The Exposure to and Demand for Radio News Programs’ Content and Formats of Citizens of Lower Northeastern Thailand
Keywords:
exposure, demand for content, radio news program formatAbstract
The objectives of this research were (1) to study the exposure of citizens of the lower northeastern region of Thailand to radio news programs; (2) to assess their demand for radio news program content and formats; (3) to compare survey respondents’ demographic factors with their exposure to radio news programs; and (4) to compare respondents’ demographic factors with their demand for radio news program content, formats and presentation methods.
This was a survey research. The sample population was 400 citizens of the lower northeast region of Thailand, chosen through multi stage sampling. The research tool was a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, t test and ANOVA.
The results showed that (1) the majority of survey respondents listened to radio news programs on the neighborhood public address system 3 to 4 days a week. The type of news program they listened to most often was local news. They normally listened at 06:00-09:00 in the morning. (2) As for news content, most of the respondents placed the most importance on the quality of news. They desired news from clearly identifiable sources that was up to date. They had the highest demand for local news. They liked the presentation method of news reading and preferred a news program of 30 minutes in duration at the time period 06:00-09:00 in the morning. They had a demand for news broadcasters who could read the news clearly and make it easy to understand. (3) There was a highly statistically significant relationship at 0.01 confidence level between the demographic factors of age, educational level, occupation and monthly income of the respondents and their exposure to radio news programs. (4) There was a statistically significant relationship at 0.05 confidence level between the age and educational level of respondents and their demand for the length of radio news programs.
