Political Party Affiliation and Preference of Television Stations in Edo State, Nigeria
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Abstract
The roles of the mass media in the governance of any nation cannot be overstressed. As a result, they are integral parts of any political system, or political process. They help in shaping the perception of voters during election, among other functions. In view of this, this work sought to establish whether political party affiliation influences politicians’ preference for certain television stations in Edo State, Nigeria, to others. It adopted the Agenda Setting and Uses and Gratification Theories, and was guided by three research objectives. The study adopted the mixed method of data gathering due to its nature. It found, among others, that political party members prefer a particular television station to others mainly because it satisfies their political information needs, and because of their political affiliation to such stations. It also revealed that political party members still watch other TV stations, aside those owned or controlled by the political parties they belong to, because of the satisfaction they derive from the exposure. In view of the findings, it was recommended that political party members should watch other Television stations, apart from those that are sympathetic to their political parties, to have balanced information; and that similar study should be extended to other parts of Nigeria, to see if similar results would be got.
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