1.1 Introduction
A talk show or chart show is a television programming genre in which one person or group of people discuss various topics put forth by a talk show host (Roll and Ross, 2005). Usually, guests consist of a group of people who have great experience in relation to whatever issue is being discussed on the show for that episode. Other times, a single guest discusses their work or area of expertise with a host or co-hosts. A call-in-show takes live phone calls from callers listening at home, in their cars, etc. (Roll and Ross, 2005). Talk shows have been on broadcast on television since the earliest days of the television medium. Joe Franklin, an American radio and television personality, hosted the first television talk shows (Bruce, 2003).
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Television is an important medium of communication in the 21st century (Obono and Madu, 2012). It is used for several reasons including information, education, entertainment and persuasion. Unlike other media structures, television has the advantage of utilizing vision for mass communication (Obono and Madu, 2012). This is because it provides the avenue for programming which remains a key instrument for attracting audience and determining the viability of a station and for changing a society (Obono and Madu,2012).
Television technology is developing rapidly and impacting on diverse strata of the population. It is a socializing agent as information transmitted can easily affect people’s (audience) worldview, perception and behavior. It exposes people to opinions that challenge their traditional ethos (Mary, 2010). Television has thus, become a major source of information acquisition, companionship and a relaxation tool as it provides millions with free leisure strategies and opportunities. The advent of television technology has further accelerated the establishment of television stations and programmers in both the developed and less developed countries.
The Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) is one of those television stations established to professionally disseminate information about the sociopolitical and economic development of the Nigerian state and indeed beyond. NTA is owned by the Federal Government. It has the widest reach with stations in all states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory (Folarin, 2005). It is from this angle that NTA Kaduna operates a breakfast talk show which is equally a phone- in-talk show.
The NTA Kaduna breakfast talk show is believed to be playing a very important role in engaging the public in constructive debate on various issues such as politics, health, economics, and peace building among others. Such a programme with topical issues affecting the society requires an examination of its operations. It is against this background that this study seeks to examine NTA Kaduna breakfast talk show while focusing on its achievements, prospects and challenges.
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