Patterns of news consumption among female students at North West University, South Africa
Abstract
News consumption patterns have characterised the everydayness of audience
members in societies across the world. The practice of news consumption has
been interrogated by various scholars in the field of news consumption (Antunovic,
2018; Chan-Olmstead, 2013; Fourie, 2017; Pointdexter, 2008). On the media
studies research agenda, there has been a clarion call to explore news
consumption from an African and Southern African perspective as well as to
decolonize the media audience research (Fourie, 2017). This study therefore
explored news consumption patterns among female students studying at a South
African University. The study looked into the motivation, demographic factors and
extent of news consumption among female students at the North-West University
(NWU), South Africa. It explored the affordability and degree of interest among
these students, as overarching variables and whether they impact on the news
consumption patterns of female students studying at the abovementioned
institution. The study focused on the three delivery sites of the North-West
University, namely the Mafikeng, Potchefstroom and Vanderbijlpark campuses. To
guide this study, the theoretical frameworks, which are the Uses and Gratifications
Theory and Media Dependency Model, were used. The study further employed a
mixed methodological approach. Five hundred surveys were administered, and six
focus group discussions were used to collect data. The findings from the study
revealed that female students on all three campuses do consume news to keep
abreast with issues that directly affect their needs. The study also found that
numerous demographic and socio-graphic factors such as income bracket,
language preference and field of study played a significant role in their news
consumption patterns. The study recommends further studies into the differences
in news consumption patterns between male and female students as well as
longitudinal studies that would include other institutions of higher learning.
Furthermore, it also suggests that differences be explored at the level of
demographic factors located in the Global South, particularly from a Southern
African perspective. The study made a noble contribution which was to highlight
the much-neglected African media audience in terms of how they consume which
is different from the counterparts in the Global North, and the discourse of the ‘de-
Colonisation’ of the broader Media Studies discipline.
Collections
- Humanities [2671]