Influence of Graphics Communication on the Newspaper Publication and Patronage
CHAPTER ONE
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The objectives of the study are;
- To find out whether the type of graphics communication affect the patronage of newspapers
- To find out the relevance of the graphics communication to the story.
- To find out the influence of the graphics communication on the patronage of the newspapers.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
This chapter outlines the related studies of photojournalism, as well as general literature which comprise history of newspapers and invention of photograph, the roles of the photojournalist and the significance of photographs to newspapers. This section also highlights the theoretical framework for the study; agenda setting, framing and the uses and gratification theory.
THE BEGINNINGS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
The invention of photography is credited with a variety of new ways of seeing the world, among the ability to record and document life in great detail and with considerable precision and certainty. From the very beginning, photographers compiled a substantial visual record of their surroundings and documented explorations of places, people, and events that challenged the imagination and invited interpretation. It was a new kind of knowledge that began to infringe upon the domination of language in western culture (Thomson, 1972).
Photography is a cultural practice and photographs are forms of material production. Both are elements of an explicit, practical process of communication at a historically specific moment. Images play a major role in the life of society, ranging from earlier religious practices to contemporary representations of secular events. As (Dondis 1974:7) suggests, “most of what we know and learn, what we buy and believe, what we recognize and desire, is determined by the domination of the human psyche by the photograph” (1974:7).
“Photographs, like any cultural product, have conditions and contexts based on historically determined cultural conventions, forms, beliefs and perceptions. They articulate and actively shape the practical, evolving and lived experiences in society along with connections between individual and the social, political, economic structures residing within each culture” (Williams 1981: 353). Thus, looking at photographs, like looking at paintings to help elucidate social history (Clark 1985; Herbert 1988), promises to reveal the detail of a rich cultural life.
The use of photographs to describe social and economic conditions of society is well known in the American tradition of documentary photography. Among classic constructions of various aspects of culture, mostly guided by sociological and journalistic intent, are ‘how the other half lives’ (Riis, 1970), ‘Have you seen their faces?’ (Caldwell and Bourke-White 1937), an ‘American Exodus: A Record of Human Erosion’ (Lange and Taylor 1939). These works helped shape the public image of immigration, farm labour, poverty, and migration by documenting everyday existence and creating a historical record of the social and economic situation of the working class. William Scott (1973) provides an extensive discussion of the documentary approach of the 1930s, when the use of photographs helped construct a sense of national identity.
Since that time, there has also been a critical reception of photography by cultural anthropologists, social historians, and sociologists who have found a variety of uses for it not only as a means of collecting and storing information but also a record of historical consciousness and source of material evidence.
Stuart Hall (1973) provides an early British study of news photographs, while Deborah Bright (1990), Susan Moeller (1989), and Nicolas Monti (1987) offer explorations of the role of photographs in representations of society. Just about anybody can take a picture. But that doesn’t make the person a photojournalist.
According to Paul Carter (2000), a simple explanation of a photograph is a picture produced through the chemical action of light on sensitive film. It is a medium of recording reality that is iconic as well as indexical. Although a photograph resembles or imitates something, making it iconic, it achieves this through the use of light from the subject, therefore making it less arbitrary and indexical. In other words, the signifier is directly linked to the signified, be it physically or casually. This indexical property of photographs lead observers to make a judgment that a photo is an objective medium of record as there is a smaller difference between the signifier and the signified. However, a photograph is a representation of a particular moment and situation in time. Barthe expressed his view that a newspaper photograph is, ‘an object that has been worked on, chosen, composed, constructed, treated according to professional, aesthetic or ideological norms which are so many factors of connotation’ (cited in Bagnell, 1977: 98). There are many decisions taken by the photographer such as focusing, lighting, angle that produce various representation and readings of the same moment creating different connotations. From the choices made from the paradigm set of these signifier and the syntagmatic relationship between them, it is possible to decode and compare the graphics communication from examples of photograph.
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
This chapter outlines the method used in collecting data and describes the procedure of selecting the material used for the study. By the nature, purpose and objectives of the study, the researchers relied on self- administered questionnaires as the major data collection tool in order to seek meaning of the study under scrutiny.
According to Miller and Brewar (2007), quantitative research is concerned with the collection and analysis of data in numeric form. It tends to emphasize relatively large-scale and representative sets of data. This method measures numerically specific aspects of phenomenon using statistical analysis.
STUDY POPULATION
The study population is the complete set of individuals (subjects), objects or events having common observable characteristics in which the researcher is interested (Agyedu, Donkor and Obeng, 2007). This study used a survey of punch newspaper in Ikeja, Lagos. Seven ministries and departments were selected for inclusion in the study. These are Immigration, Trade and Industry, Forestry, Controller and Accountant, Lands Commission, Labour and Statistical Service.
SAMPLING METHOD
Lunsford (1995) defined sampling as the selection of a subset of subjects of a given population under a study. Wimmer and Dominick (2003) also defined a sample as a subset of a population that is a representative of the entire population. A sample that is not representative of the population regardless of its size is inadequate for testing purposes because the results cannot be generalized. In acquiring a define sample size for the study the non-probability sampling procedure was used. Seven ministries and departments were selected for the study. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the ninety (90) respondents.
CHAPTER FOUR
FINDINGS PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the findings and makes an analysis of the responses to the questionnaires and data collected. The date is presented in tables, bar and pie charts which tend to explain vividly the findings of the study of role of graphics communication on the readership and patronage of newspaper. The questionnaire was administered to 90 respondents.
Twenty percent (20%) of the respondents were aged between 18-25 years; 26-32 class was thirty seven (37%) and nineteen (19%) for 33-39 age range. Nine percent (9%) were 40-46 year old; 47 to 54 were found to be eleven percent (11%) as only four (4%) of the respondents represented 55-61 year group.
In effect, most of the respondents were positioned between the age ranges of 26-32 whiles few were caught in 55-61s. It seems the aged have quite a lesser interest in newspaper reading, as far as the Ikeja regional department and ministries are concerned.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
OVERVIEW
This chapter gives a summary of findings of the study, conclusion and recommendation based on the analysis conducted in the previous chapters.
SUMMARY
According to the findings of the study, twenty six (26%) of the respondents said their purchase decision is informed by the type of photograph placed on the front page of a newspaper. Basically the close-up shot type does such magic. Seventy-four percent (74%) responses were contrary to the shared idea. Forty-two percent (42%) of the respondents reported medium shot as the prevalent type drawing their attention to a particular paper’s patronage. Fifty-eight percent (58%) refuted the shared idea. To thirty three (33%), overall shot type of photograph causes them to purchase newspapers, sixty seven (67%) responses were no. As fifty three (53%) respondent said very wide shot pictures attract them to buy newspaper, forty-seven percent (47%) respondents said otherwise.
The findings discovered that, images displayed on the front pages communicate to the reader and somewhat inform their purchases.
Again, thirty-one percent (31%) of the respondents said so far the graphics communication seen on various newspapers correlate with the information content of the material. Fifty-two percent (52%) said the photographs are relevant to the content sometimes. Almost seventeen percent (17%) claimed most of the time the information content of the paper links to the cartoons and photographs shown on the front pages.
From the study, it was revealed that fourteen percent (14%) of the respondents suggested that graphics communication do not influence their readership. “I merely look for news items (captions and headlines etc) but not photos in my quest for reading a newspaper”, said one respondent, the respondents added that in most cases their desire to read may not be influenced by the message communicated by the photograph at the onset page. Eighty-six percent (86%) claimed the visual projections influence their readership. A participant explained his decision is influenced “especially where the photograph is about something or someone I cherish; then I’m curious to know more”. The survey solicited for further evidence to attest to the eighty six percent 86% claim. However, almost all shared unanimous view in line with the latter participant, which was quite intriguing.
There is no gain arguing the potential influence a photograph has on drawing readers to a particular newspaper, essentially when placed at the front page. In Nigeria, it is as if from every ninety (90) readers, eighty six percent (86%) in correspondence are influenced by the photographs portrayed on the various newspapers front pages.
CONCLUSIONS
From the above findings the study discovered that a greater percentage of civil servants read newspapers and are attracted by the graphics communication which encourage them to read further. Again, the majority of the respondents buy newspapers because of the close-up shot type of photographs and also, majority of the respondents said the graphics communication have some relevance to the content of the newspaper.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Journalists must adopt using close-up shots of photographs since they clearly demonstrate the emotions of the personalities in the photograph. Journalists are encouraged to continue using attractive photographs on the front page of newspapers as they entice readers to read further.
Journalists must always correlate photographs to the content of newspapers to enhance accuracy.
REFERENCES
- Adwoa S. Amankwah, Assibey Bonsu Ginn and Kwaku Ahenkora on the topic ‘Gendering the Agenda’: A Look at Graphics communication of a national newspaper, 2012.
- Babbie, E. (2005). The practice of Social research. New York. Macmillan
- Berg, B. L. (2004) Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences, Boston, Pearson education Berg, B. L. (2004) Qualitative Research Methods for the Social Sciences, Boston, Pearson education.
- Bignell, J (1997), Media Semiotics : An Introduction. Manchester Press.
- Brake, L and Demoor, M (eds) Dictionary of Nineteenth-Century Journalism Academia Press and the British Library, Ghent and London.
- Carter, P (2000). A semiotic analysis of newspaper graphics communication. (online) available: http://ww.aber.ac.uk/media/students/pmc960/htm. december 1, 2011.
- Chandler, Daniel (1994): Semiotics for beginners. (www document) URL http:// www.aber.ac.uk/media/documents/s413/
- Communication theories origin, methods & uses in the mass media, Rywernaer J. Severin and James W. Tankard, Jr. 2001 p.294)
