ABSTRACT

Although there is scant audience research in media studies, audiences continue to be key drivers in the political economy of media in Africa and elsewhere. The study explores the dynamics of indigenous language news audiences’ listening habits, how their information-seeking habits are shaped by personal values and the ways in which their participation in civic engagement reinforces their media consumption habits. The study focuses on Dagbanli and Gonja news audiences living in Ghana’s Northern and Savannah Regions. The objective of the study is to explore the way that Dagbanli and Gonja news audiences use the news they receive by parsing out these uses within this sociocultural context. Through in-depth interviews, the listening habits and civic engagements of news audiences are brought to the fore. Through a uses and gratifications approach, I argue that indigenous language news audiences are active agentive consumers whose habits are shaped by contextual factors, personal and social values. The findings of the study demonstrate that the news shapes the political behaviour and voting decisions of audiences. The study also finds that many audiences use the news as an avenue for learning more about education, agriculture, the environment and pervading conversations in the public sphere.

摘要

尽管媒体研究中的受众研究很少，但受众仍然是非洲和其他地方媒体政治经济的关键驱动力。该研究探讨了土著语言新闻受众收听习惯的动态变化，他们的信息搜索习惯如何受到个人价值观的影响，以及他们参与公民参与的方式加强了他们的媒体消费习惯。该研究的重点是居住在加纳北部和萨凡纳地区的 Dagbanli 和 Gonja 新闻受众。该研究的目的是通过在这种社会文化背景下解析这些用途来探索 Dagbanli 和 Gonja 新闻受众使用他们收到的新闻的方式。通过深入采访，新闻受众的收听习惯和公民参与度得以凸显。通过使用和满足的方法，我认为土著语言新闻受众是积极的代理消费者，他们的习惯受语境因素、个人和社会价值观的影响。研究结果表明，新闻塑造了观众的政治行为和投票决定。该研究还发现，许多观众将新闻作为了解教育、农业、环境和公共领域普遍对话的途径。