COVER PAGE

THE STUDY, ‘SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND CONSUMPTION PATTERNS AMONG

KWARARAFA UNIVERSITY LECTURE’S

By

DORCAS TSOKEN

KUW/U19/MCM/1019

A PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR AN AWARD OF BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (B.Sc.) DEGREE IN MASS

COMMUNICATION KWARARAFA UNIVERSITY, WUKARI.

SEPTEMBER, 2022
 TITLE PAGE

THE STUDY SOCIAL MEDIA USE AND CONSUMPTION PATTERNS AMONG

KWARARAFA UNIVERSITY LECTURE’S

By

DORCAS TSOKEN

KUW/U19/MCM/1019

BEING A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MASS

COMMUNICATION, FACULTY OF SOCIAL AND MANAGEMENT SCIENCES,

KWARARAFA UNIVERSITY WUKARI IN PARTIAL FULLFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE BACHELOR OF SCIENCE(B.Sc HONS)

DEGREE IN IN MASS COMMUNICATION.

SEPTEMBER, 2022.
 DECLARATION

I, Dorcas Tsoken, hereby declare that this research work Titled; The Study, Social Media Use

and Consumption Patterns among Kwararafa University Lecture’s is a product of my

research work.

________________________ ____________________ __________________

Name of Student Signature Date

 CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that this research project is an original work undertaken by Dorcas Tsoken,

(KUW/U19/MCM/1019). It was approved by the undersigned on behalf of the Department of

Mass Communication in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree of

B.Sc in Mass Communication.

_____________________________ ______________________

Mrs. Lucy Ishima

(Project Supervisor) Date

_____________________________ ______________________

Mrs. Lucy Ishima

(Head of Department) Date

_____________________________ ______________________

External Examiner Date

 DEDICATION

This research project is dedicated to Almighty God and my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Tsoken

Bulus
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The success of this work will not be complete without mentioning the name of those who have

been helpers of destiny.

First and foremost, I remain eternal grateful to Almighty God for life and strength through

school.

My profound gratitude goes to my Dad and Mum Mr. and Mrs. Tsoken Bulus My lovely elder,

Freda Tsoken and Mr. Jerry, encouragement and sacrifices.

To my supervisor who doubles as my HOD, Mrs Lucy Ishima I say thanks for your effort

towards the successful completion of this work. To all my lecturers who contributed greatly to

the success of my academic work, worthy to acknowledge are: Dr. Ugondo Peter, Dr. Uzah

Terna Thomas, Mr Utiki Jeremial, Mr Victor Gana, Mrs Roselyn Swomen, Mr Tsokwa Magai,

Mrs Martha Joda and to the secretary of the department Miss Patience James.
 ABSTRACT
The study, ‘Social Media Use and News Consumption Patterns among Kwararafa
University Lecture’s was set to investigate how social media is impacting and
redefining the pattern of news consumption of Lectures at Kwararafa University,
Wukari. The study employed survey research method using questionnaire as
instrument for data collection. A census sample of 91 academic staff was studied.
Data presentation and analysis showed that Lecturers actively use social media for
news consumption. Facebook was found to be the most used social media handle
among the Lecturers. Top among the news medium followed on social media
among the lectures is Sahara Reporters (27.5%) closely followed by premium
times (25.3%). The study also found that Lecturers rely heavily on their social
networks for tips and alerts to news stories. Lecturers source the majority of their
news from their social networks, sharing, recommending, and rewetting
newsarticle. Also, over three quarters visit social networking sites daily. In above
two-thirds (19%) of Lecturers visit their main social networking site several times
a day. One in five lecturers is a ‘’heavy’’ Social media user, meaning they use at
least two different types of social media each and every day. The study concluded
that lecturers depend on social media such as facebook to guide them to news
articles, as they are a good representation for their own interest. In other words,
academic staff of Kwararafa University, Wukari relies heavily on their social
networks for tips and alerts to news stories. All respondents were exposed to news
stories that they may have otherwise missed or overlooked if not for facebook and
Twitter, Slightly more than half of the respondents feel more informed as a result
of links shared by individuals in their social network. The study recommended
among other things that news organizations should integrate social media
platforms among news delivery channels to boost readership and viewership of
stories.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page - - - - - - - - -

Approval Page - - - - - - - -

Declaration - - - - - - - -

Dedication - - - - - - - - -

Acknowledgement - - - - - - -

Abstract - - - - - - - - -

Table of Contents - - - - - - -

CHAPTER ONE – INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study - - - - -

1.2 Statement of the Problem - - - -

1.3 Objectives of the Study - - - - - -

1.4 Research Questions - - - - - -

1.5 Research Hypotheses - - - - - -

1.6 Significance of the Study - - - - -

1.7 Scope/Limitations of the Study - - - - - -

1.8 Definition of Terms - - - - - -

CHAPTER TWO – REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1 Introduction - - - - - - -

2.2 Conceptual Framework - - - - -

2.3 Theoretical Framework - - - - -

2.4 Empirical Review - - - - - -

CHAPTER THREE – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction - - - - - - -

3.2 Research Design - - - - - -

3.3 Population of the Study - - - - - -

3.4 Sample and Sampling Technique - - -

3.5 Research Instrument and Instrumentation - - -

3.6 Validity of Instrument - - - - - -

3.7 Reliability of Instrument - - - - - -

3.8 Method of Data Collection - - - - - -

3.9 Method of Data Analysis - - - - - -

CHAPTER FOUR – DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.1 Introduction - - - - - - - -

4.2 Analysis of Demographic Data of Respondents - - - -

4.3 Analysis of Psychographic Data - - - - - -

4.4 Test of Hypotheses - - - - - - - -

CHAPTER FIVE – SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

5.1 Summary of Findings - - - - - - -

5.2 Conclusion - - - - - - - -

5.3 Recommendations - - - - - -

References - - - - - - - -

Appendix - - - - - - - -
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The popularity of social media and other user generated content venues have

impacted the way in which news is distributed and consumed. According to the

pew research center (2010). Americans relationship to the news is being

transformed in several directions thanks to the new tools and affordances of

technology. This can be observed in that news is becoming more personal as users

customize their experience and take charge of the flow of news into their lives.

Additionally, news is becoming a participatory activity, as people contribute their

own stories and experiences and post their reactions to events using social media

such as Facebook and Twitter.

Specifically, pew Research center (2010) says the internet and smart phones

are changing people’s relationship to news. According to the, on a typical day,

61% of Americans get news online, which puts the internet just behind television

as a news source and ahead of newspapers. Additionally, the center states that

more than a quarter of adults now commonly access the internet on their mobile

phones, adding yet another layer of change in consumers’ relationship with news.

Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn

communication into an interactive dialogue. Social media takes on many different

forms including magazines, Internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, micro

blogging, wikis, podcasts, photographs or pictures, video, rating and social

bookmarking. With the world in the midst of a social media revolution, it is more

than obvious that social media like facebook, twitter, Orkut, Myspace, Skype etc..,

are used extensively for the purpose of communication. This form of

communication can be with a person or a group of persons (Baruah, 2012). One of

the most important advantages of the use of social media is the online sharing of

knowledge and Information among the different groups of people.

Online news consumers receive and send news through social media tools

such as Twitter, blogs, Facebook, YouTube, Google+, etc. These tools according to

Piccard, (2009) elevate the public from news receivers to news contributors. For

users, social media websites offer anyone the opportunity to express them and to

connect with persons of like mind or interests. Social media tools provide an easy,

little to no cost, way for members of the public to take part in discussions with

larger groups of people and draw attention to issues and topics that traditional news

media might have overlooked. Today audiences can get an “instant helping” of the

latest news, literally minutes old, on the internet, or receive updates on their smart

phones, in their email inbox or on their social network pages (Stassen, 2010).

Just as Alejandro (2010) observed, the consumption of new today is not the same

as pre-satellite news when people waited for their morning papers or sat down at
an appointed time for the evening television news. More and more readers, viewers

and listeners are going online for their new. Television, newspapers and radio are

still here but there is a growing competition. In its annual report for 2008-2009, the

BBC reported that its television overall reach among the 16 to 34 years old

audience has fallen by over 7 percent between 2003 and 2008, from 82.6 percent to

75.4 percent. The data provided by the 39 minutes a day in 2003 to 24 minutes a

day in 2008, a decline of nearly 40 percent in a five year period. Meantime in the

United States, a 2008 study showed that 40 percent of those surveyed got most of

their international and national news from the internet, up from 24 percent in 2007.

Internet coverage of the US presidential campaign (boosted by social media

networks) was the likely reason for that recent growth.

Social media have implications for a variety of public services, reshaping

patterns of communication with the public (Rolandsson & Bjorck, 2008). In the

case of the news, social media might reinforce online news, and lead to a greater

propensity for displacement of print media and the fourth Estate. Alternatively, the

use of social media for entertainment, for example, could substitute for more

traditional uses of the internet and We, including searching for online news,

exacerbating problem with print and online news provision and the business

models supporting them (Donsbach, Rentsh, & Walter, 2011). Such an effect could

create further risks for high-quality journalistic coverage and the decline of the
fourth Estate. Alternatively, the use of social media could lead users to find new

and more diverse sources of information about the topics that interest them in ways

that support quality journalism in local and global arenas and reinforce the fourth

and Fifth Estates.

With its widespread adoption and network effect, enabling real-time, two

way communications between the government and the public, social media has

influenced electoral fortunes of political candidates like president Muhammadu

Buhari (Ugondo, 2016), President elect of the United States of America, Donald

Trump (CNN 2016). According to a recent study from Finnish content discovery

firm Ezy Insight, one of the things that kept Donald Trump in the presidential race

against Hillary Clinton was his savvy use of social media particularly facebook

(The Next Web, 2016). Institutions are also adding so many social networks on

their websites for interaction with their various publics. Kwararafa University,

Wukari for instance, have group chats on whatsapp and facebook for its

committees. Sometime meetings are convened and urgent matters deliberated

online before converging face-to face for resolution.

Corroborating, Argenti and Barnes (2009) says social media has changed the

rules of the game in every part of strategic communication. They also claim that

over the past everything people knew about communication but also have

dramatically changed the business of managing relationships. Social media site

such as facebook, linkedIn and others all have pages organized by organizations

such as the Institute for public relations (IPR), the International Public Relations

Association (IPRA), the public relations society of America (PRSA), the Council

of public Relations Firms, the Arthur, W. Page Society and the International

Association of Business communicators (IABC) (Wright & Hinson 2015)

Of course, the traditional offline media-print, radio and television-remain centrally

important for most of the world’s population (European Commission, 2012). But

they are operating in a changing landscape where news and factual content is

increasingly operating across multiple platforms. This changing landscape will

require new analysis and methodologies. What researchers did twenty years ago

and in some countries is unlikely to be appropriate today everywhere. Many of the

issues, of course, remain the same –such as how to ensure balanced content from a

variety of independent sources- but there are new stakeholders, new technologies,

new patterns of access, and new patterns of control. Thus the emerging forms of

news access and consumption will be a serious dilemma for media professionals.

This makes a study on news consumption patterns in the era of social media

revolution a crucial communications policy.

1.2 Statement of the Problem:

The advent of social media has helped the news become a social experience

in fresh ways for consumer. People use their social networks and social networking
technology to filer, assesses, and reacts to news. With every citizen a possible mass

communicator, we are potentially on the horizon of a more diverse and vibrant

media environment than could ever be achieved using old media tools alone. There

are instant and on-going conversations, new forms of crowd-powered information

gathering and dissemination, openness and transparency in all areas of public

administration.

At the same time, the rise of new media also creates extensive opportunities

for news dissemination models. In the new media universe of user-generated

content, consumers read or follow their favorite news medium via Twitter,

YouTube, and face book, some of them also contribute news content and

comments via user generated content and hash tags. Social media offers news

consumers ways to access, communicate with media professionals, and measure

the authenticity of news. As academics, reading daily newspapers and watching

television is almost a norm. but the challenge of finance and steady power supply

is always a challenge making the resort to social media via mobile phones a

necessity. How then has social media impacted on the consumption of main media

news by civil servants such as Kwarafa University Lecturers?

Against this backdrop, the seeks to investigate the impact of social media, on

how lecturers consume news content from main media such as newspapers
magazines, radio and television. It shall also seek to establish whether there is any

disparity in the knowledge gap among news consumers.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The aim of this research is to establish how social media is impacting and

redefining the pattern of news consumption of lecturers at Kwararafa University

Wukari. Specifically, it seeks

i. To identify which social media handles are used among lecturers

Kwararafa University Wukari

ii. To establish which of the main media contents are mostly consumed

among the lecturers

iii. To find out the factors that influence main media selection on social

media

iv. To describe the activities of news consumers on social media

1.4 Research Questions

i. Which social media handles are mostly used by lecturers of Kwararafa

University Wukari?

ii. Which of the main media contents are mostly consumed among the

lecturers

iii. What factors influence the selection of main media news on social

media?
 iv. What are the activities of news consumers on social media?

1.5 Significance of the Study

When the study objectives are fulfilled, much benefit will be derived from

the study. First of all, it would contribute to data on the adoption and use of social

media among university lecturers in Nigeria. There would be empirical evidence as

to how much of social media is used among lecturers in Nigeria. The study will

also provide data on which type of social media is popular among users in Nigeria.

As the study will unravel how lecturers use social media to access news

media organizations and the practitioners will gain insight as to how best to

employ social media for packaging and disseminating news. They would be able to

know which particular social media is most effective in reaching a target audience

Government and policy makers will also find the study useful in formulating

policies that would guide ethical use of social media in Nigeria. Above all, the

study will contribute to literature on social media and news consumption. Other

researchers can take a cue from the study for further research.

1.6 Scope of the Study.

Although social media may be employed in several ways and in different

fields, the study is concerned with its adoption and use among lecturers only.

Again, the lecturers are those Kwararafa University, Wukari

1.7 Operational Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined as used in this research

Social Media: - are a general name of website that permit users to share content,

media, photographs etc. the common networking sites are Myspace, Friendster

Facebook, YouTubee, Ficker, Photo bucker, etc. they media for social interactions

based on web and mobile technology which employ highly accessible and large

apparatus to make communication become active and interactive dialogue.

Main Media: - These are newspapers, Magazines, Radio and Television

News Consumption: - it entails reading, viewing, following sharing contents of

the main media

 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

The Chapter reviews related literature on the concepts of social media and

news consumption. It contains the theoretical framework of the study-the diffusion

of innovations theory. Relevant empirical studies home and abroad are examined

in this chapter.

2.2 Review of Concepts

Pertinent concepts in this study are examined from scholastic point of view.

The reason is facilitate the understanding and appreciation of the subject matter.

2.2.1 Social Media

The term social media according to Sherman (2010), was first mentioned by

Danah M. Boyd of the school of information at the University, of California and

Nicole B. Elison of the department of Telecommunication. Information studies and

media at Michigan state University in their paper social network sites: definition,

history and scholarship. Social media are media designed to de disseminated

through social interaction, created using highly accessible internet and web-based

technologies. Social media support the democratization of knowledge and

information. Transforming people from content consumers into content producers

(Sherman 2010).
 Social media are media for interaction, using highly accessible web-based mobile

technologies and communication techniques to turn communication into interactive

dialogue. Social media may have been integral to the Arab revolutions and revolts

of 2011. As one Cairo activist succinctly put we face book to schedule the protests,

Twitter to coordinate, and You-Tube to tell the world” (Kaplan and Haenlein

(2011)

Social media provide an avenue for people to interact freely even in distant places

where ordinarily they should not have. This interactions takes place on ‘Social

network sites and social networking sites’ such as Facebook My Space, Beho.

Frontier, Twitter, YouTube, etc. which create access for people to meet. Chat and

socialize just like the name social media implies

When one examines definition of social media, several criteria emerge. They are

I. Internet –based but not totally so. Meetup.com, for example, uses the internet

to set up local face-to face meetings. The internet is the organizing agent but

communication is personal.

II. User-generated and published information. However, user often republish

information they have discovered elsewhere, so user generation is loosely

defined.

III. Community sharing –posts and comments, file sharing community of interest.

Community interest varies to individual and group. Some bolgs, for example
 spark hundreds of comments. Others generate none. The community of

interest can be active or passive

IV. Multimedia-blogs, podcasts, video, photos, forums, internet messaging,

texting. The internet subsumes all audiovisual and print media because it can

transmit them. Social media, by extension makes use of all media forms.

There is even a growing possibility of haptic communication-the mechanical

simulation of touch –across the internet, which social media will adopt once it

is fully developed.

V. Immediate. It takes less and less time for one to publish on social media with a

service like twitter messaging it is a matter of seconds –the time it takes to

type or speak. Media can be- and often are-live.

VI. Collapsed geographically: there is no distance in social media. One can follow

the tweets of another who is half-way around the world or ‘’ friend’’ other

thousands of miles away or blog to anyone on any continent who is interested

in what you have to say.

VII. Incorporate old and new internet technologies. Social media Incorporate all of

the technologies developed over those time spans from e-mail through forums,

instant messaging, file sharing. Video transmission and more.

When many people think of social media, they think of Facebook and Twitter.
However, social media do not just include social networking sites, but also blogs,

forums, message boards, photo sharing, podcasts, RSS (really simple

syndication),search engine marketing video sharing, wikis, social networks,

professional networks, and micro blogging sites (wright and Hinson, (2009).

As stated by wright and Hinson (2009) and reported by the international

Association of Business communicators, “more than half of all Internet users have

joined asocial network, social networks have become the number one platform for

creating and sharing content and nearly 75 percent of all Internet users have read a

blog” ( Young, 2009). Although social media are impacting the way many

organizations communicate and more and more people are becoming active with

these new channels, the definition of what social media encapsulates is

undetermined due to the rise of many different forms. No two people are defining

this media the same way.

Ugondo and Abutu (2016) identify the functionalities of social media as follows

a. Planning and organizing meetings. Events can be created on social media

like Facebook and all members of the group will received a reminder of the

event automatically the day arrive. Such platforms can help members to be

abreast of meetings. Links can also be created for members to discuss some

urgent matters even before meeting days arrive. The platform can facilitate

carrying along absentee members and avail them the opportunity to make
 inputs to crucial matters. Members, who love attending meetings but for one

reason or the other are away, can still be in touch and participate in

deliberations at such meetings. Focus group discussions can be created on

WhatsApp, twitter with the use of hash tag (#) and others.

b. It enhances media monitoring –you can read news updates. Social media is

also a fantastic way for public Relations Department to gather information

about wants or desires of organizations customers, and to deal with any

business trouble that may arise. Social media is the most effective way to

defend, establish, and increase organizations or institutions credibility

(Tribby, 2010.

c. It enhances user engagements: tagging, creating audience discussion groups.

g hash tags (automatically hyperlinking terms appended with the # sign).

Hash tags can increase your awareness, build relationships. You or your

targeted audiences can join in on trending conversations which you can view

on your Twitter page sidebars.

d. Effective information dissemination and management. One area that has not

seen widespread adoption of social media as a communication tool is media

relations (Wilson & Supa, 2013). And while many critics have questioned

the continuing value of traditional media relations tools (such as the press

release), practitioner today continue to be actively in media relations as a

 primary area of practice (Darnowski, Distaso, & Mc Corkindale. 2013).

The

Relationship between public relations practitionersand journalists, then,

remains a very important aspect of many campaigns, and thus for many

organizations. Effectively managing these relationships often means that the

public relations practitioner must constantly maintain communication, build

credibility and trust, and provide the journalist with information that is

relevant about the organization (Howard & Mathews, 2006). Corporate

websites, chat-rooms, email customer response facilities and electronic news

release distribution are now viewed as standard aspects of public relations

practice (Galloway, 2005).

e. It facilitates research into public attitudes comments on posts or shared

information can be monitored, and opinion polls can be easily organized and

administered. Social media can provide public relations practitioners a

unique opportunity to collect information, monitor public opinion on issues,

and engage in direct dialogue with their publics about a variety of issues.

(MC Allster & Taylor, 2007).

f. It provides platform forms for members to campaign easily during

electioneering campaigns. With the social media, it becomes easy for

members to interact one-one –one with people aspiring for leadership

 positions among them. Presentation and scrutiny of candidates’manifestoes

by members is always a herculean task during AGMs. But through social

media groups, such manifestoes can be presented and scrutinized by

members. The people will know the candidates better than relying on third

parties for information.

g. It is cost effective compares to texting and calls. Social media is the most

effective and inexpensive way to communicate with target publics.

According to Motti, Oren and Eyla (201) responding to a Tweet or a post on

a variety of social media sites is considerably easier and less expensive.

Organizations can use social media to create and distribute promotional

material. Such as articles. Aubio and videos to save the money but, in

traditional media it would high cost for this content to appear in the press.eg

on the radio or on TV (Salcido, 2011).

2.2.2 News Consumption

News consumption today according to Alejandro (2010:4) is not the

same as pre –satellite news when people waited for their morning papers or sat

down at an appointed time for the evening news on television. News

consumption today is not the sameas pre-internet news when people tune in to

events happening around the world through 24-hour television news channels.

More recently, a growing number of readers, viewers and listeners aregoing

 online for their news. Television and radio are still here but there is a growing

completion from interactive online media

Online news consumers receive and send news through social media a tools

such as

Twitter, Facebook, You Tube, and search engine. These tools elevate the

public from news receivers to news contributors. According to Picard (2009),

social media tools provide an easy, affordable way for members of the public to

take part in discussion with larger groups of people and draw attention to issues

and topics that traditional news media might have overlooked. Social media tools

offer users the opportunity to express themselves and to connect with persons of

like mind or interests.

Hermosa (2010) claims that social media tools created news of organizing

Knowledge that rely on large, loosely organized groups of people working together

electronically. Hermosa also suggests that social media enables millions of people

to communicate instantly, allowing them to share and discuss events that he asserts

leads to an expression of collective intelligence.

In the online environment, it is argued readers can have a greater impact on

the news through an increase in the intensity of their exchanges with journalists for

instance the presentation of their own views on twitter. News online is thus open to

a higher degree of contestation then is typical of traditional news media. Civic

journalism is increasing and access to public information and government services

is expanding (Pavik, 2001:32) News presentation and delivery in the online

environment has opened a higher degree of citizen interactivity and participation in

the news process. Citizen journalism is said to bleed in to mainstream journalism.

This demystification of journalism is claimed to break down the barriers between

audience and producer facilitating a greater deconstruction of the normative values

embedded in the news genre and re-imagining of what journalism should be.

Mass media grows from one way communication to incorporate interactive

communication. Interactivity allows feedback to enter the system at every stage of

the communication process, from acquiring and processing to storing and

distributing. As our ways of storing, manipulating and retrieving information

change, so too do our perceptions of the world (Purves, 1998:214), much of our

perception of the world is determined by our access to information.

In traditional media, the audience understand the content from the producer,

s point of view. Interactivity allow the user to have controls over how and what

content is viewed. Note how even the role of the audience has changed as reflected

by the term user. This operational freedom is significant to our culture because it

corresponds to various attitudes about the role value of the individual (Bolter and

Grusin. 1999; 244) while media do not determine cultural or individual identity,

the social media revolution influences how we see ourselves and world we live in.
 Part (1940) noted that the function of news is to orient man and society in an

actual world. Past research has found that news use enables participation by

providing mobilizing information (Lemert. 1992) triggering discussions among

peoples networks (shah et al. 2005) and allowing people to reflect upon issues

(Eveland, 2004). Jave et al (2007) conducted studies that looked at the motivation

of online new consumers, concluding that social media fulfills a need for a fast

mode of communication that lowers users requirement of time and thought

investment for content generation (Java et al... 2007, P, 2). In their analysis of user

intentions, they found that people use Twitter for four reasons: daily chatter,

conversation, sharing information and reporting news.

The advent of social media has helped the news become a social experience

in fresh ways for consumers. People use their social networks and social

networking technology to filter, assess and react to news. Some 28% of Internet

users have customized their home page to include news from their favorite source

or topics and 40% of internet users say an important feature of a news website to

them is the ability to customize the news they get from the site (participatory News

Consumer, 2010) News consumption is a socially- engaging and socially driven

activity, especially online (Leach, 2009) Leach (2009) claims that a great strength

of the internet is its ability to encourage the formation of community while giving

voice to anyone digitally connected. In journalism, recognizing diversity and

inviting feedback adds depth and human interest. Those who are overlooked in

mainstream media coverage, including people espousing unpopular causes, can use

the internet to gather and share information and use it to stitch online communities

together.

To a great extent, people’s experience of news is becoming a shared social

experience as people swap links in emails, post news stories on their social

networking

Site feeds, highlight news stories in their tweets, and haggle over the

meaning of events in discussion threads. For instance, more than 8 in 10 online

news consumers get or share links in emails (participatory news consumer 2010).

The ascent of mobile connectivity via smart phones has turned newsgathering and

news awareness into anytime, anywhere affair for a segment of avid news

watchers.

Users who get news online say they specifically get news from news

organizations and individual journalists they follow in the social networking space

(participatory \news consumer, 2010). In other words, they have fended or become

a fan of a journalist or news organization and they catch up on news through this

relatively new channel of news dissemination. Internet users have the option to get

news from friends, journalists or news organization they follow on social

networking websites.
 The impact of these social media endorsements on news consumption can be

clearly measured through online record of user traffic and behavior. According to a

recent study of top online news outlets in the U.S. social media is emerging as a

powerful news referral service (participatory news consumer, 2010).

Media scholars are concerned about the self-selective nature of online news

consumption, which could accelerate audience fragmentation (willnat, 2006).

Murthy (2011) claims in terms of audiences, terse updates on social media and

social networking websites have produced new audience configurations.

Specifically, individuals have a continually changing minute by minute. This is

well illustrated by status updates, short one-or two line messages on the popular

social networking website facebook. Though these short messages are often trivial,

these messages are circulated as news, which facebook automatically distributes to

the users of friends on the website. Once update percolates to the user’s the user

has the opportunity to comment on their friend’s updates, sometime generating a

rash of discussion regarding whatever one has posted about. However, this type of

speaker-listener configuration, as Goff man (1959) puts it, can be an asymmetric,

mode of expression in that the unintended audience has an incongruous under-

standing of what the speaker may have actually intended. Tweets regarding

breaking news, disaster, and public health epidemics can be misleading, incorrect,

or even fraudulent (Goosy, 2009). In the case of the 2009 swine flu pandemic,
tweets tagged with Swineful often contained false or misleading information

(Murthy 2011)

Copeland (2011) claims that by following friends. Journalists and celebrities

whose opinions and judgment you respect and trust; it is possible to maintain a

steady supply of links to interesting news stories that you may not have otherwise

found. By retreating a link on Twitter or sharing an article on face book, a social

media user is able to efficiently recommend a news item to their network. In this

way it is not just news organizations that are able to disseminate news through

social media but also networks of friends and online communities.

2.3 Review of Related Literature

As already mentioned, the consumption of news today is not the same as

pre-satellite news when people waited for their morning papers or sat down at an

appointed time for the evening television news. More and more readers, viewers

and listeners are going online for their news. Television newspapers and radio are

still here but there is a growing competition.

In its annual report for 2008-2009, the BBC reported that its television overall

reach among the 16-34 years old audience has fallen by over 7 percent between

2003 and 2008, from 82.6 percent to 75.4 percent. The data provided by the BBC

also showed the amount of BBC television viewing by teenagers have fallen from
39 minutes a day in 2003 to 24 minutes a day in 2008, a decline of nearly 40

percent in a five year period.

Meantime in the United State, a 2008 study showed that 40 percent of those

surveyed got most of their international and national news from the internet, up

from 24 percent in 2007. Internet coverage of the US presidential campaign

(boosted by social media networks) was the likely reason for that recent growth.

Reporters are now required to submit stories for multiple platforms-televisions,

radio, print and online for a journalist in today’s media landscape, it is essential to

be multi-skilled. (Alejadro-2010).As for editors, there is a lot of duration going one

new posts like ‘social media editors’ or community editors have been and are still

being created in newsrooms since 2009. In May 2009, the New York Times hired

its first social media editor to expand the use of social media networks and

publishing platforms to improve New Your Times Journalism and deliver it to

readers.

Also early in 2009, Sky News in UK appointed a Twitter correspondent

whose main responsibility is to cover breaking news. BBC also appointed its first

social media editor in late 2009. His job is to help the BBC team of reporters and

producers engage more proactively with social networks, twitter being one of

them, as newsgathering and distribution channels for journalism. This birth of

social media editors in the newsroom raises questions about the future role of
editors: will they soon be doing less journalism and more fact checking? Twitter,

facebook and the like? For media organizations, convergence is the common

strategy. There is a growing realization that you can’t do everything on your own.

One media outlet cannot service all the rivers of information in the social media

sphere. Thus partnership abound. For example, facebook and CNN teamed up for

live tweeting’ during US president Barack Obama’s inauguration or BBC

partnered with Adobe for streaming video capabilities. The worry that recent

technological changes spur ideological fragmentation is not ungrounded

speculation; rather it is supported by a number of endings in economics,

psychology and sociology. In controlled experiments, people overwhelmingly opt

to consume information that accords with their previously held views (Lord et al

1984. 1979; Nickerson, 1998) and choose to read news articles from outlets that

share their political opinions (Garrett; Iyengar and Hahn, 2009; Munson and

Resnick, 2010).

Survey evidence of blog readers (Lawrence et al 2010) and cross blog

citations (Adamic and Glance; 2005; Herring et al; 2005) are consistent with this

pattern. Social networks, moreover, have long been known to exhibit homophile

(McPherson etc at. 2001) the tendency for contacts to be more similar than random

pairs of individuals suggesting that social media sites expose individuals to largely

congruent opinions. Furthermore, in laboratory studies people tend to share

information that conforms to the groups majority opinion (Moscovici and

Zavalloni, 1969, Myers and Bishop, 1970, Schkade et al,, 2007, Spears et al,

1990), reinforcing the notion that individuals on social media sites are unlikely to

express or discuss dissenting points of view.

Despite some initial reluctance, mainstream news media are now facilitating

the sharing of their contents, allowing the audience to begin to perform what the

scholar networks. More than 95 percent of news sites now allow users to share.

Like or recommend content on social media channels, according to a March 2014

survey and report from the Engaging News project at the University of Texas,

Austin 32 most major news organizations have dedicated staff overseeing social

media. Data science techniques for optimizing ‘’Viral’’ content for sharing on

social networks, embodied by the practices of the news site Buzzfeed and

Upworthy, an aggregator and content producer, continue to receive increasing

amounts of traffic and growing media industry attention. Outlets from the Dallas

Morning News to the Daily Beast are A/B testing; online news content –using

initial samples to determine what audiences respond to most strongly. Everything

from images to headlines, site design to the colour of social buttons, is being tested

on consumers to see which attributes have the greatest success on the social

web.News organizations now regularly distinguish themselves through social

media channels during moments of significant breaking news, particular involving

emergency services and public safety, and fulfill their core public service role in an

enhanced way. They have begun to play an essential fact-checking and organizing

role in the development of real-time, useful knowledge.

Social media also allow for wider and more divers sourcing. A 2013

representative national survey of journalists by the Indiana school of journalism

found that nearly 60 percent regularly use social media to get story ideas and more

than half find sources and gather additional information this way. 43 there are also

examples of great promise at the experimental edge of journalism. One-time NPR

social media journalist and carving spent several years reporting on the Arab

spring revolutions sourcing information using twitter. Researchers Alfred

Hermosa, Seth C. Lewis and Rodrigo Zenith analyzed carving’s 60,000 tweets

from 2010 t0 2011, looking at the relative blend of alternative voices and elites.

They found that among his sources, non-affiliated activists accounted for the

greatest single share of twee mentions overall (35.3percent) and for Egypt (37.5

percent) for the scholars, it is evidence of a new paradigm of sourcing at play,’

(withbey, 2014)

The internet most especially has affected us much more than any other

medium of communication. This is because of its ability to combine different

website ranging from write-ups, messages, information, entertainment-video films,

music displayed in colours which assaults our senses of sight and imagination.
People obtain information, education, news and other data from electronic media

and print. Social media are distinct from industrial or traditional media, such as

newspapers, television and films. They are relatively inexpensive and accessible to

industrial media which generally require significant resources to publish

information.

One of the characteristics shared by both social media and industrial media

is the capability to reach small or large audiences; for example, either a blog post

or a television show may reach people or millions of people. Some of: His

properties that help describe the differences between social media and industrial

media are:

1. Both industrial and social media technologies provide scale and are capable of

reaching a global audience. Industrial media, however, typically use a

centralized framework for organization, production and dissemination,

whereas social media are by their very nature more decentralized, less

hierarchical, and distinguished by multiple points of production and utility.

2. The means of production for industrial media are typically Government/or

private owned; social media tools are generally available to the public at little

or no cost.

3. Industrial media production typically requires specialized skills and training.

Conversely, most social media does not require specialized skill and training,
 or requires only modest reinterpretation of existing skills; in theory, anyone

with access can operate the means of social media production.

4. The tome log between communications produced by industrial media can be

long (days weeks, or even months) compared to social media (which can be

capable of virtually instantaneous responses; only the participants determine

any delay in response). However, as industrial media begin adopting aspects

of production normally associated social media tools, this feature may not

prove distinctive over time.

5. Industrial media, once created, cannot be altered (once a magazine article is

printed and distributed changes cannot be made to that same article) whereas

social media can be uttered almost instantaneously by comments or editing.

Community media constitute an interesting hybrid of industrial and social

media. Though community-owned, some community radios. TV and newspapers

are run by amateurs. They use both social and industrial media framework. In his

book. The wealth of network: how social production Transforms Market and

Freedom, Yochai Banker analyzed many of these distinction and their application

in terms of both economics and political liberty. However, Banker, like many

academics, uses the neologism network economy or ‘network information

economy’’ to describe the underlying economic, social and technological

characteristics of what has come to be known as ‘social media’’.

 On the contrary Andre keen criticizes social media in his book the Cult of the

Amateur, writing ‘’out of this anarchy, it suddenly became clear that what was

governing the infinite monkeys now inputting away on the Internet was the law of

digital Darwinism, the survival of the loudest and the most opinionated. Under this

rule, the only way to intellectually prevail is by infinite filibustering.

Online communication today means more than a website and an-newsletter.

The advances in communications technology over the past quarter-century make

new models of organizing and ways of bringing people and resources together

quickly and efficiently to tackle problems or to form lasting communities. In short,

online communication today is about forming, connecting creating and organizing

communities and action in previously unimaginable ways (Livingstone, 2008).

The firs recognizable social network, six degrees.com, sit launched in

1997(Weinreich, 2007). From 1997 to 2001, a number of social network site such

as Asian Avenue, Backplane and Migente allowed users to create personal,

professional, and dating profiles (Wasos 2007). The next wave of SNSs began

when Ryze.com was launched in 2001 to help entrepreneurs and investors leverage

their business networks (Scott, 2007). After Ryze.com Tribe, net, Linedin, and

Fraudster (festa, 2003). While Tribe.net grew to attract a passionate niche user

base, linjedin became a powerful business service, but Fraudster was the most
significant, if only as ‘’one of the biggest disappointments in Internet history’’

(Chafkin, 2007, p. I).

From 2003 onward, many profile-citric SNSs were launched which took the

form of social media with user generated content phenomena and media sharing

such as flickr (photo sharing). Last FM (music listening habits) and Youtube

(video sharing) and Myspace which allowed users to personalize their page (Boyd,

2006b) Unlike older teenagers began joining MySpace en masse and encouraged

their friends to join. While MySpace attracted the majority of media attention in

the U.S. and abroad, SNSs were proliferating and growing in popularity worldwide

in the pacific Islands, Latin America, south America, and Europe (McLeod, 2006;

Ewers, 2006)

Blogging services with complete SNS features also became popular as SNSs

launched to support niche demographics before expanding to a broader audience.

Unlike previous SNSs, Facebook, began in early 2004, was designed to support

distinct college as a Harvard-only SNS (Cassidy, 2006). To join, a user had to have

a harvard.edu email address. As facebook began supporting other schools, those

users were also required to have university email addresses associated with those

institutions, a requirement that kept the site relatively closed and contributed to

users’ perceptions of the site as an intimate, private (Cassidy,2006).

 Beginning in September 2005, Facebook expanded to include high school

students, professionals inside corporate networks, and eventually, everyone. The

change to open sign-up did not mean that new users could easily access users in

closed networks–gaining access to corporate networks still required the

appropriate .con address, while gaining access to high school networks

required administrator approval. Unlike other SNSs, Facebook users are

unable to make their full profiles public to all users. Another feature that

differentiates Facebook is the ability for outside developers to build

‘Applications, which allow users to profiles and perform other tasks, such

compare movie preferences and chart travel histories (Cassidy,2006).

While most SNSs focus on growing broadly and exponentially, other

explicitly seeks narrower audiences. Some, like a small world and Beautiful l

People, intentionally restrict access to appear selective and elite. Others–

activity-centered sites like Couch surfing, identity-driven sites like Black

planet, and affiliation-focused sites like My Church–are limited by their target

demographic and thus to be smaller. Finally, anyone who wishes to create a

niche social network site can do so on Ning, a platform and hosting service

that encourages users to create their own SNSs. Currently, there are no

reliable data regarding how use SNSs, although marketing research indicates

that SNSs, are growing in popularity worldwide (ComScore,2007).

 Many school have studied social media or better still social network

sites or social networking sites in different perspectives. According to Sorensen

(2006) social media and personal some of them terms used by media

researchers to describe the current generation of digital media. Prototype of the

media include: social networking sites, such as, MySpace, face book, You-Tube,

Hi5. Frontster, Twitter, photo-vide-and music sharing sites, such as flicker, and

Albinogorilla; and sites hosting personal blogs, Word press Bloodspot or

Urbanblog.

Though media scholars agree in defining the new generation of digital media

by their user orientation, they disagree on the evaluation thereof. The question

were: Are we referring to a process of democratization and empowerment, or are

we talking about a process in which user are (again) made the objects of economic

exploitation and, or political manipulation-maybe in the softer of governmentally

and self-governance. Should we be discussing a process at community-building

and collectiveness or a process to individualization and personalization?

According to the British media scholar, Couldry (2009 p372) a techno-

optimistic position, be deeming the new media, ‘’the emerging space of digital

storytelling’’. He claims that they are sued to exchange ‘’online personal narrative’

and thereby provide ‘the means to distribute, Sorensen (2009 p 386), notes ; widely
the capacity to tell important stories about oneself, to Represents oneself, as a

social and therefore potential political agent’

However, Silverstone (2009) in Couldry (2009 p 380), acknowledges the

duality of mediation as ‘fundamentally, but unevenly, dialectical processes in

which institutionalized media of communication are involved in the general

circulation of symbols in social life’. He suggests approaching digital storytelling

at least in mediated democracies by studying how the practice is connected to

everyday life and by asking questions concerning the involved agents, institutions

and social norms. He underscores that phrases such as users, networking, story

circles or communities etc, can exclude more structural aspects, but he also

proposes that power is not only structural and institutional, but also social and that

social media can also be used for social distinction and exclusion.

Couldry (2009), opposes the so-called modification thesis: that new media

are thoroughly structured by logics of power. Dijck (2009 p 44), support the above

view when he warns against naïve celebrations of ‘do-it-yourself distribution’ and

‘participation’. The point being made here is that social media has turned into a big

business and that users are exploited as both content provider and data provided by

phenomena such as co-creation (prod usage), niche marketing and targeted adds,

consumer products sold of cultural resources etc. he furthermore warns against

what the US has been termed ‘the cult of the amateur’ aimed at the way users are

used as UN-or underpaid labour in the digital industries

However. Dijck (2007) has also done in-depth research in social media in

which stresses their empowering effects or rather that social media are complex in

the sense that they can at one and the same time be empowering and structuring,

Dijck (2007), also argue that digial media promote of recycling of cultural

materials in terms of conventions, codes and scripts through which production and

consumption, original and copy merge. In digital media, originality (and memory)

has become a matter of remix and design

In their view, skinner and Pranikoff (2009), states that online media room is

essential or gelling your up-to-date relevant messages to the right audiences. That

online media are separate sections of a web site where the media and other come to

getup-to-the-minute information, download images, watch videos, listen to pod

casts and sign up for really simple syndication feeds. They added that, social

networking have created a more collaborative, interactive and dynamic experience

for consumers and others seeking news information.

Matrino (2006) is of the opinion that people had the opportunity to burst out

of their parochial communities and make connections around the world. Basket-

weave cited in Matrino (2006), add that other hobby seekers expanded their

expertise, interest, and sometimes even professions while everything from dating
sites to interest groups to social and politico! Movements blossomed, creating

identity and social relations online is not time-intensive and on some occasions

risky, but it can also be difficult to manage. Although there is much they express

only offline, and although the generally set their profile to private.

Lenhart’ and Madden (2007), it is the case teenagers may disclose personal

information with up to several hundred people known only casually. This is

because social networking sites typically display as standard, precisely the personal

information that previous generations have often regarded as private (notably, age,

politics, income religion, sexual preference). The recent study of the digital divide

in the United State (U.S. Department of commerce, 2002:30-34) presents an

overview of online activities and on analysis of such activities with respect to

gender, age race and income. A similar study wasds2 Hovland ae al (2002) that

resulted in an analysis of predator, various online activities. Finally, detailed list of

internet related activities were reported by pew/internet (2005a, 2005b).

Papachanssi and Rubin (2000) used factor analysis to identify the following

primary motives for the Internet use, information seeking for an instrumental

purpose, entertainment, convenience, pass time, and interpersonal utility-used as a

channel for interpersonal interaction. They concluded that the internet is used as a

functional alternative by those users for the other communication channels are not

available or rewarding.
 Another study by Flanagin and Metzger (2001) revealed that at least one

mode of communicating by the internet received a high average rating in

comparison with lace-to-face and other traditional means of mediated interpersonal

and moss communication for oil of the following communication need:

information retrieval learning, play leisure, persuasion, social bonding, relationship

maintenance, problem solving, status and personal insight. Their comments were

that, the Internet is a multidimensional technology used to fulfill well understood

needs in novel ways.

In a similar study by Wei and Leung (2001), a factor analysis of 21 measure

of gratification sough form the Internet revealed, four factors that represented

essential motives for mass media use: fun seeking, socializing, diversion (escape),

and surveillance (information gathering). Their main results indicates that on

average there is a statistically significant decrease in time used on traditional media

with more motivation to seek such forms of gratification from the Internet. For

instance a decrease in the broadcast news audience that was associated with

Internet use was also found in a survey by the pew Research Centre for the people

and the press (2000).

An interesting interpretation by Havick (2000) states that me Internet

represents a distinctive contribution to the communication environment that gives

individuals more control of the dissemination, storage and production of

information and which can operate as another dimension of communication within

the new and traditional media mix. In fact, sanchez-franco and Roldan (2005)

notes that, web acceptance and usage may be dependent on the type of users (goal-

oriented/work-oriented or experiential/recreational) and of their extrinsic of

intrinsic motivation. In an investigation by valkenburg and sorters (2001) of

children’s motives for using the Internet the following factors were revealed:

boredom, avoidance, entertainment, in form lion, affinity with computers, online

social interaction and offline social interaction. Their frequent pleasant experiences

were related to playing or downloading computer games, video (clips) and songs,

and children’s entertainment site, while their negative experiences were mostly

related to viruses or computer crashes, and exposure to violence or pornography.

Despite the potentials of the internet to replace or complement traditional

media, Tewkbury and Althaus (2000) have found that the patterns of use of this

medium may be affected not only by gratifications typically associated with

television and newspaper use, but also by the beliefs about this medium and by

computer anxiety. The negative relations between computer anxiety and Internet

use were confirmed by Rockwell and Singleton (2002).

Also Chou (2003) found that various types of Internet anxiety have

negatively influenced the use of this medium. Sharafr et al (2004) slates that

additional set of factors that positively or negatively influence motivation for

Internet/web use are engagement modes (enjoying/acceptance, ambition/curiosity,

avoidance/hesitation, frustration/anxiety, and efficiency/productivity) in the use of

information technology.

Amiel and Sargent (2004) are of the view that personality types of Internet

users are another set of factors that influences Internet usage motives and online

activities.

Finally, a model of mediated communication (CMC) competence that was

developed by Spitzberg (2006) outlines the elements that may positively and

negatively affect the motivation, knowledge and skills of the individual, his/her

sensitivity for the massage, medium and contexts attributes, and also the previous

outcomes of Internet-based interaction

2.4 Review of Empirical Studies

This section examines other findings by other researchers relating to the

problem under study.

The Challenges of Democratizing News and Information: Examining Data

on social media, viral Patterns and Digital Influence was a study conducted by

Wihbey (2014) to highlight lessons and insights that can help those thinking about

and operating in the social media space. The broadcast activated model, with

media elites doing most of the agenda-setting, still dominates the way American

access and engage with news. Taking social media engagement with news as a
proxy, we might estimate that 90 percent or more of content is still received

through a direct broadcast, one way or another.

While bottom-up information surges and user-generated content have a

strong role in the areas of entertainment and culture, the bulk of the civically

important information still rests in the hands of a gatekeepers that has expanded in

size, but nevertheless represents nothing like a radically democratic utopia of news

and information. We have in large measure democratized the production of

information but we continue to see hyper-consolidation at the top level-delivery, or

the ‘’last mile’’ of reaching mass audiences, has not been democratized.

Finally, the study noted that pending changes to the underlying policies

governing the web could be consequential, even decisive, in this regard. Altering

the principle of net neutrality- particularly any shift that requires media producers

to pay Internet service providers to reach end users-could radically shift the

balance back toward big media. It could make, as former FCC commissioner

Michael copps has said, ‘’news and information a luxury good.’’

Allcott and Gentzkow (2017) also studied social media and Fake News in

the 2016 Election. In the aftermath of the 2016 US presidential election, it was

alleged that fake news might have been pivotal in the election of president Trump.

We do not provide an assessment of this claim one way or another. That said, the

new evidence we present clarifies the level of overall exposure to fake news, and it
can give some sense of how persuasive fake news would need to have been to have

been pivotal. We estimate that the average US adult read and remembered on the

order to one perhaps several fake news articles during the election period, with

higher exposure to pro-Trump articles than pro-Clinton articles.

How much this affected the election results depends on the effectiveness of

fake news exposure in changing the way people vote. As one benchmark, spenkuch

and Toniatti (1016) show that exposing voters to one additional television

campaign ad changes vote shares by approximately 0.02 percentage points. This

suggests that if one fake news article were about as persuasive as one TV

campaign ad, the fake news in our database would have changed vote shares by an

amount on the order of hundredths of a percentage point. This is much smaller that

Trump’s of victory in the pivotal state on which the outcome depended. Of course

there are many reasons why a single fake news story could have been more

effective than a television commercial. If it were true that the pope endorsed

Donald Trump, this fact would be significantly more surprising-and probably move

a rational voter’s beliefs by more as a result-than the information contained in a

typical campaign and. Moreover, as we emphasize above, there are many ways in

which our estimates could understate true exposure. The researchers only measure

the number of stories read and remembered, and the excluded stories seen on news

feeds but not read, or read but not remembered, could have had a large impact. Our
fake news database is incomplete, and the effect of the stories it omits could also

be significant.

The study maintained that there are several ways in which this back-of-the-

envelope calculation is conservative, in the sense that is could overstate the

importance of fake news. We consider the number of stories votes read regardless

of whether they believed them. We do not account for diminishing returns, which

could reduce fake news’ effect to the extent that a small number of voters see a

large number of stories. Also, this rough calculation does not explicitly take into

account the fact that a large share of pro-Trump fake news is seen by voters who

are already predisposed to vote for Trump- the larger this selective exposure, the

smaller the impact we would expect of fake news on vote shares.

To the extent that fake news imposes social costs, what can and should be

done? In theory, a social planner should want to address the market failures that

lead to distortions, which would take the form of increasing information about the

state of the world and increasing incentives for news consumers to infer the true

state of the world. In practice, social media platforms and advertising networks

have faced some pressure from consumers and civil society to reduce the

prevalence of fake news on their systems. For example, both Facebook and Google

are removing fake news sites Hunt Alcott and Matthew Gentzkow from their

advertising platforms on the grounds that they violate policies against misleading
content (Wingfield, Isaac, and Benner 2016). Furthermore, facebook has taken

steps to identify fake news articles, flag false articles as ‘’disputed by 3 rd party

fact-checkers,’’ show fewer potentially false articles in users’ news feeds, and help

users avoid accidentally sharing false articles by notifying them that a story is

‘disputed by 3rd parties’’ before they share it (Mosseri 2016). In our theoretical

framework, these actions may increase social welfare, but identifying fake news

sites and articles also raises important questions about who becomes the arbiter of

truth.

Newman, Dutton and Blank (2012) studied social Media in the changing

Ecology of News: the fourth and fifth Estates in Britain. This study provided a case

study of the changing patterns of news production and consumption in the UK that

are being shaped by the Internet and related social media. Theoretically, this focus

addresses concern over whether the Internet is undermining the fourth role of the

press in liberal democratic societies.

The case study was drawn from multiple methods; including survey research

of individuals in Britain from 2003-2011, analysis of log files of journalistic sites,

and interviews with journalists. Survey research shows step-jump in the use of

online news since 2003 but a leveling off since 2009. However, the apparent

stability in news consumption masks the growing role of social network sites. The

analyses show that the fourth Estate- the institutional news media- is using social
media to enhance their role in news production and dissemination. However,

networked individual have used social media to source and distribute their own

information in ways that achieve a growing independence from the fourth Estate as

each builds on and responds to the other in this new news ecology. Comparative

data suggests that this phenomenon is likely to characterize the developing news

ecology in other liberal democratic societies as well, but more comparative

research is required to establish the validity of this model.

Similarly, Baruah (2012) did a study on Effusiveness of social media as tool

of communication and its potential for technology enabled connections: Micro-

level study. With the world in the midst of a social media revolution, it is more

than obvious that social media like facebook, twitter, orkut, Myspace, Skype etc.

are used extensively for the purpose of communication. One of the most important

advantages of the use of social media is the online sharing of knowledge and

information among the different groups of people.

This online sharing of information also promotes the increase in the

communication skills among the people especially among the learners/students of

education institutions. Online tools and technology has not only mediated

communication in countless ways, but that very ways we communicate and even

the ways we talk and talk about communication are changing as a result. Social
media have the potential to fundamentally change the character of our social lives,

both on an interpersonal and a community level.

Dunne Lawtor, and Rawley (2010), in a similar study on young people’s use

of online social Networking sites: A uses and Gratification perspective examining

why young people use and participate in social networking sites with specific

reference to Bebo, findings indicated that the participants were actively using Bebo

for their own personal motives and gratifications in terms of presenting-and

managing a certain identity and person in a social context. The study also found

that the relative impersonal nature of the online environment is especially helped

the young participants in negotiating the practicalities and difficulties in terms of

forgoing identities and managing relationships.

The research concluded that social networking sites such as Bebo facilitate

participants’ execution of personal aims (for example, identity creation and

management ) with a view to obtaining certain gratifications (for example, peer

acceptance) such that a clear but inextricable link is demonstrated between the

gratification sought and gratification obtained from participating in social

networking sites.

Akpabio (2003) did a study on internet use and social Networking Among

teenagers in Edo state which tried to ascertain teenagers’ practices on social

networks as a way to uncovering benefits and threats of social network sites. The
study found that teenagers use social networking sites were not different from

findings of Dunne, Lawtor, and Rawley (2010) hence majority of youths affirmed

personal motives and gratifications as benefits in terms of presenting and

managing identities and social relationships. The research concluded that since

there are benefits in as much as there are threats in social networking sites, parents

must monitor their children and guide them on how to use the internet and the

social networking sites.

Another study was conducted by Goran Bubas and Zeljko Hutinski (2006)

titled conceptual Model, Potential Predators and Dimensions of Affinity for the

Use of the Internet to examine what activities people engage in on the Internet and

for what motives. The study found that common Internet related activities included

communicating locally or afar, enjoying oneself, reading the news, doing school

work, obtaining information, working as part of one’s job, receiving hobby or

product information, etc. the study concluded that most activities on the internet

are related to information gathering, e-mail, entertainments, profession/job/work,

purchasing, and char-rooms, that more internet use means less time spent on

traditional mass media and that people use the social media due to the benefits they

get from these social media.

In a study conducted by Robert Larose in (2002) on social cognitive

Explanation of Internet users and Gratifications: Toward a New Theory of Media

Attendance to examine lawful relationships among conventional use and

gratification variables, expectations about participating in enjoyable activities

online and expected social outcomes explained 23 percent of variance in Internet

usage. Habit strength, deficient self-regulation and Internet self efficacy combined

in a stepwise multiple regressions model in which conventional uses and

gratifications variables were not significant predictors.

2.5 Theoretical Framework

The use and Gratifications theory is the main theoretical framework on

which this study would hang and other related theories.

Uses and Gratifications Theory

The theory originated in the 1950s but gain prominence in 1970s as a

reaction to traditional mass communication research emphasizing sender and

message. The uses and gratification theory was propounded by Blurnler and Karz

in 1974 to be specific. Uses and gratification theory state that, media users play

active role in choosing and using the media. User take on active part in the

communication process and are goal oriented in their seeks out a media source that

best fulfils the needs of the user. The theory assumes that the user have alternative

choices to satisfy their need. It stressed the active audience and user instead,

considering psychological orientation taking need and gratification of the media

users as the main point of departure. The main assumption of uses and gratification
were to explain the uses and functions of the media for individuals, groups and

society in general. There are three basic objectives in developing this theory. These

include:

i. To explain how individuals use mass communication to gratify their

needs (what people do with the media)

ii. To discover, the underlying motives for individual media use and

iii. To identify the positive or negative consequences of individual media use

(http//www.ober.ac.ut/media/docu/short/usegra.hat)

According to Blurnler and Katz (1974) uses and gratification approach

emphasizes motives and the self-perceived needs of audience members. They

conclude that different people can use the same communication message or

medium for very different purpose. The media content may gratify different

needs for different individuals. There is not only one way that that people uses

media. Contrarily, there are as many reason for using the media as there are

media users.

There are some factors such as basic needs social situations and the

individual’s background such as experiences. Background such as experiences.

Interests, and education, affects people’s ideas about what they want from media

and which media best satisfy their needs. That is audience members are aware of

and state their own motives and gratifications for using different media.
McQuail, Blumler and Brown (1972) proposed a model of ‘’media-person

interaction’’ to classify four important media gratification. These include:

i. Diversion –escape from routine or problems and emotional release

ii. Personal relation-companionship, social utility

iii. Personal identify -self reference, reality exploration, value reinforces and

iv. Surveillance (forms of information seeking.

The implication of uses and gratification theory to this study is that the youths

can turn to cognitive needs including acquiring information, knowledge and

understanding, affection needs including emotions, pleasure, feeling, personal

interactive needs, such as conversation and social interaction, companion,

connecting family and friends etc. finds social networking useful for gratification

of their needs.

2.6 Chapter Summary

The forgoing has been frantic efforts made by the researcher to discuss the

concepts and applications of social media and news consumption in the

contemporary society. It is began with the review of concepts like the social media

and news consumption, review of related literature, research works or empirical

studies as well as the theoretical underpinnings of the study as anchored on the

uses and gratification theory.

 Deductions from the literature review infer that the social media propelled

via the use of internet enhance news consumption. These shared bonds and

interests culminate into uses and gratifications such as friendship interaction,

education and information as earlier mentioned while there is an inconceivable

level of dependence amongst members of social networking on the social media

through which they relate in order to foster their interest.

 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This study adopted the survey methodology which is usually designed to

provide realistic answers to the status of a given phenomenon rather than towards

the isolation of causative factors (Osuala, 1987:180). Survey involves collection of

data from a sample and can be used, their among other things, communicate with

respondents and probe directly or indirectly, their interests, opinions, attitudes,

beliefs, values, feelings and dispositions towards a given phenomenon or about the

variables under study, and such findings can then be generalized to large

populations (Nwodu, 2006)

3.2 Research Design

This research is designed according to survey method. The survey was

designed based on the information desired by the research about what uses of

social network sites among the youths in Nigeria Universities.

The questionnaire was adopted to generate information for the study.

Accordingly, closed and opened ended questions formed part of the questionnaire.

The design is meant to collate views of news consumers through the social media.

3.3 Population of the Study

 Theoretical population of study is academic staff of Kwararafa University

Wukari in 2017. According to the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Ochefu (2017), the

academic staff population of the university is 97 for the 2009/2019 session

including visiting and part-time lecturers.

3.4 Sample Size

Since the total population was manageable, census sampling techniques was

used.

This according to krippendorf (2004, p. 120) means every unit in a population is

included in the study. Riffe, Lacy and Fico (2005) also support by saying that

sampling errors does not exit in a census. Thus the sample size for the study is 97.

3.5 Sample Techniques and Procedure

The sampling technique used in this study is multi-stage. First , departments

were purposefully sampled to represent the entire university. Second, each lecturer

was systematically chosen as the researcher from their one office to the other.

3.6 Research Instruments and Administration

The researcher employed the use of questionnaire as a research instrument,

to generate information from the respondents. The questionnaire is divided into

two parts or sections A and B with all the questions closed-ended. Part A

comprises of the demographic characteristics of the respondents (personal data),

and part B comprises of the main questions needed to elicit information for the

study.

The questionnaire is carefully designed such that the respondents will not be

confused. The researcher assisted by the research assistant carefully administered

the questionnaire face-to-face to the students in four days. The questionnaires were

collected immediately for analysis.

3.7 Method of Data Collection

The researcher used two (2) methods of data collection to elicit information

for the study. These include primary and secondary sources. The questionnaires

administered to student’s term the primary sources of data collection. The

secondary sources are the material sources including books, and online materials,

used in the theoretical aspect of the study.

3.8 Method of Data Analysis

The quantitative method of data analysis and presentation was used. Simple

percentage of the frequencies used in relation to the quests asked. The researcher

used data tabulation, figures and presentation to analyze response from the

respondents. Student test and person product Moment correlation coefficient were

used in testing the hypotheses.

 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS

4.1 Introduction

The chapter analysis the data collected through the questionnaire

administered and analyzed employing tables, figures and simple percentages. It is

significant to state that 97 copies of questionnaire were administered, but 91

(93.8%) were returned.

4.2 Data Presentation

First, the demographic information about the respondents was presented.

FIG. 1: Percentage Distribution by

SEX

Muslim
31%

Christian
69%

Source: Survey, 2017.

From figure 1, two-thirds of the respondents (69%) were males while one-third

(31%) were females. The result indicates that there are more male lecturers

than female at Kwararafa University, Wukari.

The next demographic considered was the religion of the respondents. The essence

was to determine whether the religion of a respondent can affect news

consumption. The data is presented below

Source: Survey, 2017.

Figure 2 shows that three-quarter of the respondents (88) were Christians, very few

of them (3) were Muslims, and none was traditionalist. The result means that

the respondents were predominantly Christians and that traditional religion

is no longer fancied by academics.

Another demographic that could affect news consumption is marital status of the

respondents. This is because of divided attention and lack of time usually

associated with married people.

Data on that is presented below

Figure 3: percentage Distribution of

Respondents by Marital
Status
Divorced
7%

Single
married 34%
59%

Source: survey, 2017.

In figure 3, over half of the respondents (59%) were married, one-third (34%) were

single and very few which is 7% were divorced. The result shows that more staff

of the institution is married and another significant number is single. Hence, the

distribution cut across all classes of marital status. It indicates that all of the

respondents would have different needs for news and social media.

Figure 4: News Consumption Using Mobile Phone

Source: Survey,2017.

From the figure 4, two-thirds of the respondents said they consume news online

using the internet or via a mobile device only a minute few said no. Therefore, the

result shows that the respondents consume news using their mobile devices and

internet. This confirms the fact that news is not only consumed via radio and
television sets or hard copies of newspapers and magazines but also on internet via

mobile devices such as smart phones, tablets and iPods.

The results show that university lecturers in Nigeria no longer access news solely

from a radio and TV sets or hard copies of newspapers. They now go online via

cell phones.

Table 1: Percentage Use of social Media among Lecturers

Social Media Frequency Percentage

Facebook 58 63.7
Twitter 12 13.2
Linkedln 10 11
MySpace 3 3.4
Goolge+ 08 8.8
Total 91 100
Source: Survey, 2017

Table 1 shows differences in the percentage visits to social media among

lecturers with 100% of all lecturers visiting such sites. This means most lecturers

currently have profiles on social networking sites. When it comes to use of specific

social networking sites by lecturers, Facebook is the dominant social media site

and by far and away the most popular. Among all lecturers, almost half (63.7%)

say their ‘main’’ social networking sites is Facebook, compared to just 13.2% who

say the same about Twitter. About one-third (11%) of the lecturers use Linkedln,

while myspace ranks a distant third in overall usage with few students (3.4%) on

Myspace. The remaining 8.8% have profiles on Goggle+.

Table 2: Frequency of Lecturers’ Use of social Media

Time/Period Frequency Percentage

Daily 15 16.5
Few time a week 18 19.8
Once a week 17 18.7
Multiple times throughout 30 32.9
the day
Few times in a month 11 12.1
Total 91 100
Table 2 shows that among lecturers who use social media, 16.5% use the internet

daily and 19.8% use the internet few times a week and 18.7% use it once a week.

The least percent (12.1%) use it few times in a month. For the vast majority of

lecturers (32.9%), social and other digital communications media are a daily part

of life. That is, over three quarters visit social networking sites daily. In about two-

thirds (19%) of lecturers visit their main social networking sites several times a

day. One on five lecturers is a ‘heavy’’ social media user, meaning they use at least

two different types of social media each and every day.

Table 3: Percentage Reading/Sharing of News on Social Media

Time/Period Frequency Percentage

Daily 15 16.5
Few time a week 18 19.8
Once a week 17 18.7
Multiple times throughout 30 32.9
the day
Few times in a month 11 12.1
Total 91 100
The study also asked participants how often they clicked on news articles shared

by others on social networking websites. Table 3 shows that among lecturers who

use social media, 16.5% use the internet daily and 19.8% use the internet few times

a week and 18.7% use it once a week. The least percent (12.1%) use it few times in

a month. For the vast majority of lecturers (32.9%), social and other digital

communications media are a daily part of life. That is, over three quarters visit

social networking sites daily. In about two-thirds (19%) of lecturers visit their main

social networking sites several times a day. One in five lecturers is a ‘’heavy’’

social media user, meaning they use at least two different types of social media

each and every day in reading and sharing news.

Table 4: News Read/Shared On Social Media among Lecturers

News Frequency Percentage

Business 10 11.0
Entertainment (i.e Movies 15 16.5
Television)
Health 10 11.0
Pop Culture (Celebrity 8 8.8
news, gossip)
Science/Technology 17 18.7
Sports 10 11.00
Total 91 100

In Table 4, 11% of news read and shared by lecturers is business, health and

sports, 16.5% is entertainment, and 8.8% is pop culture (celebrity news and
gossips). Most of the news (18.7%) is on science and technology while the highest

news read and shared (23.1%) is on politics. That is, most lecturers concentrate on

politics and science and technology news on social media. They also love sharing

content, engaging in self expression and exploring identity, hanging out and

consuming content including commercial and user-generated content---particularly

music and video.

Table 4 also shows social media as spaces that allow lecturers to create their

own places(s) and help them communicate with others and learn about things that

they can benefit from in their future professional life. About one-tenth of the

lecturers consume online news about current events and politics.

Table 5: Frequent news medium read on social media

News Medium Frequency Percentage

Vanguard 14 15.4
Punch 12 13.2
Premium Times 23 25.3
Daily Times 7 7.7
Sahara Reporters 25 27.7
Others 10 11
Total 91 100
Table 5 shows the news media read on social media among lecturers. This included

vanguard, Punch, Premium Times, Daily Trust, Sahara Reporters and others. Top

among the news medium is Sahara Reporters (27.5%) closely followed by

premium Times (25.3%). Apart from Sahara reporters and premium times,

vanguard is read most (15.4%) also followed by punch (13.2%) and Daily Trust the

least read (7.7%) among the media. However, other news media are also read on

social media. This constitutes 11% of the lecturers who read them.

The table implies that solely online published news media like Sahara Reporters is

more than the printed news media. It also implies that hard copies are of less

interest to news consumers in the golden age of social media.

Table 6: Motivations for selected News Media Reading on social

News Medium Frequency Percentage

They don’t fake news 6 6.6
They have latest news 24 26.4
The news is always 5 5.5
controversial
Investigative stories 31 34.1
Consistency 25 27.5
Total 91 100

Source: survey, 2017

Data from table 6 shows potential and read motivations for selective

consumption of news from different news media among lecturers. Majority

(34.1%) say investigative stories published by news media online motivate them to

read and share such stories on social media.

That is, with the nature of news story, social media can increase readership and

distribution of a news story. For about one quarter of lectures (27.5%), consistency

of a news media can drive readership and sharing on social media.

On the question of latest news, 26.4% of lectures say social media allow them to

access latest news stories easily, express themselves and discuss their interests as

well as join groups and support fan pages, and find out about other people’s

interests. Although only a marginal (6.6% and 5.5%) attest to controversial nature

of news and fakeness of stories on social media as a motivating factor.

4.3 Answering Research Questions

Research questions earlier stated are hereby answered

Research question one: which social media handles are mostly used by lecturers of

Kwararafa University Wukari?

Table answers the research question.

table 1 showed differences in the percentage visits to social media among lecturers

with 100% of all students visiting such sites. this means most students currently

have profiles on social networking sites. when it comes to use of specific social

networking sites by lecturers, facebook is the dominant social media site and by far

and away the most popular. among all lecturers, almost half (63.7%) say their

‘’main’’ social networking site is Facebook, compared to just 13.2% who say the

same about twitter. about one-third (11%) of the lecturers use Linkedin, while
MySpace ranks a distant third in overall usage with few students (3.4%) on

MySpace the remaining 8.8% have profiles on Google+

Therefore, the social media handles mostly used by lecturers are Facebook, twitter,

LinkedIn and Google+

Research question two: which of the main media contents are mostly consumed

among the lecturers?

Table 4 and 5 answer the research question

Results in Table 4 showed that 11% news read and shared by lecturers is business,

health and sports, 16.5% is entertainment, and 8.8% is pop culture (celebrity news

and gossips). Most of the news (18.7%) is on science and technology while the

highest news read and shared (23.1%) is on politics. That is most lecturers

concentrate on political and science and technology news on social media. They

also love sharing content, engaging in self expression and exploring identity,

hanging out and consuming content including commercial and user-generated

content-particularly music and video.

Again, result showed that social media as spaces that allow lecturers to create their

own place(s) and help them communicate with others and learn about thing they

can benefit from in their future professional life. About one-tenth of the lecturers

consume online news about current events and politics.

Similarly, results in table 5 showed the news media read on social media among

lecturers. These included vanguard, Punch, premium Times, Daily Trust, Sahara

Reporters and others. Top among the news medium is Sahara Reporters (27.5%)

closely followed by premium Times (25.3). apart from Sahara Reporters and

Premium Times, Vanguard is read most (15.4%) also followed by punch (13.2%)

and Daily Trust the least read (7.7%) among the media. However, other news

media are also read on social media. This constitutes 11% of the lecturers who read

them.

The result implies that solely online published news media like Sahara Reporters in

read more than the printed news media. It also implies that hard copies are of less

interest to news consumers in the golden age social media.

Research question Three: what factors influence the selection of main media news

on social media?

Table 6 answer the research question.

Data from table 6 shows potential and real motivations for selective consumption

of news from different news media among lecturers. Majority (34.1%) say

investigative stories published by news media online motivate them to read and

share such stories on social media. That is, with the nature of news story, social

media can increase readership and distribution of a news story. For about one
quarter of lecturers (27.5%) consistency of a news media can drive readership and

sharing on social media.

On the question of latest news, 26.4% of lecturers say social media allow them to

access latest news stories easily, express themselves and discuss their interests as

well as join groups and support far pages, and find out about other people’s

interests. Although only a marginal (6.6% and 5.5%) attest to controversial nature

of news and fakeness of stories on social media as a motivating factor.

Research Question Four: what are the activities of news consumers on social

media?

Table 2 and 3 answer the research question.

Table 2 result showed that among lecturers, who use social media, 16.5% use the

internet daily and 19.8% use the internet few times a week and 18.7% use it one a

week. The least percent (12.1%) use it few times in a month. For the vast majority

of lecturers (32.9%), social and other digital communications media are a daily

part of life. That is, over three quarters visit social networking sites daily. In about

two-thirds (19%) of lecturers visit their main social networking site several times a

day. One in five lecturers is a ‘’heavy’’ social media user, meaning they use at

least two different types of social media each and every day.

The study also asked participants how often they clicked on news articles shared

by others on social networking websites. Tables 3 shows that among lecturers who
use social media, 16.5% use the internet daily and 19.8% use the internet few times

a week and 18.7% use it one a week. The least percent (12.1%) use it few time in a

month. For the vast majority of lecturers (32.9%), social and other digital

communications media are a daily part of life. That is over three quarters visit

social networking sites daily. In about two –thirds (19%) of lecturers visit their

main social networking site several times a day. One in five lecturers is a ‘’heavy’’

social media user, meaning they use at least two different types of social media

each and every day in reading and sharing news.

4.4 Discussion of Findings

First of all, facebook, LinkedIn, twitter and google+ were found to be most

used social media handle among lecturers of Kwararafa University, Wukari.

Among all lectures, almost half (63.7%) say their ‘main’ social networking site is

facebook, compared to just 13.2% who say the same about twitter. About one-third

(11%) of the lecturers use Linkedin, while MySpace ranks a distant third in overall

usage with few lecturers (3.4%) on MySpace. The remaining 8.8% have profiles on

Google+. According to Picard (2209), social media tools provide an easy,

affordable way for members of the public to take part in discussions with larger

groups of people and draw attention to issues and topics that traditional news

media might have overlooked. Social media tool offer users the opportunity to

express them and to connect with persons of like mind or interests.

Secondly, the study found that news read and shared by lecturers is business,

health and sports, 16.5% is entertainment, and 8.8% is pop culture (celebrity news

and gossips). Most of the news (18.7%) is on science and technology while the

highest news read and shared (23.1%) is on politics. That is most lecturers

concentrate on politics and science and technology news on social media. These

news comes from the mainline media. Top among the news medium is Sahara

Reporters (27.5%) closely followed by premium Times (25.3%). Apart from

Sahara Reporters and Premium Times, Vanguard is read most (15.4%) also

followed by punch (13.2%) and Daily Trust the least read (7.7%). The advent of

social media has helped the news become a social experience in fresh ways for

consumers. People use their social networks and social networking technology to

filter, assess, and read to news. Some 28% of Internet users have customized their

home page to include news from their favorite source or topics and 40% of internet

users say an important feature of a news website to them is the ability to customize

the news they get from the site (Participatory News Consumer’ 2010) thirdly, the

study found that potential and real motivations for selective consumption of news

form different news media among lecturers were investigative stories published by

news media online. For about one quarter of lecturers (27.5%) consistency of a

news media can drive readership and sharing on social media.

Finally, the study found that 61% of the respondents clicked on at least one shared

news article daily. This Suggest that lecturers rely heavily on their social networks

for tips and alerts to news stories. Lecturers source the majority of their news from

social networks, sharing, recommending, and retreating news articles. However,

this could lead to a fragmentation from mainstream news. For example, previous

research indicates that the news stories and issues that draw the most attention on

twitter differ substantially from the mainstream press (State of the News

Media,’’2010). Those findings coupled with the findings of this study suggest that

individuals who use social media and Twitter as their primary news sources may

have a skewed view of the news.

Respondents indicated that they like the ease of sharing news via social

media and Twitter versus other forms of sharing the news. Many news websites

allow users to simply share an article by clicking on a Tweet, +1, or like icon.

These findings bolster previous studies that state social media is the most frequent

way that online news consumers share stories online (Rhodes, 2010). Social media

was found to be shared in 43% instances, email was the second most-frequent

method of sharing with 30% instances, SMS was third with 15% of instances, and

instant messenger 4th with 12% instances (Rhodes, 2010). 69% of the respondents

indicated that as a result of links shared by individuals in their social network, they

are exposed to news stories that they may have otherwise missed or overlooked.
55% of the respondents indicated that they feel more informed as a result of links

shared by individuals in their social network. While the majority of the respondents

claim to feel more informed, they may not actually be because trending news

stories on social media websites and Twitter differ substantially from the

mainstream news.
 CHAPHTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Summary

The study, ‘social Media use and News Consumption patterns among

Kwararafa University Lecturers’ was set to investigate how social media is

impacting and redefining the pattern of news consumption of lecturers at

Kwararafa University, Wukari. The study employed survey research method using

questionnaire as instrument for data collection. A census sample of 91 academic

staff was studied.

Data presentation and analysis showed that lecturers actively use social

media for news consumption. Facebook was found to be the most used social

media handle among the lecturers. About one-third (11%) of the lecturers use

Linkedin, while MySpace ranks a distant third in overall usage with few lecturers

(3.4%) on MySpace. Top among the news medium followed on social media

among the lecturers is Sahara Reports (27.5%) closely followed by premium Times

(25.3%). Apart from Sahara Reporters and premium Times, Vanguard is read most

(15.4%) also followed by Punch (13.2%) and Daily Trust the least read (7.7%).

The study also found that potential and real motivations for selective

consumption of news from different news media among lecturers were

investigative stories published by news media online. For about one quarter of

lecturers (27.5%), consistency of a news media can drive readership and sharing on

social media. Finally, the study found that 100% of the respondents clicked on at

least one shared news article daily. This suggests that lecturers rely heavily on their

social networks for tips and alerts to news stories, Lecturers source the majority of

their news from their social networks, sharing, recommending, and rewetting news

articles. Also, over three quarters visit social networking sites daily. In about two-

thirds (19%) of lecturers visit their main social networking site several times a day.

One in five lecturers is a ‘’heavy’’ social media user, meaning they use at least two

different types of social media each and every day.

5.2 Conclusion

The findings of this study are consistent with previous research and statistics

online news consumption behaviors’. The majority of respondents disclosed that

they share news to stay connected with family and friends. Lecturers depend on

social media such as facebook to guide them to new articles, as they are good

representation for their own interest. These result support previous research that

suggest that news consumption has become a social act.

In other words, academic staff of Kwararafa university, Wukari relies heavily on

their social networks for tips and alerts to news stories. All respondents were

exposed to news stories that they may have otherwise missed or overlooked if not
for Facebook and Twitter, slightly more than half of the respondents feel more

informed as a result of links shared by individuals in their social network.

Social media websites allow individuals to easily take part in discussions with

their friends, family, and larger networks. With the help of social media tools, the

internet is fast changing the way people consume their news. The study determined

that individuals are primarily motivated to share news stories with their social

networks because of the topicality of investigative stories published by news media

online and consistency of such media. Those who share news articles through

social media enjoy doing so discuss current events and trending topics with people

in their social networks.

5.3 Recommendations

i. News organizations should integrate Social Media platforms among news

delivery channels to boost readership and viewership of stories.

ii. Training should be given to media personnel on the use and packaging

of news content for delivery to target audience.

iii. Future research should continue and duplicate this study examining the

frequency of social media news consumption and whether or not

individuals are more or less informed.

iv. Future research should attempt to ascertain if individuals who rely

heavily on social media for their news consumption are informed on

current events reported in the mainstream press.

v. Real-time direct comparisons between trending news topics on social

media websites and what traditional news outlets are reporting should be

studied.
 Appendix: Cover Letter
Department of Mass Communication,
Kwararafa University,
Wukari.
21-September, 2022
Dear respondent,
I am an undergraduate student in the above named. I am conducting a research on
the topic Social Media and News consumption Patterns of Kwararafa
University Lecturers. I therefore, seek for your kind response by providing result
of the research. The confidentiality of all information given is assured.
Thanks for your understanding
Yours faithfully
 SECTION A
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS

Instructions: Kindly (√) tick the answer that best suit you in the below.

1. Sex: Female ( ) Male ( )

2. Religion: Christianity ( ) Islam( ) Traditional ( )

3. Marital Status: Single ( ) Married ( ) Divorced ( )

SECTION B

4. Do you consume news online using the Internet or via a mobile device?

a. Yes

b. No

5. Do you have an account with any of the following? (Select all that apply)

a. Twitter

b. Facebook

c. MySpace

d. LinkedIn

e. Google(+1)

f. Other

6. How often do you consume news online or via a mobile device?

a. Multiple times throughout the day

b. A few times a week

 c. Once a week

d. A few time a month

7. How often do you share (i.e., ‘’Retweet’’ ‘’+1’’, etc) online news articles

with others on social media website?

a. Multiple time throughout the day

b. Daily

c. A few times a week

d. Once a week

e. A few times a month

8. What subject matter/topics do you typical share (select all the apply)?

a. Business

b. Entertainment (i.e., Movies, Television)

c. Health

d. Politics

e. Pop Culture (Celebrity News, Gossip)

f. Science

g. Sports

h. Technology

9. Which of the following main media do you follow online or read from?

a. Vanguard
 b. Punch

c. Premium Times

d. Daily Trust

e. Sahara Reporters

f. Others (Specify)

What motivates you to click on main media site?

a. They don’t carry fake news

b. They have latest news

c. The news is always controversial

d. Investigative stories

e. Consistency
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