RESEARCH PAPER: REASONS FOR VIEWING NEWS, Uses and gratifications theory.

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Reasons for viewing news: Uses and gratifications theory. Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Date Introduction News is the information people are given about current events ... that are happening in their local areas and globally. The consumption of news is essential to participation in social, cultural and political life. News media normally report news that talk about economy, politics, entertainment, weather, health, business, fashion and entertainment. In the early centuries people found a common place where they could come in and share new information with other members of the society (Wonneberger, 2011). Important news could be repeated by word of mouth and everyone would be informed of what was happening in the society. During this period, people did not have preferences to the types of news they wanted to hear because every information was important and one had to hear about it. However, after many years, technology was introduced through different media like television, social media, radio and print paper, and people are now able to access different types of news that they are interested in (Buckingham, 2002). Different studies have been done to investigate why people are inclined to different types of news, and why they use different media. Communication media has a lot of influence in the lives of people and their livelihood as people depend of news to plan for the present and the future. Because of the many media sources of getting news, different researches have been done to explain the reasons people view news. Different people are inclined to different types of news depending on their age, or even the type of information that satisfies their needs. To study the differences in viewing news, researchers use the user and gratification theory (Lee & Lee, 1995). Uses and gratifications is explained as a social and psychological theory which suggests human communication behavior is driven by people’s needs and desires. Through the theory the research will show why people consume different types of news and the kind of satisfaction they get from watching news. The research has been done through a survey done in a group of a population aged between 19-30. Through the survey questions presented, it will be easy to get information on reasons for viewing news in different people. Therefore, the following paper contributes to explaining what prompts user to watching news, the type of media they use to watch and what kind of satisfaction they get from watching news. Theoretical Background The user and gratifications theory is considered a logical development for the various questions associated with the reasons of watching news in different age groups in the last century. User and Gratification theory is the psychological communicative perspective that explores how and why individual use media (Blumler & Katz, 1974). The theory is based on the assumption that different people select different types of media and contents presented in the media platforms to fulfil their needs and wants. The needs and wants are seen as motives for adopting specific media use and they go ahead to connect the individual with their social and psychological compositions. Therefore, based on the perceived needs, psychological and social characteristics, and media attributes, different individuals are driven by experience as the main form of gratification. The theory is also used in examining different consequences of using media, and for this to happen, it assumes a relatively active audience which makes conscious decision to select a type of media that satisfies their needs and wants. The theory is important in this study because unlike other theories, it examines the nature of audience involvement and gratification obtained from watching news through different media. It creates an emphasis on the individual’s motives, social and psychological traits that influence watching of news. Therefore, the use and gratification theory represent the theoretical framework that seeks to identify why people watch news. Literature review There has been a long tradition of scholarship on the social and cultural character of news consumption in print and broadcast media, and why people are inclined to specific types of news. People watch news for various reasons; some watch news to be better informed on what’s going on in the world, whereas others choose not to watch the news because it’s either of no importance. In the same argument people watch news to make engagements on their thoughts on different topics (Bowman & Willis, 2003). Through traditional media sources people make arguments through one-on-one arguments but with social media people leave comments expressing how they feel about different topics on news channels. Some people find it very fulfilling to express their thought on topics because it brings satisfaction of their views being heard. However, there are some people who will just watch to view what is going in their environment and move on without putting a lot of thought into the gained information (Elareshi, 2014). The spectrum of watching is very different in different people; for example, a politician’s need to watch news is not the same with a common citizen. Such people will watch news to get insight of the different aspects of lives of individuals and how they can influence each group. In 2015, during the US election campaign Hillary Clinton was asked what she was going to do for the minority groups in America and she was not in a position to give a satisfactory answer (Chettiar, 2015). If she had been keen in watching in watching news, she would have able to know what was happening in the African-American neighborhoods, and this would have set her apart. In the current world news can reach people very conveniently because of Social media networks, which have become one of the most important news sources. It is reported that Facebook is the most important social network in terms of searching for, reading, viewing and sharing the news. Furthermore, young adults consider social media as their first source of news, compared with TV. A similar study, carried out on the use of social media networks in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), confirms that Facebook is the most used social network in all areas (Arab Youth Survey, 2016). People aged 19-30 are considered very active users regarding the use of local news online as most of them have published local news via Twitter, have contributed to discussions on the Internet, have sent others links to local news via e-mail, and have commented on the local news. People that are older are not likely to watch their news from social media sites because they tend to watch more serious news that is well researched by journalists, and hence they prefer watching their news from TVs. These group of people want a satisfaction of credibility and accuracy of information. Based on the information from the literature review, the reason why people watch news are different from one group to another. People are driven by different motives to sit down and watch. There are people that are driven by the cognitive trait to watch news. These types of people are driven by satisfaction of information and the need to have knowledge on important things happening (Martin & Yurukoglu 2017). These are kind of people that will not miss a chance to watch news. Other people consider watching news a form of entertainment as they are able to pass time when they are watching news. When people are not using cognitive effort, they are paying little or no attention to the information conveyed and this is considered as a form of entertainment. Knowledge learning and entertainment-based soft-news programs are also popular and people watch this news to learn different things and this is mostly presented in lifestyle shows. Therefore, the following study will show that there are many reasons that people watch news to fulfil their wants and needs through the user and gratification theory. I expect that the results of surveys conducted will have close relations to the results of previous studies done by different scholars. Research questions and hypotheses Based on the previous literature review, the following research questions and hypotheses are proposed; a. What needs and wants to people fulfil when they watch news? b. What media sources do people rely on to watch news? From the information gathered, people watch news because they want to gain information, entertain themselves and pass time. Young people most rely on social media to get their information while adults rely on TV as a source for their news. Therefore, the hypotheses of the study are: H1: people have different reasons for watching news H2: people rely on different media sources for their news Methods To achieve the aims of the study, a survey was conducted, where ten questions were presented to the sample group and the sample population would take the survey through the survey tool, survey monkey. The study used survey monkey because the tool is effective in creating survey and applying logic when presenting the collected data. The sample population would click and submit their answers in the survey monkey and the total results would be populated to come with a final result. The questions in the survey were to find out reason for watching, favorite media for news source, language used when watching, number of times they watch news daily, types of news they follow the most, people they discuss news with, how much they trust their news sources, news preferences, their gender and age. The survey was taken by a sample population of 36 young adults in Kuwait. The dependent variable in the survey was watching news and the independent variables were the reasons for watching news. The ten question were closed ended and some had multiple choices to choose from. Some of the measurements used were a lot, not much, not at all. The samples used for the study were selected using a random approach. Results From the survey results of the study, it was found that out of the 36 participants in the study, 44.44% were male and female were 55.66% and therefore it is translated to 16 male and 20 females took the survey. Out of the 36, 2.78 of the total sample were below 18 years, 52.78% were between 19-25, 22.22% were between 26-35 years, and 22.22% were above 36 years of age. The dominant group in the study was therefore 19-25 years, because it had the highest number. In analyzing the main reason for watching news, 83.33% percent argued that they watched to get information, 11.11% used them as a based of holding conversation with other people and 5.56% used them as a source of entertainment. The following question was what was the favorite source of media for getting news as shown in the figure 1; Figure 1 From the results most of the individuals got their news from social media with a representation of 50%, followed by TV at 25%, radio at 8.33%, and newspaper at 16.67%. From the population sample it is evident that many young people prefer using social media to get news as opposed to the traditional sources of media. TV follows closely and this shows the adults that took the survey will be inclined to watching TV for news rather than social media. From previous studies it has proven that older people prefer reading the newspaper or watching TV because they consider the sources to be more credible. On the other hand, young adults are driven by convenience and that is why they use social platforms more. The results from this survey question makes the hypothesis positive because the sample group relied on different sources of media to get their news. The next survey question was the language that was most preferred for watching new and 80.56% of the population sample preferred watching news in Arabic, 50% preferred English, 2.78% preferred French. Since the survey was done in Kuwait, an Arabic speaking country, the results are accurate that most people would rather view news with a language they understand. The frequency of watching news was represented at 58% with 1-2 times a day, 3-4 times a day at 11.11%, more than four times a day at 16.67% and 13.89% for people that do not watch news at all. The data shows that a big percentage of the population are interested in what is going on and they want to fulfil their needs and wants of watching news. Figure 2 The survey asked the types of news that the sample population followed the most, and in references to figure 2; 41.67% of the population was interested in politics, 11.11% for both sports and economics and 36.11% preferred other types of news. According to the user and gratification theory, people watch news to fulfil different wants and needs. According to the findings of the study, people watch news to satisfy different needs as some people like news about political standpoints, others prefer to watch sports news because they love sports and other love economics and business news because that the type of information that fulfils their specific needs. The other group chose other type of news to show that they are not interested in news about sports, economics and politics and this shows the effectiveness of the theory in this study. The survey confirms H1; in that people have different reasons why they view news because the fulfil different needs and wants. The survey also asked whom they discuss news most with and 47.22% of the population discussed with their family, 47.22% with friends, 2.78% with strangers and 2.78 neither of the three. From the findings of the study, it is evident that most people care about information they gain from watching news and hence they feel the need to discuss with their families and friends. 77.78% of the population did not trust the news media that they were used to get news, 13.89 of the population had a lot of trust for their media source and 8.33% did not trust their news source at all. Since most of the sample group got their news from social media, the results would be accurate because social media news content is not controlled unlike TV which offers credible and accurate information. 22.22% of the population preferred local news, 27.78% international news and 50% of the population preferred both local and international news. it is evident that people are concerned with what is going on their local areas as well as in the globe, and because of this it is evident that many people view news a form of gaining information. The findings from the study have been supported by the literature which suggests that there are different reasons as to why people watch news. The findings are also supported by the user and gratification theory that suggest that different people select different types of media and contents presented in the media platforms to fulfil their needs and wants. From the sample population of 36 people, different people have different preferences in the type of news they like to watch and the different media they prefer getting their news. Discussion and Conclusion The findings of the study have successfully supported the hypothesis of the study that; people have different reasons for watching news, and people rely on different media sources for their news. The study finds that people are driven by different needs and wants to watch news. Some people watch news as a source of getting information, and this is seen where a large number prefers watching political news both locally and internationally. These types of people are driven by the need to have information and analyzing the information to have insights on the current events that are taking place in the world (Tewksbury, 1999). In regard to gratification theory, they seek to fulfil their psychological needs. The other groups are driven by cognitive traits where they use news as a source of entertainment to fulfil their social needs. Most of these will watch news that do not require them to think, and when they are watching their conscious minds are not effective. They are inclined to watching entertainment news like lifestyle and sports news. The study also supports H2, because it has been shown that different people have different choices in the type of news media that they use. These media are determined by credibility, efficiency and accuracy of the news. Older people are more likely to be inclined to old fashioned sources of media like TV and newspaper. Young adults prefer social media as it is easily accessible. References Arab Youth Survey. (2016). Inside The Hearts and Minds of Arab Youth - A White Paper on the Findings of the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller. Retrieved from goo.gl/ ffEK80. Blumler, J. G. & Katz, E. (1974). The Uses of Mass Communications: Current Perspectives on Gratifications Research. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE. Bowman, S., & Willis, C. (2003). We Media: How Audiences are Shaping the Future of News and Information. A Seminal Report. Reston: The Media Centre at the American Press Institute. Retrieved from goo.gl/FosEYN. Buckingham, D. (2002). The making of citizens: Young people, news and politics. Routledge. Chettiar, I., Biden, J. R., Booker, C., Brooks, C. W., Christie, C., Clinton, H. R., ... & Webb, J. (2015). Solutions: American leaders speak out on criminal justice. Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law. Elareshi, M., Ziani, A., & Gunter, B. (2014). How GCC University Students Get Local News and Information. Studies in Media and Communication, 2(2). Retrieved from goo.gl/ftwSbj. Lee, B., & Lee, R. S. (1995). How and why people watch TV: Implications for the future of interactive television. Journal of advertising research, 35(6), 9-19. Martin, G. J., & Yurukoglu, A. (2017). Bias in cable news: Persuasion and polarization. American Economic Review, 107(9), 2565-99. Tewksbury, D. (1999). Differences in how we watch the news: The impact of processing goals and expertise on evaluations of political actors. Communication Research, 26(1), 4-29. Wonneberger, A., Schoenbach, K., & Van Meurs, L. (2011). Interest in news and politics—or situational determinants? Why people watch the news. Journal of broadcasting & electronic media, 55(3), 325-343. [Show More]

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