazine covers a wide range Some are focused on sports, health, telecommunicaiton, advertising, education, fashion, entertainment etc the type of magazines are as follows:

1 General interest magazine

2 Special interest magazine

3 News magazine

4 Sensational magazine

5 Scholarly magazine etc

1 The general interest magazine: Is published by Clair Maxwell cent, and it is published weekly and established in 2002 according to Mott (2010,p103) general interest magazine contains a wide variety of reading materials that are intended to appeal to virtually every kind of reader These include entertainment, opinion, news, interpretation etc

2 Special interest magazine: According to Hiebert et al (1974), on their discusion of the nature of the special interest magazine; magazine are increasingly providing communicaiton for special interest groups and have increasingly found their strength in their ability to reach readers who are related not by geography but by interest whether professional, occupational, vocational or even sexual Moreover, the special interest magazine offers its readers content that is tailored to match their specific interest and thus justify the high subscripiton ratio which they pay for such magazine

3 The news Maagzine

This type of magazine is the most influenctial of the types of magazines They are publications designed to summarize the news and provide added depth and interpretation that newspapers cannot give They deal more with contemporary affairs, publish articles, news and discuss issues in such diverse fields like religion, labou, politics, sports, art, the environment etc

4 Sensational magazine: This type of magazine can also be find in a newspaper format They are thin, but large in size as compared to other magazine Sensational magazine are said to thrive on creating a stir Flashy headlines are used to attract attention of the readers, and the main focus is on stories related to celebrities or any other amazing stories

5 Scholarly magazine: This mainly focus on academics and it reviews inforamtion and in depth in all subjects The formats of providing inforamtion in a scholarly magazine is in highly order and so the text books alike You find more of graphs and charts rather than picturs and as well as teaching and providing help in researches And was founded in the 18^th century

17 LIMITATION OF STUDY

In the cause of conducting this research work, some constraints were encountered Some students who were administered questionnaires did not return them thereby limiting scope of sampling Also some of the student refused to volunteer sensible answers in completing the questionnaires Another impediment to this study was the difficulty in the access to right literature which almost hindered to greater extent, the whole research process Even the researcher found it daunting to get a related literature or material in the course of this study Finally, the constraints in having access to the departmental library for more research on the study nearly crippled the efforts of the researcher

18 DELIMITATIONS

This research work was delimited to only the regular students running their programmes in federal College of ducat ion (Tech) Umunze

1 9 OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Certain variable are of keen interest to the research, are magazine, reading habit, communication, random sampling, design, college, institution, information, education, message, source, channels and response

MAGAZINE: Is a type of printed publication It is a periodical publciation containing articles and illustratins often on a past and present events aimed and written for a particualr readership

READING BEHAVIOUR: This is the way students read magazine behavior, interest, potentials and opinion of an audience whose life have been affected by being exposed to magazine

COMMUNICATION: Communication is defined as the sharing of ideas, information, opinion, feelings or experiences between people This values two-ways flow of information, the source and receiver

RANDOM SAMPLING: Random sampling is the method of a population a universal so that each member of the population has an equal chance of being selected

DESIGN: This is the term used to describe a number of decisions which need to be taken regarding the collection of data before ever data are collected

MESSAGE: This is the actual content or derivable meaning of the message or derivable meaning of the information exchange via communication It is that purpose of communication and embodies the idea, thought or expression that the source sends to whomever the message is meant for [the audience]

SOURCE: This is the major element person) who information or message comes from It is usually a human element viz, a speaker, teacher, writer, broadcaster etc

CHANNEL(S): This is the medium via which the message or information passes to the receiver (audience) It may consist of various means like: a printed material, a broadcast medium, a town crier, an adverts van etc

RESPONSE: After the receiver has interpreted the message, he would then react by manner of the response Whatever way the receiver responds depends on his interpretation of the message