Editorial and the Moulding of Opinion: A Survey of Newspaper Readers in Tertiary Institutions in Imo State, Nigeria.

Abstract

The power of editorials in moulding public opinion cannot be over-emphasized. Editorials have the potentials to change the attitudes of the public towards government and governmental policies. Therefore, employing newspaper texts like editorials will help offer background information and interpretation necessary to shape public opinion and attitudes. Readers turn to editorials for opinion, discussion, and interpretation covering those matters which are for the day, attracting attention. This study is anchored on the framing theory which was put forth by Erving Goffman in 1974. The researcher adopted the survey research design. The population of this study comprises of newspaper readers in tertiary institutions in Imo State. The tertiary institutions in Imo State that this study focused on include; Imo State University, Owerri, Federal University of Technology, Owerri, Federal Polytechnic, Nekede, Alvan Ikoku Federal Collage of Education, Owerri. The population of newspaper readers are not statistically known in these institutions. This means that the sample size of this study is 384. In order to determine the number of questionnaire to be administered to each of the selected tertiary institutions in Imo state, the non-proportionate and purposive sampling techniques were used. The questionnaire was the research instrument used for the data collection. The data collected from the respondents was analysed and interpreted by using the simple percentages tables and frequency analysis. Analysis of data collected from the field revealed that 162 respondents representing 42.6% said that their readership of editorials in newspapers was to a very large extent. Further analysis also revealed that at an average mean of 2.9, newspaper readers in tertiary institutions were of the view that they were being influenced by the content of editorials that they read from newspapers. Communicating result from data revealed that at an average mean of 2.7, newspaper readers in tertiary institutions in Imo State were of the view that the persuasive nature of editorials and the level of education of the person reading the editorials were the major factors responsible for the influence that editorial has in moulding peoples’ opinions. The researcher recommended that newspaper readers should continue to read editorials in order to form more informed opinions on topical issues. Keywords: Editorial, Moulding, Opinion, Survey, Newspaper, Readers and Tertiary Institutions