Community Newspaper and Political Awareness Campaign Among Residents of Abak Local Government Area

Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess community newspaper and political awareness campaign among residents of abak local government area+. The objectives of the study were; to find out whether residents of Abak local government area read the community newspaper; to examine whether the political news reports on community newspaper have directly influenced political awareness among residents in Abak local government area; to determine how the political reports in community newspaper has helped to create awareness on political issues in Abak local government area, and to identify factors that motivate residents in Abak to read political reports on community newspaper. Agenda setting theory and individual differences theory was adopted to guide the study. Survey research design was used. The population for the study was 459,628 and the sample size was 400. Using questionnaire as instrument for data collection, a total of 385 questionnaires were collected from respondents for analysis. Findings shows that a significant portion of Abak residents read Community Newspaper. Findings also showed that political reports in Community Newspaper have contributed to raising political awareness in Abak. The study, therefore, recommended that Community Newspaper should continue to prioritize and expand its political reporting to meet the growing demand for political-related information among Abak residents. It was also recommended that political communicators and journalists should collaborate with local political authorities and organizations to ensure the accuracy and credibility of political reports in Community Newspaper.