Appraising Audience Views of the Influence of News Commercialization on Credibility of Broadcast News Content. A Study of Residents of Minna Metropolis Niger State

The study investigates the view of audience of Minna metropolis on the Influence of News Commercialization on Credibility of Broadcast News Content. One of the objectives of the study was to determine how news commercialization influences credibility of broadcast news. The quantitative survey design was used, with the Social Responsibility theory as the basis for the study. The focus was on the audience with educational qualification of First Degree and above who were purposively selected across the 11 wards in Minna metropolis. Sample size of 384 respondents was administered questionnaire using the Likert Scale method. The data generated were presented and analyzed using simple tables and percentages. Findings revealed that 39.9% strongly agree that news commercialization crumbles credibility of news since only the views of the rich and powerful are carried. This shows that the audience strongly agrees that only the views of the rich and powerful are carried in the news. The study recommends, among others, that the broadcast media can through news bulletin, commentaries, current affairs etc, bring news to the door step of the common man on the streets to regain their confidence and trust, once again.

Keywords: Audience, broadcast news content, influence, credibility, News Commercialization.