PERCEPTION OF YOUTH REGARDING THE CREDIBILITY OF TV NEWS CHANNELS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Television is considered a powerful mass medium, which is not only meant for dissemination and analyzing the news but also has a strong impact on the social, cultural, and political approach of the audience. The boom in the TV industry of Pakistan in the early 21st century has resulted in the massive popularity of private news channels among viewers. The Urdu transmission of these channels is one of the reasons for popularity as the national language is spoken and understood by the majority population all over the country. However, the credibility of the content remains an issue always. The purpose of this research is to find out the perception of youth regarding the credibility of leading TV news channels Dunya News, ARY News, and Geo News. The study examines the youth’s perception regarding the credibility of news content. It also seeks to find out to what extent, prime-time talk shows of these channels, “On the Front”, “Off the Record” and “Capital Talk” are considered credible among youth considers. The present study is survey research in which data was collected from the undergraduate students of public and private sector universities of Lahore. Data were analyzed through Descriptive Statistics. Further, T-test was applied to find out the difference in perception based on demographic characteristics. The results show that the youth is more interested in watching talk shows rather than news bulletins. TV news channels are popular among youth due to a better understanding of the Urdu language, but with compromised credibility. The viewers believe that every TV channel has a certain agenda and it gives coverage to every news with a political bias. This biasedness has raised a question about the credibility of news channels among young viewers. Keywords: Perception, Credibility, Talk shows, News Channels, Political Bias