Exposure to Broadcast Media Messages and Knowledge of Covid -19 Pandemic Among Residents of Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines Port Harcourt residents’ exposure to broadcast media messages and knowledge of COVID -19 pandemic. The objectives include: to ascertain if Port Harcourt audiences are exposed to broadcast media messages on COVID -19, find out the extent of knowledge of Port Harcourt audiences on COVID -19 pandemic based on their exposure to broadcast media messages and discover the extent to which residents of Port Harcourt comply to broadcast messages on COVID -19 based on their knowledge of the virus. This work is anchored on Cultivation Theory. Survey research method was used for this study while a sample size of 384 was adopted using Krejcie & Morgan Sample Determination Table. Simple frequency distribution table and Pie Chart were used in analyzing data generated for the study. The study ascertained that residents of Port Harcourt are exposed to messages about COVID -19 by the broadcast media. Their knowledge about the virus is high. However, they show low compliance disposition to the broadcast messages on the disease.The study concludes that exposure of residents of Port Harcourt to broadcast messages and knowledge of COVID-19 is high but they did not believe the messages even as their comliance to the messages is low. Therefore, we recommend among others that the broadcast media in Port Harcourt should sustain messages on COVID-19 pandemic to establish effect on the people. This is because the Cultivation Theory upon which this work is based recognises that campaigns on an issue over time, is the key to media effect on the people. This is necessary, especially in this phase of campaign for acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine.