ஜர்னல் ஆஃப் மாஸ் கம்யூனிகேஷன் & ஜர்னலிசம்

This paper conducted a comparative study of digital competence and response to digital innovations by South Korean and Nigerian newspaper journalists. Both countries share some common experiences, like political and media history, and yet there are a lot different with regards to media newsroom culture, economy and opportunities in the digital age. How these realities may determine the capacity of newspaper journalists to acquire digital skills is the onus of the study. Mixed method enquiry was adopted; with survey questions and in-depth interviews conducted with newspaper journalists in South Korea and Nigeria. The survey and interviews were analysed, and the result showed a paradox: the newspaper journalists in both countries agree on the assumptions of innovation theory on the changes in newspaper journalism in this era; however, against the predictions of theories of digital divide, the Nigerian journalists showed a greater wiliness and actual competence on the tested digital skills. What accounts for this is the observed difference in the journalists’ perception of the threat of the ongoing changes in their newsrooms.

According to research on the use of micro aggressions on female athletes in the United States, women are expected to fit a traditional feminine mold even when participating in physical competition. The purpose of this study is to determine how often and in what context micro aggressions were used in reporting on female Olympic athletes during the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympic Games. Data obtained in the analysis show that, currently, many instances of sexism, racism, second class citizenship and restrictive gender roles are present in coverage of these elite female athletes. Micro aggressions were found in articles covering masculine and feminine sports, black and white athletes and features stories outside of results from the Games. Implications as well as future research directions are discussed.

The growing emergence of cell phones and caller ID have reduced response rates among telephone polling, causing some concern among those who conduct public opinion polls in politics. That issue has led some to consider online surveys as either an alternative or at least a supplemental technique for gauging political opinions. This study sought to test this concept by conducting two identical surveys – on with live telephone interviews and one with an online survey. The results indicated that the data from the two surveys were not identical. Hillary Clinton scored higher on image ratings with the online survey, and the data for the voter optimism were also different. One possible explanation is that the online surveys are less susceptible to errors caused by a socially desired response pattern. That offers the potential for more accuracy from online surveys.

This study was conducted to determine the extent of utilization by which Filipino politicians use social media to further a political agenda. A combination of quantitative (conceptual) and qualitative (relational) content analysis were used to examine the Facebook posts of five presidential candidates retrieved in a month period prior to May 2016 elections. Results showed that, ‘text and photo’ is the most dominant medium used by politicians. This study suggests that the manner by which content is presented bears significance in the likelihood of audience to interact in the post. The same inference is consistent with the average word count. Results showed that, as politicians use more words in their posts, it is likely that they will have lesser interactions. In the frequency of updates, it was observed that most of the politicians increased posting updates as the election was nearing. This led to the assumption that the virtual presence of politicians is both beneficial to them and the supporters. The former contributes to the popularity of the politician while the latter contributes in the dissemination of political information. In the degree of interaction, results showed that as politicians load more content, the lesser interactions they will get. For the most dominant theme used, it turned out those political advertisements ranked highest, comprising a third of all posts, accompanied by posts on self-descriptions. Consistent with other studies, results showed that even in social media, Filipino politicians are more inclined to promote themselves as ‘persons’ and ‘candidates’ rather than as leaders with platforms and convictions. Lastly, it was observed that politicians generally project information beneficial to them and hence tend to avoid those that may be considered their weak points. This finding illustrates that the social media empowers politicians to set the public agenda. Fundamentally, the findings showed that, the extent of utilization does not necessarily guarantee the politician’s political success.

This study investigates the influence of foreign football and its digital coverage among youth in Abeokuta. It examines the values portrayed by internet/satellite technology, the extent to which these values affect Nigerian youths, and the extent to which Nigerian youths’ exposure to foreign football through the internet/satellite technology affects their commitment to Nigerian football. The study employed qualitative method of Focus Group Discussion (FGD), using discussion guide to source data from youth in Abeokuta South and Abeokuta North Local Government Areas. Among others, the study discovered that the major values promoted by the internet technology such technical companionship, global citizenship and technological determinism promote western values and interests, and have undermined to a very large extent the citizenship values of Nigerian youths. Nigerian youths have practically abandoned their citizenship values such as love and loyalty to the country, patriotism and commitment to national ideas, and have embraced the values promoted by the internet with their passion for foreign football. Furthermore, it was discovered that Nigerian youth’s interest in European football was motivated by good organization, adequate and quality facilities and good football on the field of play. In other words, Nigerian youths abandoned Nigerian football due to poor management, inadequate and poor facilities and insecurity at match venues, among many other factors. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that Nigerian football should be overhauled. There should be proper funding to fix the facilities like quality stadia, provision of security at match venues and ensure proper administration of the game in the country. Youth football should be revived in Nigeria. Grassroots football should be re-introduced at primary and secondary school levels to discover raw talents for future greatness. Adequate arrangement should be made for marketing and sponsorship programmes. This will ensure that all league matches are relayed on television to cultivate the interest of the youths and all Nigerians.

This study surveyed the utility of cell phone among female students of Amity University (AU) studying in Amity School of Communications. The study applying both quantitative and qualitative methodology was done on 33 participants. Findings indicate that Amity University female students use their cell phones for receiving calls, chatting, visits to social media, watch video, contacting new and old friends and sending message to gratify their specific needs. They contacted parents, relatives, friend and others, too. Findings show female students use their cell phone maximally for direct call, chatting or texting, information searching on internet, internet calling, for capturing events, receiving incoming video calls, for editing home photos, sending message with pictures, and browsing internet. The researcher also found some negative fall outs while using cell phones like Internet poor connectivity and Wi-Fi problem, time consumption, addiction to cell phone, false or fabricated information postings and unknown sources tagging unwanted material like pornography.