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University of Nigeria Research Publications
TAJUDEEN, Kunle Bello
Aut
hor
CMD/UNN/PG/EM.BA/98/0069
Title
Determining the Socio-Economic Status of Business and Financial Newspaper Readers:
Business times as a Case Study
Facu
lty
Business Administration
D
epar
tmen
t
Marketing
Dat
e August, 2000
Sign
atur
e
DETERMINING THE SOCIO-ECONOMTC STATUS OF BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL
NEWSPAPER READERS: BUSINESS TIMES AS A CASE STUDY
By TA JUDEEN KUNLE BELL0 ( C M D - UNN/PG/EMBA/?S/0069)
Department of Marl ie t iq Faculty of Business Adini~zistmtioiz
University of Nig er-in Nsukkn
AUGUST 2000
Mr. Tajudeen Kunle Bello, a post-graduate student in the Department of Market- ing with registration Number CMD-UNNIPGIEMBAI9SIO069, has satisfactorily completed the requiseinents for the award of the degree of Mastess i n Business Administration (MBA) in Marketing.
The work embodied in this report is original and has not been submitted in part or in full for any other diploma, degree or award of this University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus or any other University.
Supervisor
,, , .
jJ'rof. J.O. Onah 7 Head of Marketing Department
DEDICATION
I dedicated this research work to Almighty God who has made this programme possible.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This research work would not have been coinpIeted but for tllc irlvaluahlc guidance and advice of my able supervisor, Prof. Ike Nwosu, who took the pain to tutor me on the nitty-gritty of practical research efforts.
I wish to express my gratitude to Mr. Akeem 0. Mustapha of the Daily Times of Nigeria Plc. And staff' of the Centre for Managemenf Dcvelopmcnt, Shangisha, Lagos for their various contributions and useful suggestions dur- ing the data collection stage.
I also thank my many respondents for making out time to fill in the question- naires despite their very busy schedules.
ABSTRACT
The study evaluates the effects of the socio-economic status of' business and financial newspaper readers on their purchase of such newspapers with a view to determining how the Daily Times of Nigeria Plc which publishes and markets Business Times can improve the quality of the Birsiizess Tiilzes and hence, the total revenue generated therefrom.
Business Times was established about 25 years ago and has enjoyed con- tinuous production since then. The Daily Times of Nigeria Plc has made a lot of money through copy sales and advertising from the newspaper over the years but has never bothered to find out the changing pattern of the readers' needs and desires.
The study was purely empirical with information divulged from business and financial newspaper readers in Lagos. Conceptual Literature review pro- vided secondary inforination source, which aided the design of the questionnaire and the formulation of hypotheses. The questionnaire was structured such that it has a fixed set of alternative answers. The questionnaire meant for 245 respond- ents, was pre-tested to reduce any ambiguities.
TABLE OF CON'I'ENTS
TITLE PAGE
CERTIFICATION
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Al3STRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF TABLES
CHAPTER 1:
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Statement of Problem
Purpose of the Study
Objectives of the Study
Formulation of Hypothesis
Significance of the Study
Limitations of the Study
Definitions of Terms
CHAPTER 2
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
CHAPTER 3
SCOPE, RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Scope
Methodology
Sbuctusing the InstrumentlPse-Testing
Determination of Sample Size
Sampling Procedure
CHAPTER 4:
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
CHAPTER 5:
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Test of Hypothesis
CHAPTER 6:
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Results
Conclusion
BlBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX - Research Questionnaire
LIST OF TABLES
Tables
Determination of Response Rate
Age Classification of Respondents
Classification of Respondents according to Salaty
Classification of Respondents according to Official Status
Classification of Respondents according to Sections of IInsinr?.ss Ti111es always read
Classification of Respondents according to Features Articles they enjoy reading
in Business Tiuzes
Classification according to why Respondents read the sections they read in
Business Times
Classification of Respondents according to their rating of Business Times
Classification of Respondents according to their views on the threat daily newspapers
pose to Business Times
Classification of Respondents who do not read Business Times at all and why
Classification of Respondents according to Occupation
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION.
Daily financial journalism made its debut in London on January 23, 1SS4 with the publication
of the Firznrzcinl News. It was followed by the Firinncinl ' T i r ~z l c on Fcbruary 13, ISSS,
Biddlecomb (197 1 : 11). "Ten years ago, only the serious papers concentrared on money and
investment, today, they are all in the act."
In Nigeria however, the story is different. Although, the first newspaper, Iwe Ii-olrirz was
published in Abeokuta, Ogun State by Reverend Henry Townsend on Dccember 3, 1859,
Duyile (1987 ; 16), business and financial journalism did not start in the country until the
1970s.
Immediately after independence in 1960, the environment was not conducive for business
and financial jousnalisn~ because the required financial institutions that could enhance trade
and investment in the country were not in existence. The nation could only boast of the
Central Bank and the Lagos Stock Exchange (now the Nigerian Stock Exchange) establishcd
in 1959 and 1960 respectively and may be, the Nigeria Industrial Dcvelopment Bank among
a few others. All of these establishments put together were not enough as there was need for
the establishment of othesstrategic industries in key sectors of the economy that will stimulate
all areas of trade and commerce on which business and financial journalism thrivcs.
So, following the promulgation of the Nigerian Enterprises Pron~otion Decree in 1972 and
the subsequent privatization of all foreign-owned companies, which raised the number of
securities listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange from 49 in 1970 to 85 in 1975, Okafor
(1983 : 97), the need for separate newspapers to adequately report the growing economy
arose. This made the Daily Times of Nigeria PIC to establish the BUSINESS TIMES in
September 1975 to start disseminating timely information on the buying and selling of shares
on the rapidly evolving local capital market and other business activities. Speaking on the
establ~shmcnt of UUS1NES.S 71ME.S. lhc then Cllairman, 13oartl 01' L)irccloi.s o l ' I ) r \ l l , l ' ' l ' l r \ I I iS
OF NIGERIA PLC, Alhaji Aliko Mohammed said, "there was necd to protlucc i1 rcliablc
and aulhoritative medium of information that will record, interpret and ~.cinforcc o u r ~ ~ r i ~ g g l e
forecononiic nationalism and industrial dignily". Reacting to tllc ~ I c v c ~ o ~ ~ I ~ I c I ~ ~ , SOIIIC otlic~.
media establishments in the country set up their own weekly business and financial
newspapers among which were Financial PLLI~CII , B L L Y ~ I Z ~ S S Coi~cord, Fi1mlci~11 Post ( I I ~
Fi~zaizcial Guardian. The remaining newspaper houses only published weekly pull-outs or
columns of business and financial news in thcir daily newspapers. Except for Fi~lciizcinl
Stmzdard which came to the newsstand in Novcmber 1999, and whose impact in the market
can not yet be fully determined the BUSINESS TIMES has all these years dominated the
nation's business, economic and financial newspaper market because others, including the
four mentioned above (Firzaizcial P ~ m c h , B~lsiizess COIZCOI-d, Fiizallcial Post nizd Fii7n17cirrl
Guardian) could not stand the test of time.
As the finances of most media establishments worsen following a gradual decline in their
sales and advertisement revenue, Media Review (1993:9), i t has become most expedient for
BUSINESS TIMES to take a critical look at its market to be able LO produce a business and
financial newspaper that will continue to satisfy the needs and wants of ils scadcrs.
Generally, demographic and psychographic changes take place which froni time to time
change reader's profiles. Today's readers for instance, are very busy people whose needs,
desires and aspirations may be quite different from those of about fivc ycars ago. As
BUSINESS TIMES is this year in its 25 years of uninterrupted prodllction, this makes i t
highly necessary for i t to take a look at the characteristics of its readers to know how best
the readers can be satisfied in this new millennium.
1.1 Background To The Study.
BUSINESS TIMES was established on September 30, 1975 by the Daily Times of Nigeria
Plc. The need to set up the newspaper arose from the company's desii-e not only to set the
pace of financial journalism in the country, but also to produce a medium of information that will
record, interpret and reinforce Nigeria's struggle for economic natio~ialism a~icl iiidustrinl dignity.
Its establishment came on the heels of the promulgation of the Nigerian Entci-priscs Promotion
Decree of 1974, which transfe~red the ownership of foreign busincsses to Nigerians, a development
which gave the nation's stock market a big boost.
So, for the past 25 years, BUSINESS TIMES has been in existcncc. Thcrc is no doubt t l in t
since then, a lot of changes has taken place in the newspaper market. Markets as we know
are very dynamic and this dynamism has to be put into consideration by the Daily Times of
Nigcria PIC while producing its ncwspapcrs among which is BUSINESS 7'fMES. I f this is
not done and quickly too, other medium just coming up might eat into thc market share of
BUSINESS TIMES and this will reduce its total revenue and profit.
This study is therefore to enable the Daily Times of Nigeria PIC which publishes and markets
BUSINESS TIMES to properly understand the present-day business and financial newspaper
market, so that its goal of business and financial information dissemination can be achieved
profitably without compromising the quality of its product. Many newspaper houses are
now having it rough financially due to rising production costs Media Review (June 1991:3)
in the face of declining sales and advertisement revenue but they never find out why this is
SO.
Statement Of The Problem
The major problem of this study is to reveal the general characteristics of business and
financial newspaper readers using the Nigerian setting.
Tlie special problems to address include thc following:
i. Are the readers only interested in news items that concern theirjobs or organizations? . . 11. Do they read sections of the publication such as the capital market and financial
news pages among others, to aid them in making reasonable investment decisions?
.,. 111. Do they see the daily general interest newspapers publishing business and Financial news
as good substitutes for the specialized weekly business and financial ncwspapcrs?
i v. Are the readers more in the financial services sector than in other scctors of the nation's
economy?
v. What day of the week do the readers get BUSINESS TIMES to buy'?
vi. Are the readers bcttcr informed and educalcd by reading I3USliVES.S 'I ' IMIiS?
vii. What overall sating do the renders give to BUSINESS TIMES? ...
vii~. Do readers considcr colour and graphics when buying ncwspapcrs?
1.3 Purpose Of The Study
I. The purpose of this study is to provide the basic means by which the Daily 'Times of
Nigeria PIC can produce and sell the best and most patronized business and financial
newspaper possible. This will enablc the company to reduce Ihc number of unsold
copies and mitigate the effect of competition. . . 1 1 . The study will also help to reduce the areas of decision wliicli rcquire human
judgement. This means that the study will make it possible to substitute fxtual
information in areas where judgement used to be the only available management
tool.
1.4 Objectives Of The Study
The Objectives are:
I . To find out i f the readers are only interested in news items that concern theisjobs or
organizations; . . 11. to ascertain if they read some specific sections of thc BUSINESS TIMES such as
capital market or financial market pages among others, in order to assist lhcni in
making reasonable investment decisions; ... 111.. to ascertain whether the daily general interest ncwspapcr publishing busiiicss and
financial news are good substitutes for weekly business and financial newspapers;
i v.
v.
Vl.
vii. . . .
VI11.
to find out if the rcadcrs arc morc in thc Iinancial scrviccs scclosof h c cconomy than in
any other sectors;
to ascertain the day of the week thc seadcrs get BUSINESS 7'11ClI3' 10 buy;
to find out i f the readcrs are well informed and cducatccl by rcacling I3USINI3'S
TIMES;
to ascertain thc overall sating the renders give to BUSINESS TIMES; and
to make secommendations in line with available observntions.
1.5 Formulation Of Hypotheses
HO,: The readers are only interested in some specific sections of BUSINESS TIMES.
HO,: The business column of the daily general interest newspapers are good substitutes for
weekly business and financial newspapers.
HO,: The readers are more in the financial services sector than in any other sector of the
economy.
HO,: The readers are better informed and educated by reading BUSINESS TIMES;
HO,: BUSINESS TIMES is highly rated by the readers.
1.6 Significance Of The Study
The aim of every producer is to sell his commodity and earn sonie psofi~. To l x nblc lo do
this, the producer must know who the consumers of his products are, among others, and the
right type of goods these consumers actually want. So, the significance of this study therefose
can better be seen from the perspective of the intimate knowledge of thc market i t will
afford the publishers of business and financial newspapers, hence, enhancing the quality of
business reporting.
The findings of the study will serve as a useful reference material fosthe acaclemic world, while the
Nigerian newspaper ~ c a d c ~ s will bc kttcr scl-vcd, thus enabling rhcm lo m;Ac proli~;\hlc invcsr ~ n c n ~
decisions and have value for money. The newspaper industry stands to derive tremendous benefit
from the study in te~ms of overall financial improvement through higher salcs and udva-tisement
revenue.
Limitations Of The Study.
( i> The study lacked enough people especially for data collection.
(i i) It involved a lot of money and time which posed as major constraints to the
study.
(iii) Respondents were not easily forthcoming especially in meeting lip with deadline
for return of completed questionnaires.
(iv> As a specialized area ofjournalism which is relatively young in Nigeria, business
and financial reporting hardly have books written by local authors. So, this presented
some problems in the literature review.
(v) By using the instrument of questionnaire, this researcher was not in a position to
control the information obtained from respondents, which was analyzed and
Interpreted and which of course, depenclcd on thc truth1'ulncss, mood, at~~(ucIc and
opinion of the respondents.
(vi> This study was carried out in Lagos, which is believed to be the commercial
nerve centre of Nigeria, but the information gathered was used to make
generalization for the whole of the country. This, i n ilself is a limiting factos.
However, in view of these and other limitations, the researcher made efforts LO can'y out a
balanced study so that credible and worthwhile findings and reconimenclations could be
made.
1.8 Definition Of Terms.
The following words used in the study are defined below:
Age: This means that respondents aged I S ycurs nntl abovc wcrc sclcctcd sincc thcy
constitute adults going by the Nigerian legal system which puts voting aSe at 18
years and above.
Capital market is that segment of thc financial masket that clculs with long-term
financial claims and obligations.
Circulation means the number of copies printed and distributed for sale in each
issue of a newspapel:
Education is the level of formal academic and professional training.
Financial sector consists of financial intermediaries such as Banks, I ~ S L I S ~ I ~ C C fisms
among others that regulate Ihe flow of funds through the cconomy.
Income means the earning of a respondent per annum.
Media refer to all means of information dissemination. In the case of this study, it
means the press, that is, newspapers and magazines.
Media organizations: These mean the establishments that engage in the business of
information dissemination e.g. radio, television, newspapers and magazine
establishmentq,.
Media research is a systematic and objective study of any of the means of information
dissemination with a view to finding solution to any of the problems arising therefrom.
Newspaper readers refer to people exposed to any of the contents of a newspaper,
either through reading it or looking into it.
Occupation refers to what a respondent does for a living, that is, hislher means of
livelihood. Examples are joul-nalism, teaching, banking etc.
Pullouts are parts of a newspaper or magazine devotccl to a pasticular subject matter.
Securities refer to all income-earning assets such as company shares and bonds.
Sex refers to whether the respondent is a male or female
Shares, also referred to as stocks, are units of a company that represent partial
ownership.
CHAPTER TWO
2.0 LITERATURE IU3VIEW
Company news is big news because the whole nature of the society is becoming more money and
investment-conscious. This is reflected in the value of market capitalization of securities listed on
the Nigerian Stock Exchange put at about N2S2 billion in 1997, KPMG Nigcria Capilnl Market
Survey, (199811999: 18). As the society becomes more business-conscious, busincssmcn too are
becoming more business-minded. This shows the impostnnce of mar-keling rcscarch in I'inding
solutions to marketing problems in all businesses.
Market research is not a luxury. It is a necessity of modem business development and if not undertaken
professionally because of the cost, it should ilt least be studied and applied as far as possible within
the limits of the business.
In the media industry, various publications worldwide have conducted readership surveys. An
extension of research in this direction was sponsored by LIFE Magazine in New York, United
States. The study, according to Luck et.al, (1964:431), measured the number of persons who read
one, two, three and niore issues of the magazine, thus showing the advertiser "the total number of
different people who are reached by several issues.
Another quantitative aspect of the print media that interests advertisers is the volun~e of advertising
carried by a publication. Important issues here are the relative cost of the respective newspapers
and their appropriateness for the particular advertisement.
Much as every newspaper owes its advertisers an exact definition of its readership, this study which
will classify the readers of BUSINESS TIMES, a business, economic and financial newspaper in
terms of sex, age, location or occupation among others, is similar to the one conducted by LIFE
magazine. So the importance of this study stems from the assistimce i t will give to (both the company
and) its advertiser i n knowing the typc ol'pcoplc reading thc ncwspi\pcl., 1.01 rhc xl\/cstiscl \yi\nts to
.
place his consumer advertising in the media which reach the largest buying markct for his pasticular procluct.
To this end, the proportion of a newspaper readership belonging to difkrent psofessional groups is very
useful.
This is the thrust of the argument of Luck et.al, who views media ~~csearch as bcing conccrncd with
the ability of advertisement to get maximum number of prospective buyers. In any case, this is just
one aspect of media research.
According to Frank (1969:218) media provide marketing information primarily to inform the
advertiser and to promote the medium. Many media also offer their clients and prospects advisory
services on marketing problems within their geographic or product areas. Media representatives,
too, furnish primarily media information and, at times, parallel marketing information for the medium
for which they act as selling organizations.
As rightly observed by Frank, most media research, however, are produced by the mcclium's own
research department or by outside research organizations working on a contract basis. Occasionally,
newspapers probe beyond brand preferences and product use into consumer buying habits, psychology
and characteristics, and make special presentations of such findings to advertisers and their agencies.
In her New Demographic Study of newspaper readership by womcn in the United States, Canada,
Great Britain, West Germany, Latin, America and Australia, Bartos (19893246) observes that carcer
women are the heaviest readers in the United States and Canada but they rankcd second to just-a-
job working wonien in Great Britain.
According to her, West Germany women are responsive to newspapers: 74 percent of hoi~sewives
and 67 percent of working women read newspapers daily. She said not surprisingly, workingwomen
are more likely than housewives to read financial papers. "In fact, working women are 25 percent
above the norm'of readership of financial papers.. ...."
In the three Latin American countries, calccr women i1I.c co~lsisrcll~ly Ihc Iw;~vics~ sc;liIc~.s ol'~\c\\~sl)i~l)c~'s,
even though the absolute levels of reade~ship v:uy markcdly from counlry Lo coirntsy.
Newspaper reading is a very stsong habit in Venczucla. Thrcc out of five ol'rhc homcwi\w and rhc
just-a-job wosking women are heavy rci~dcrs ol' ncwspul)crs, just l i kc 77 pcrccnl 01' ci1i.ccl womcn.
Only a minority of any of the segments of women are light newspaper seadess.
In Mexico, approximately one in fous housewives and just-a-job working wonicli are heavy rcaclers
of newspapers. On the olher hand, almost half of career women are heavy rcadcss. I-Iousewivcs and
just-a-job working women in Brazil are most likely to be light newspaper rcnclcrs, while career
women are almost equally divided among heavy readers, medium rcnclers, and light rcadcrs. .
Four out of five Australian women (82 percent) read a morning newspaper according to Bastos,
while the plan-to-work housewives are far more likely to read newspapers in the morning (85
percent). The percentages of the two segments of working womcn-just-a-.job working women
and career women - in their morning newspaper readership are 93 pcsccnt and 96 pesccnr.
Although readerships of afternoon papers is lower than that of n~orning paper, thcre is less
difference in the reading level of housewives and working women. Two out of thrce
Australian women read an afternoon
newspaper (66 percent). Stay-at-home housewives are least likely to read one (63 pescent), whereas
just-a-job working women are most likely to do so (72 percent).
Readership of Sunday and Weekly papers is similar to (hat of af~ernoon papcss. Ovcsall, stay-at-
home housewives are least likely to read newspapers and plan-to-work housewi vcs rcscmblc women
who are already in the work force, in their reading habits. It is impostant to observe that the reading
habit of women in general may have a positive impact on the members of theis households.
In his consideration of the characteristics of media research, Crisp (1957:755) notes that "advertising
media are service businesses. They are exlremely competitive. That competition is bolh general,
between different types of media (television versus newspapers I'orexamplc); uncl spccil'ic, bctwccn
individual media of thc same typc, as betwcen Chicago l'ribunc for inst;lncc, ;lntl ~ h c Ch~cago
Daily News for a share of newspaper advertising volume in thc Chicago markct". Thc salc of
advertising space or lime represcnts the major souscc of revcnue for ndvestising mcclia.
The objective of most marketing research by advertising media is promotional. I n mosl cases, Crisp
says the marketing research sponsosed by advertising medin is conducted with the expectation that
i t can be used as a sales tool by the media sponsoring the I-esenrcli.
In their own presentation, Ferber and Wales (1958:21) say when advertiser, agcncy, and n~anufacturer
turn to research, they realIy are interested in finding answers which will ennblc them to sell more of
their particular brand of merchandise or service.
Usually, the manufacturer knows quite a few of the answcrs and has matlc quite il few corwct
moves. Manufacturer looks at research as one more tool LO help him in his daily task of making
decisions.
Particularly, when he is attempting to reach and influence consumers, whether housewives or
purchasing agents, he wants additional information about their behaviour, which will permit him to
make additional correct moves. He seeks information which will tell him:
(i) Who buys his products and who does not.
(ii) Who can be sold his product and who cannol.
(iii) Why people do or do not buy his product.
(iv) How he can reach more customers with his message most effectively and
economically.
(v) The future of market prediction of trends.
most
~gee ing ' tha t since publications depend on advertising revenues for most of their income, Lucky
(1972:42)ct.al add that thcy nccd to I'incl I't~cts tl1;tt will sliow ;dvcs~iscss 111cir \~;~lilc ;IS ~iicxli:~. "111 1111, 1x1~1.
they have tended to sacrifice objectivity and frankness to sales promotion". Cursc~itly, mcdiu dcsisc not
only to convince businessmen of their valuc but also to providc hclpful hcts on maskcls, distribution
channels, and methods of promoting and meschandising psoducts.
Another writer on marketing research agrees that marketing research by advcrtising rncclia is primarily
for promotional purposes, and often contains by-product values quite differcnr from the intcndcd
promotional applications. Leighton (1966:127) says some of tlic scscmli is tlonc for thcir own
management guidance; some of..it done for sales-promotion purposes, in selling thcir particular
media; some of i t is done as a servicc to their advertisers or potcntinl ndvcstiscss.
Asscssments of the media need to be kept up-to-date, as the credibility of thc mcdin may changc
over time. But where the publics have strong expectations and attitudes towards cestain media,
these may have to be carefully assessed. Coulson - Thomas (1953:252) points out that placing an
advertisement, for example, in a party-political journal could be taken by niany readers as cvidence
of political support. A message's credibility, he says will reflcct the credibility of thc mcclia that
carries i t . Readers may also raise questions about n change i n media ownership, hc postulates.
It is also the view of Coulson - Thomas that a publication h a t is associatctl with an established
'stable' may appear more authoritative than a similar one established as n onc-off vcnturc. This in
fact is why the products of some new media establishments in Nigeria for instance, liavc difficulty
in the market.
But this does not remove the fact that there may be a few cases wlicse somc experienced and
popular editors or broadcasters lend prestige to some new media outfits as a foscc ro reckon willi. A
business and financial newspaper putting across strong analyses and viewpoints o n cursent economic
issues will be regularly sought for by readers who will like to identify with thcm.
Successful press in the long run are those that respect thcir reitdess and always publish what they
like to read. This means such media should occasionally take objective and critical look at thc~nsclvcs lor
self appraisal. This type ofexercise took placc in Lagos sccently.
Egbochukwu, The Guardian, (Monday, February 2S,2000:62) former deputy Managing Director,
Concord Press of Nigcsia Limited who spoke at the recent two-day \vorI<sIi~p in Lagos put the total
production figure of all newspapers in the country a1 250,000 copies per clay. This figuse which is
abysmally low is grossly inadequate according to him, in a country where "ovcr 40 mill~on pcople
are literate and eight million or 20 percent of them can affosd to buy newspapers everyday."
If publishing is apast from being a business, a social service, according to Obasa, General Manager,
The News, The Guardian, (Monday February 28, 2000:62) thcn govcsn~iicnt mi~st assisl the nicdia
by giving concession that will make production input cheaper so that publisiiers will not be conipelled
to raise their cover price and advertisement rates. If cover price contini~cs to rise for instance,
people will go to where they can sead newspapers free. May be this is why Egbochukwu did not
take kindly to the issue of cover price increase, for which he blamed publishers who he said are in
the craze for colour which is very expensive. There is no doubt that colous will definitely attract a
few more readers who may not be very regular, but then Egbochukwu c~ucried whciher colour
should be the priority of newspapers that are in the business of mass comni~~nication?
In his write-up on Some Implications of Rapidly Changing Technology in Society on Measurement
of Media Delivery published in Attitude Research in Transition, Haley (1972:3S), Simmons,
President, W.F. Simmons Association Research Inc. Points out that:
Indeed, in their function as disseminarors of knowledge about innovations and dcvclopments, the
media have contributed in a major way to the rapid ancl accclcratcd iransiiion in social and
technological trends. In fulfilling their role as a major C O I I I ~ ~ ~ U I O I ~ and influence upon changing
customs, social attitude and life style, it is the belief of Simn~ons that the nicdia havc, in turn been
substantially affected by rhc very tsends that havc liclpcd io crcatc, whci11c1- i r bc bcncficiarics os
victims in any given case.
This view is partly alluded to by Macluhen, Haley (1972:39), when they say "the mcclium is thc
message," adding, the media deliver such a vast alray of matesiuls that individual aclvestising nmsages
are simply swallowed up to such a n extcnt that individi~ul ntl\cr.tising idc~l~il'ic;~rion is vis1~1;11ly
non-existent.
However, Simmons agrees that the nature and character of thc media, their sclationsliip to their
audiences, as well as the attitudes toward various media, of the public at large, are all irretrievably
a past of the ever more rapidly moving sequence of evolutionary or revolutionary changes that seem
destined to be a way of life of the 1970s.
Advocating the introduction of better measures of Lhc effcctivc~icss of mccliu dc1ivc1-y of udvcrtising
messages as well as the effectiveness of the advertising messages themselves bccuuse of thc rapidly
changing attitudes, life styles and social values of the peoplc. I-Ialey says for n long time, we've
heard about the very low levels of recall and of correct brand identification that are nssociatcd with
commercials. He said for a long time, researchers have been \\/ell aware of tllc vcry high lcvcl of
confusion that sussounds print advertising.
The basis of his argument is that for either television or print mcdia, i t is all too easy to slio\v that
only a small fraction of those exposed to the medium can recall or even secognizc the advertising
message a short time later or about half oC those who do claim to rccognizc the mcssugc will oftcn
incorrectly identify the brand or claim to have seen a message that was not thcse in fact. This is what
Kotler (1980:486) refers to as [actors of perceptual defcnce which opesnte to cut clown thc reach
and impact of mass media.
Traditionally, all persons who read or look into an issue of magazine or ncwspaper comprise its
audience or readers. But the full reach of a media vehicle include all individuals who have opportunity
whatsoever to be affected by its contents.
Haley however has come up with a classillcation of the rypcs of scading that rakc ~>li\cc. Tllcsc i ~ ~ c l ~ ~ c l c h c
number of times the issuc (newspaper) 1s pckcd up, thc ni~rnbcrol'rcncli~lg clays. tlic nurnhc~ol';lcl\~c~-tisi~ig
page exposure, the amount of time spent rcading, readcss i~ttitudcs towar-cls nc\vspapcs, as wcll as x t i v i tics
such as reference to the issue, coupon clipping, recipe saving 01. sccipc tsying and lctrcrs to rllc cditor.
Thecommon denominator between all of these different kinds of measure is that they indicate oral least
imply a level of reader's involvement going bcyoncl the II~CI-e qucslion of looking inlo 111c issuc.
One fortunate thing common to thesc mcnsuses is that rhcy asc cxrsemcly cl~ll'icrllt to pin do\vn wirh
an acceptable level of validity and to interpret in a way that fairly represenrs rhe potential of each
magazine for an advertiser.
The queslion of validity of course, strikes at the foi~ndation of that which makcs rescarch more
useful than misleading. What good is i t to have highly relevant statistics conceptually, i f onc cannot
measure them with sufficient accuracy to permit fair compasisons bctwccn mccliu?
One major problem in making measurements of attitude toward media according to Haley is the
difficulty of establishing a series of attitude questions that will provide a fais and equitable basis on
which to judge different newspapers or magazines. The problem, of coussc, lies in thc inherent
differences between various kinds of magazine. The widely diffescnt pusposes which diffesent
magazines are designed to serve and the entire editorial concept of lhc m:~g:uincs tliffcr a great
deal, so greatly that anyone's attitude dimension is bound to Favour one kind ol'publicarion over the
others. For instance, business and financial magazir~es or ncwspapcss :~sc II~II-dly clesigncd to be
entertaining and so on, lor a wide range of attitudes.
In conclusion, one in~portant point about rcndcrship survcy ilnd which media ~.csc;~rchc~.s scc111 lo
agree upon is that since it requires a voluntary and purposcf ove on thc part of lhc rcaders lo uLs, pick up a particular newspaper or magazine to read and d e F B G X t i s e r s to put their advertisement .. *'
Haley however hascome up with a classification of the types oft-cading that lakc p l ~ c . Thcsc irlcluclc rhc
number of times h e issuc (navspapcr) is ptckcd up, ~l ic ntlmbcr of ~cacling c1;iys. ~lic ni~liil~c~.ol';~cl\lc~-~islng
page exposure, the amount of lime spenl rcading, readcrs alliludcs lowulrls nc\\isl>i\l)cl', as well as activilles
such as reference to the issue, coupon clipping, recipe saving or rccipe tsying ancl Ictters to thc cditor,
The common denominator between all of these different kinds of measure is th :~t hcy inclicatc or at least
imply a levcl of render's involvement going bcyond [he rncrc qucsrion of looking illro rhc ~cs i~c .
One forlunale thing common to these mcasures is thul lhcy arc cxlrenlcly diil'ici~lt to pin clown wlth
an acceptable level of validity and to interpret i n a way thal fairly represents h e porential of each
magazine for an advertises.
The question of validity of course, strikes at the foundation of that which mitkes resenrch more
useful than misleading. What good is i t to have highly relevant statistics conceptually, i f onc cannot
measure them with sufficient accul-acy to permit fair comparisons betwccn mcdia'?
One major problem i n making measurements of attirude to\vnrd mcdia according lo I-Idey is the
difficulty of establishing a series of attitude questions that will provide a fair and equitable basis on
which to judge different newspapers or magazines. The problem, of cousse, lies i n the inherent
differences between various kinds of magazine. The widely different purposes which different
magazines are designed to serve and the entire editorial concept of the ni:igazincs differ a great
deal, so greatly that anyone's attitude dimension is bound to favour one kind ol'publicution ovcr the
others. For instance, business and financial magazines or ncwspnpcrs asc hardly dcsigncd ro be
entertaining and so on, for a wide range of attitudes.
In conclusion, onc important point about rcodcrship su~vcy and which mcclia I . C S C ~ I ~ C ~ C I . S sccni to
agree upon is that since i t requires a voluntasy and purposcf ove on thc part of the rcaders to uh2 pick up a particular newspaper or magazine to read and &@FE2LDti*ri 10 put their advertlsemcnt
t -, .,
1 .
in aparticularmedium, it goes to say that whetheror not resulrs of sci~dcsship susvcys arc niaclc public, ~ h c
strength ofeach medium is alrcady known 10 ~ h c public. This is I<no\vn rl11~0ugh rllc vol11111c ol'i~tlvcr~risc~~~cnt
carricd by a lnediurn I'r-on1 timc ro rimc, which is gcncrally I.)cIicvccl lo Ix ;I I't111crio11 oI'111c c:s[crllI oI'11lc
newspaper's circulation or reach.
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 SCOPE, RESEARCH DESIGN AND NIE'I'MODOLOGY
This chapter describes the scope of thc study, the scscarch design and thc mcthodology that
was uscd in rhc 1.csc~u~c1i pro.jcct. I t highligl~ts thc gcograpl~ici~l l inl i t 01' thc rcscarch, Llic
steps followed i n data collection, how the questionnaisc was s r ~ u c r ~ ~ ~ c d , sample size
determination and the sampling proceclure.
3.1 Scope
For the purpose of cfficiency a n d going by thc nalurc of this slt~dy, ~ncrnlxrs of the pilblic
who are readers.of BUSINESS TIMES within Lagos wcre samplecl. The sti~dy rherefore
focused attention on issues which include age, sex, income, educational standard, sectoral
distribution of the readers, and what the readcrs en-joy reading most in UUSINESS T IMES
among others.
3.2 Mcthodology
Although the basis of this study can be found i n a conceptual litcsutusc rcvicw, the
methodology was purely empirical. Prior to the study, in order to asscss thc validity of a
study like this, some BUSINESS TIMES readess were interviewed. 'Thc information gathered
from the interview was very useful in the questionnaisc design and hypotheses fosn~ulation.
3.3 Structuring The Instrument / Pre-Testing
Questionnaire was used for- data collection, and thc instmmcnt cnablccl rcaclcr's opinion to
be sampled.
The questionnaire which consisted of one "Yes" or "No" question, ;1 fcw open-cndcd clucslions
and many close-ended questions with alternatives ranging between ~hrce and tcn, enabled
the researcher to achieve the objective of the study and test the hypotheses. The opcn-ended
questions allowed respondents to freely express heir views while the closc-ended questions gave
the respondents options to tick their responses to achieve responsc unifomity.
Thequestionnaire was dcsigned toelicit information from 200 respondents from fous~najot~zoncs
into which the Lagos metropolis \\us dividcd. 'l'hcsc zoncs are Lagos I s l :~~d , Lagos i\/l;~inl;~ncl,
Apapa and Ikeja.
In order to reduce ambiguity and ensuse irs validity a n d ~cliabilily, rhc cli~cstionnaisc w a s
pre-tested by administering i t to somc 15 rcspontlcnts. 'Thc inf'orlnatiorl obiainctl al'ter- scosi~lg
thc responses obtained from the pse-testing was vcry i~scful i n revising h c qucstion~~aise.
The revision entailed some changes in \he choicc and structusc ol' the questions, and Illis
enabled the researcher to determine certain difficulties which scspon dents might face while
completing the questionnaire. All of thcse shortcomings were subscqc~cntly coslccrecl.
3.4 Determination Of Sample Size
The success and failure probability (pq) was usccl fos the binomial suliipling mcihocl. This
was arrived at through a pilot study involving a sampling of 15 scspondenrs, who wcrc
asked i f they were satisfied with what they read i n BUSINESS TIMES. Three or 20% of the
respondents said "Yes" which represents "p," positive responses, whilc 12 or- 80% said
"No", representing "q," the negative responses.
Sample determination formula is therefore as follows:-
n = Z 1 ~ l c '
Where n = the samplc size
p = the percentage of posilivc responses obscrvcd
q = the percentage of negative response observed
z = thc level of confidcnce or- the number- of
standard deviation chosen
e = the limit of to1es;lble erros arising as a scsulr
of the level of confidence chosen.
Taking cognizance of the result of the previous pilot study wherc p = 20% and q = SO(%, and at
95% confidence level or z = 1.96 standard deviation and at 5% tolcritble c ~ ~ o r , the sample size
can be obtained by substituting tlicsc vulucs for L , p, (1 and c in tlic cqrrarioii Z'(pc1) as I'oIlo\\rs:- --
. For convenience purposes, one can work with a sample size of 245. It is hoped that this
sample size will be able to explain the specializccl ch;~nictcris~ics of birsincss iind ('iniuicial
newspaper readership in Lagos and Nigeria in gencral.
3.5 Sampling Procedure
The sampling procedure used to ensure that thc data collection mcthotls acliicvcs, maximum
results are cluster sampling, quota sampling and random sampling.
The cluster sampling mnclc i t possiblc to titkc notc o f tllc bi.oi~d ~ l i ~ ~ ~ i f i c i ~ t i o n of Lagos
metropolis into four zones or clusters namely, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainlunti, Apapa and
Ikeja.
Using the Lagos Street Map, each of the four zoncs is further- clividcd into a 21-grid format
in sorting out the streets for riundoni sampling.
For instance, Ikcja consists of six gsids which inclirdc arcas Iikc A b ~ ~ l c Egb;~, Il'ako, Agege,
Ojodu, IpGa-Dopemu and Ojota-Ikosi-Kelu. L~tgos Mainland sh:t~.cs sis grids wit11 Il<e.in
and they are Ikotun-Egbe, Mnfoluku, Barign, Su~xlcr-e, Ijcgiin and Yaba, \V/\iiP (1995: 19).
The two other zones - Apapa and Lagos Island liavc I'ous grids and fivc grids rcspcctivcly.
communities i n Apapa zone are FIZSTAC and Satcllitc Town, A.jcgiinle, Osilc-Iganrnit,
Itire and Olodi-Apapa. The Lagos Islnncl cornmuni~~es arc Ijoru, E b ~ k - M c r ~ ~ . Oyingbo, Olx~lcntlc,
Ikoyi and Victoim Island.
Simple I-andom sitmpling was laterc;u.ried out to sclecr a SI-id cnch I'I.OIX h c I ' O L I I . zoncs. \\'i[h rhe
aid of Lagos Street Index and anolher round of simplc rmdom sunpling, srrmrs WCIT sclccrcd
from the sampled grids, Sor which lucky dip was ntloptctl lo cli mili;lk rlic l i k~Ii11wd oI'l)i;\s i I I tlxil.
selection.
In Ikeja zone, grid number six was first sclectcd, then Allcn Avcnirc Str-ect I~ollo\vcd. I n
Lagos Mainland, the renth grid and subsequenrly Fadcyi-Yah-Akoka ; \ X I S \\-crc sclccretl.
Apapa zonc, rhc fil'teenth grid a n d LVarchousc !<oi\tl were s111.vcycd \vll~lc Ihc clgh~ccnlli
grid and Broad Street were sclectcd for Lagos Island.
After that, quota sampling was used in each of the stl-ccts sclectccl such tlw copics 01' tllc
questionnaire were administered to the first 50 respontlenls in each ol'tllc I'onr ;u.ci~s In ra[lo :i:3
for male and female.
CHAPTER FOUR
4.0 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
In this chapter is presented the data extracted from the questionnaires that were reti~rncd to the
researcher by 225 respondents all of whom are busincss and financial nc\vspupci I.C;~(~CI.S. 111 ; i l l , 245
qilestionnaires were administered. BLIL aftcr closcly cxa~nining ~ h c 225 1.ct111.1lcd c ~ u c s ~ i o ~ l ~ l ; ~ i ~ ~ c s , i~
was observed that 20 of them were neither incomplcrc nos inconsistcn~ and thcy \vcrc r~jccicti. 'l'hc
response sate is therefore presented i n Table 4.0 below.
TABLE 4.0
In the above table, a response ratio of "V/,,, or 92% is shown. 13111 [he cl'l'cctivc rcsponsc satlo
however is 205/2,,=84% on account of thc sejected q~~cs~ionnaiscs. 'fhc sathcr 1ligl-i ~ c s p o ~ ~ s c I-ate 1s
attributed to the high frequency of visits to the scspondenrs and rhc fairly long pcriod usctl Sol- data
collection.
Starting from section 4.1 below, cach item i n the questionnaiscs was ;lnalysccl and thc ~cscaschcr~
used tables, percentages and bar chast to present thc dat~l for propcs illusts:l~ion.
DETERMINATION OF ItESPONSE IIA'IT
4.1 AGE CLASSIFICATION OF RESPONDENTS
Respondents were asked to state their age bracket. The result obtained sho\vecl that 2 1 scsponses
came from 18-24 years age bracket, 35 from 25-29,37 from 30-34, while 50 the highest, came from
35-39 agc bracket. From 40-44 age brackct, wc had 37,45-49, we hacl 15 and 7 fsom 50 ycass and
above.
No. of
questionnaires
administered
245
Sorlrcc: Srlrvcy data, .Jrrl)~ 2000
No. of
questionnaires
returned
225
No. of
questionnaires
ryjectetl
20
No. of
questionnaires
l~setl
205
Response
Rate
2.1 5 I?" 3 2 %
Effective
Response
Rate
2 . 1 ~ ?05/ .=8:1 % -
Age group (in years)
18-24
25-29
30-34
35-39
40-44
45-49
50 and above
Total
Sorrrce: Srrrvey data, Jrrly 2000.
4.2 CLASSIFICA'I'ION OF IIESI'ONI>I<NrI'S ACCORDING 'I'O SALARY
Respondents were asked to state their salary bracket. The I-esult obtained sliowcd t h a ~ 22 ~~csponscs
earn less than N5,000, 11 earn between N5,000 and N9,999,20 earn betwecn N 10,000 and N19,999
while 15 earn between N20,000 and N29,999. Twenty thrcc earn berwcen N30,000 and N39,9999,21
earn belween N40,000 and N49,999 whilc 93 cam N50,000 and abovc.
'I'AUIX 4.2
CLASSIFICATION OF RESI'ON1)ENl'S ACCORDING '1'0 SALAltY
Salary per annunl
Under N5,OOO
N5,OOO-N9,999
N10,OOO-N19,999
N20,OOO-N29,999
N30,OOO-N39,999
N40,OOO-N49,999
N50,OOO and above
Total
No. of Response
22
Sonrce: Srirvey data, July 2000
4.3 Classification of Respondents According to Ot'licial status
Respondents were asked to state their official status, l'hc tzsult obtainccl sho\ved t h i \ t I9 were either
company chairmen or ~i~anaging dircc~ors, 19 cvcrc cscculivc d i rcc~o~x, 2 1 \\/crc gc~lc~.i\l milnagcl.s,
64 were managers, 79 were officers whilc 13 were clcrks.
TABLE 4.3
CLASSIFICATION OF RESPONDISN'I'S ACCOI<I>ING '1'0 01'171 CI ;I I. S'I',\'I'US
4.4 CLASSIFICATION OF RESPONDEN'I'S ACC'OK1)ING 'I'O M ARI'I'A I., S'I'A'I'US
Respondents were asked to state their marital status , ~ n d the result obtainccl sho\vcd rha l S4 \\!ere
single, 107 were married, 11 were divorced while 3 wcre widow.
Official Status
ChairmanJMD
Director
G NI
Manager
Officer
Clerk
Total
No. of I<csl~onsc
9
19
21
64
7 9
13
205
Source: Survey data, July 2000
'1'ARI.E 4.4
CLASSIFICA'I'ION 01; RESPONDISN'I'S ACCOIWING 1'0 MAliIrI'A1, S'L'A'I'US
Source: Survey data, July 2000
Source: Survey data, J ~ i l y 2000
4.6 CLASSIFICATION 01; RESI'ONDEN'I'S ACCOIWING 'TO SIX'I'IONS 01:
BUSINESS TIMES ALWAYS READ
Respondents were asked to state Ihc sections 01' H~isirress Tinres thcy always rcacl anti I ~ I C rcsult
obtained showed that 42 read Finance news, 15 send I~iforniation 'I'cclinology (Infotech) news, 9
read Insurance news, 16 read Investors Forum that is, ncws on s h a m and s[ocl;s \vh~le 28 read
Capital Market news. Foustccn read Psopesty news, 1 S sracl 011 a n d I'ncsgy nct\vs. 129 sci~tl Ikr-c~gn
TARLI? 4.6
CLASSIFICATION OF RESPONDENTS ACCOI<I)ING '1'0 SIC(:'I'I O N S Ob' !3 US1 N1l;SS
Section of Business 'I'imes Read
Finance News
Infotech news
Insurance news
Investors forum
Capital market news
Property news
Oil and Energy news
Foreign news
Company news
Labour and Agric news
Maritime news
'Total
Source: Survey data, July 2000
No. ol' ltcsponsc
42
15
9
16
28
14
. 18
19
2 6
14
4
4.7 CLASSIFICATION OF RESI'ONDEN'I'S ACCORDING '1'0 IX4'I'UlIJ5S AII'I'ICI,T<S
THEY ENJOY READING IN I3USINESS 'I'INIISS
Respondents were asked to state which features articles tlwy e~i.joy ~cading in Clrsirwss 'li'r~res. 'l'he
result obtained showed that 21 enjoy reading Development, 34 Ncws Analysis, 5 Opiniolls, 45
Issues, 59 Management and 41 Investment.
CLASSIFICATION OF RESPONDENTS ACCORDING '1'0 FEI\'I'URISS AIYI'ICLIS 'I'III<Y
ENJOY READING I N 1 3 u s i r w s s its
1 News Analysis I 34 I 17
Features articles readers enjoy
Development
1 Opinion I 5 I 3
2 1
4.8 CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING 'ro WHY RKSI'ONDISNTS REIII) TI-112 SIXI-IONS
THEY READ IN BUSINESS '1'IMES
Respondents were asked to state why they read the sections ol' Illi.si~ze.s.s 7i11ie.s which lhcy rcxl.
From the result obtained, 81 said they read the scctions ~ h c y read bccausc they ;IW mosl tdcvanl lo
theirjob/organisation, 76 said because they arc informative and that they incrcasc their knowlcclgc,
13 said because they hold their attention and interest wllile 35 said becnr~sc lhcy assist them in
making investment decisions.
Management
Investment
Total
Source: Survey data, July 2000
59
4 1
205
2 0
I 0
100
?'AH1 ,I5 4.8
CLASSII~ICAI'ION ACCOIWING 'I'O PVI IY I<ESl'ON 1)Il:N'I'S 1<15/\ 1 ) '1'1 II4: SII:(:'I'IONS
THEY READ IN I3USINESS TIMES
Why respondents read
the sections they read
They are relevant to my joblorganisation
They are informative
I They assist in decision making I 3 5 1 I7 I
No. of l icspo~~se
They hold my allenlion
I Total
% of I<espo~~sc
8 1
7 6
Source: Survey data, July 2000
4 0
37
- -- 13
4.9 CLASSIFICATION OF RESPONDEN'I'S ACCOI<I)INC, ' 1 ' 0 ' I ' I I I S I I <
RATING OF BUSINESS 'I'IMES
Respondents wcre askcd to ratc Uu.si~le,s.v 7?11res a n d [tic rtsulr o h a ~ ncd sho\~ct l r l ~ i l ~ 21 r.arc i~
as excellent, 143 said i t is good, 38 said i t is fair while nonc I-atc i t a s poor.
'l'AllIJlC 4.9
CLASSIFICATION OF RESI'ONDEN'I'S ACCOI<I)IN(; 't'f
THEIR RATING OF IlUSINFCSS 'I'Ihi 1's
0
Excellent
Good
I -------- Total 205 t- I 0 0 I
Fair
Poor
Source: Survey data, July 2000
24
143
3 S
-
12
70
'I ' i~l>k 4.10
CLASSIFICATION OF RESPONDEN'I'S ACC0ItI)ING ' 1 ' 0 ()~JAI,II'ICA'l'ION
I Masters Degree I 6 5 I 3 2 I
Qualification
Schl. CertificateJGCEJGrade I1
Degl-cc/F-INDIOND
4.11 CLASSIFICATION OF IIESPONDEN'I'S ACCOIIDIN(; '1'0 '1'111511t \'115M1S ON 'I'IIE
THREAT DAILY NEWSIWEIIS POSIC '1-0 nuswss TI nr 11:s
No. of Iicsponsc
11
IOS
AIB, ACA etc
Total
Respondents were asked to say their vicws on thc dcgr-ec 01' thr-et~t da i ly iicwspapcr-s may
likely pose to Blisiness Tinres. F~.oni [lie rcsiil~ obraincd, 23 saitl S I I C I I I ~ I G I ~ is ~c \~c . r c , 09 saitl I [ is
moderate, 49 said there is no threat whatsoever while 34 said they don't know.
YO 01' ~ I C S ~ ~ I I S C
Source: Sirrvey data, July 2000
15
205
7
100
4.12 CLASSIFICATION 01: 1<ISSI'ONDl~N'IS \?'I I 0 1)O P i 0 ' 1 '
IIEAD nusmess U M K S AT 111 , I . A N D M'I I Y
Respondents were asked i f they do read I1rrsit1es.v Tittres at : ) I 1 and \vh!.. From rhc rcs~;lt obt;~inctl,
65 said because i t is not always available to buy, 39 said becausc it always c;~ssies slalc nc\w whilc 10 1
said because the daily newspapers provide them all the business i~lf'onnation hey rcquirc.
THREAT DAILY NEWSPAI'EIIS msrc r ~ ' o IJUSINESS TI MISS
rI'AIjI,I< 4.12
CLASSIFICATION 01; IIISSI'ONDEN'I'S WIIO i)O NO'I'
READ BUSINESS 'I'IMES A'1' AI,I, AND \\ 'IIY
Why they don't read Business Times
Because i t is not always available
Because i t carries stale news
Rccause [he doily ncwspapcss nsc
good substitutes
'Total
%J of IIC'S~OIISC)
I I ---- --
4 S
24
17 - --
1 N) -----
Degree of threat
Severe
Moderate
None
I don'r Know
rIotal
Source: S w v e y data, July 2000
Source: Survey datn, July 2000
No. of Response
23
9 0
4 0
3 4
205
4.13 CLASSIFICATION OF RESP0NL)15N'I1S ACCOI<!)I h'G ' 1 ' 0 OCCUI'Ar1'I0N
Respondents were asked to state thcisoccupa[ion, a n d From 117c ~-c:sl~lr ol-)\aincti.4 I arc.. i n rhc
financial services (banking, insurance etc). 22 arc in rllc rcchnicnl scn2iccs (c~lginccri~ig ~ I I K I i~lliccl
trades), while 3 are in the medical serviccs. FI-om the ag~~icultural sccrol; \vc have 19, Sso~ii ~ w m -
mesce. 56, fsom ;~cxlemia 3 1 ancl otlie~.s, 3:;.
Occupation
Financial services
Tcclinical services
Mcdical serviccs
Ag~~icullcr~~c
Commerce
Acaclemics
Others
No of Response
4 1
e Sor~rce: Survey &a, July 2000
CHAPTER
5.0 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
This study was carried out to determine the socio-cconolnic s~n[us of ~ L I S ~ I ~ C S S i111:i I'inarl-
cia1 newspaper renders, rising 13~i.sir~e.s.s 7i'ttres ;IS :I case study. l 'hi: P L I I ~ O S C : i ~ o pnvidc tilc
basic means by which the Doily ?i:~rrc,s of Nigcria PIC can incscnsc ~ h c salability of its
Rusirtess Tinzes.
The research revealed that most readcrs of fl~~.sit.rcr.ss ' ~ ~ ' I I I L J S rcacl ~ h c ncwspapcr lxxausc r t
contains articles relevant to their jobs ancl osganisations. Othcss bclievc r l i i ~ r such inl'os~ix\-.
tion are very informative, while another category of readers agreed that the contcnts of the
newspaper assist them in decision making.
11 was discovesed that much as thc claily ncwspapcss also pul)lish bilsincss ~ic\vs, s\~cli
does not pose any serious threat to 11r1.sirle.s.s Tirtres. Tlic s t~~ t ly also sl;ows hat a I a ~ y
number of Busi~~ess Tirnes renders arc citlier univessiry dcgrce holdcss os polyrcchnic graclu- 7 . ates with many possessing maters degrces. I he newspaper is ~llso pntsonisctl by psoScs-
sionals among others. In actual fact, the patsonage cuts across all scgmcnls ol'thc busincss
community and educated people.
It was discovered that Busirms Tiriles is highly sakxl. Whilc nobody bclicvccl [hat tllc
quality of the newspaper is poor at all, there are thosc that believc that the quality of rhe
Busirwss Tirnes is just his.
The study reveals that a greater pcsccntoge of seatlcrs read h'r/.si~lc,v.s 7711l(!,s bccausc
of its articles on Management while or hers enjoy thc Issues colum~i \vhicli pcsiscopcs
critical sections of the nulion's economy and also Ihc I~ ivcs rmc ;~~ column ; ~ n d Nc\vs A n i ~ I y -
sis.
As for the news aspect, the Finance news which arc m:linly on the finance seclor thal is,
banks and insurance mostly catches thc dcligli~ 01' mosl rcntlcrs. Ncxt lo l h u r is Cnpili~l
Market news which are on [he buying wncl sclling 0f~1li11.c~ on tlic h'igcvinn Sroc1.c 1J,xcIinn;1:
and then Company ncws which are esscritially on ~llc wr-icwi :~c~ivi[ics oI'co~iij):~nics ~ I I C S ; I I I \ , .
The research also shows that rnosr reuclers 1.cuc1 I~irsitrc~.s,s 'li'ttrc.\. r.cguI;~r.ly \ v l ~ i Ic W I I I C o111cr.s
read i t occasionally with an insignificant proportion not scacling i t at all.
It was discovered that married pcoplc read Blt.si~~e.v.s '/i '~i~c.s niose rhan [lie singlc oncs, rlic
divorced and thc widow.
In thc analysis of thc oSSicial slnlils ol' I ~ M . S ~ I I C . Y . Y ' l i ' t~le.~ ~caclc~,s, i i \V;IS ~ c \ u l c t l \ l l ; \ ~ ol'l'~i:c~.s,
managers, general rnanagcrs and cornpiny cliai~.mc~) uncl 111i111rlgi1ig tli~ccrol.s I.L:;I(~ llrl:;it~e.\~.s 'I ~ I , I L , . S
more i n that orcier.
Reaciership curs across all scgmcnrs ol'companics sl;rf'l', \v!liIc C I C I ~ S IC;IS[ p;~[ro~iisc [lie I I C \ \ , S ~ ; I -
per. Sala~y-wise, i t is highly sevealing thal thosc calming N50,000 and :~bovc ~.c:ltl lJir.\~illc:.\~.s 'Iit~~cj.s
most. Thiscatego~y of people are followccl by tllosc calming N30,OOO-N39,999 and [hen ~llosc on
N40,OOO-N49,999.
The study revealed that those reading LIlr.sitlc.s.s fi111c.s mostly asc in 35-30, 25-29. 30-?4 and
40-44 age brackets.
To enable the B~r.sines.s Tli'n~es achicvc the ob,jcctivc of [his sl~~cly, i i h;i:, lo llc niosc sc:~tlcs-
conscious by always publishi~lg wliiII [llc ~cadcss clcsisc 10 ~ u c l . 'l'his will c~~i!l)lc 1 1 1 ~ ~ l e \ \ ~ s p l w [o
reduce its number of unsolci copies and rnitigate he cffecl oSconipctilion.
5.1 'TEST OF I-IY I'OrI'HESES
The hypotheses were tested by mcms of normal ;~ppmirnalion 10 rhe bino1111al t l~s~~-ibu~ion. As
acontinuous probability dis~ibution, 11 p-oviclcs :l vcry clcsc appsosi~nation [o a li~lon:i;~l ciisrnl)u-
tion especially when the number of trials is v c ~ y large, and tllc probability of succcss is ncithcssmall
nor large. The sample size for this rescarch is grcarer than 30 and this iiccer;sira[cd the LISC of' tiic %-
test of proporzion to test the hypothescs.
Using the formula for the normal approximation lo tlic Ii~lo~nial t l is(sib~~tio~~ (Z-test).
z = x-U/$
Where Z = standard normal random variablc
X= original data for the random variable (01- tlic scsj)oncIcn~s. suppo~ri~;g 1-10)
U= mean
3= standard deviation
To calculate the mean (U) and the standard dcv~ation ({I),
U = np; /= npc]
Where n= sample size (or number of obsc~wtio~ls)
p= probability of si~cccss (i.c probability I'or I-lo)
q= 1 -p (or probability of failure)
Hence Z= X-UId
= x-np//np (I-p) since q = I-p
I n this study, p (i.e the probability of success)
= 0.5 and q (probability of failure) = 0.5.
Ho,: 'The readers are more interested in thc NIani~jicment c o l u n ~ n ol'Br,.sit~c\.v 'I'ittrt,.\
From the responses to No 12 of the questi0nni1i1.e as sllo\v~i i n l'i~blc 4.7. Ho, \\li\s vc~.iI'iccl. I Jsin:;
the normal approximation to the binomial distribution a[ 5% level of significance and usiiiy 50%
for the proportion that responded positively ancl 50% for [he proposrion rliat I-esponclcd ncga~ivcly,
(i.e p=0.50 and q=1-0.50)
z= x-UtJ
Since n= 205, to compute the mean (u), wc have u=np= (205) (0.50) = 102.5
To compute the standard deviation @), we have
From Table 4.7, X=30
To compute Z, we have Z=X-118
= 30-51.25
7. I6
= -3
From rhe normal disrriburion table ar 5% lcvel of 5
rhe observed value of Z is -3. Therefore, Z is outsictc rllc acccprancc x y o n ol'j,: 1 .(I(?. \\Id i l ~ ~ . c l ' o ~ ~
reject Ho, and conclude that the readers arc not nlox intercst~:ii 111 rl;c bl;ii~;tgc~iic~:: coiun.ir~ of
Business Times
Decision Rule
Observed value of Z (- 3) is less than the critical valuc (-1.96). licject Mo,
Ho,: The business column of the daily general intercst newspapers arc good substilutes for
weekly busincss and financial newspapers.
To verify the hypthesis Ho,, the response to No 14 of h e q~~cs[ionnaise as shown in 'l'ul)lc 4.12
were used.
At 17% level of signil'icancc, we have
From Table 4.14, X = 65, n = 205 and as statccl easlicr p = 0.50.
Therefore Z = 65 - (0.5) 205 1/1-05 (0.5) (0.5)
From the normal distribution table of 1% level of significance, the null hypo~hcsis i s ryjcctcd
because the observed value of -5.24 goes outside the i111csval of + 2.58 which is tlic acceptance
region. By rejecting Mo,, we conclude that the claily newspapers asc ;:ood substili~rcs which l)~uvicle
the readers the business information they I-equise.
Decision Rule
The observed value of Z (5.24) is greater than the critical valuc ( 2 . 5 S ) , liejcct E-Io,.
Ho,: The readers are more in the financial services sector than in any other sector of thc
economy.
Responses to No. 2 of the questionnaire as shown in I';~l>lc 4. 1 \-:c~.c i~sccl ro rcst I lo , . S~iil t~sing
the Z test of propostions at 1% lcvel of signil'ica~ice, '%= X-i!l:; \\ihcrc
X = 4 1 , 11 = 102.5 anc! l j - 6.7
i.c % = 41 - 102.510.7
= - 9.18
From the normal distribution table at 1% lcvcl of significance, rllc compu~ccl value ol'Z (-9. IS)
is less than the critical value (2.58).
Then Z is inside the region of acceptance. Wc rhcrct'o~c acccpt 110, and conclirc!~ 111ii1 rllc r~ci~lcrs
are more in the financial services sector than in any or lw sector ol.'!hc economy.
Decision Rule
Observed value of Z (-9.18) is less than t l x critical \;:due (2..-is), /\cccl)t I lo 3
- 2.58 0 2 .5s
Ho,: The readers are generally not satislictl \ v i ! l ~ the contcln:s ol' tl:c I ~ r r . ~ i ! / c ! . v , ~ T' i l , lc~. \
From the responses to No 14 of the questionnuisc as shown In Tablc 4.12, 110, was vcrif'iccl.
lising the normal approximation to binomial dishibu~ion as 5% Ic\/cl of conl'idc;icc I'oi. i l ~ c tcsl,
Z = x - np/J;;T;Ti--';;r Where X - 39, n-205 ant1 p - 0.5
Z = 39 - (205) (0.5)/J205 (0.5)(0.5)
= - 6 3 . 5 / m
= - 63.517.16
= - 8.9
From the normal distribution table, the critical valuc of Z is -1 1.96 at 5% Ic\lcl ofsiynificancc.
The calculated value for Z however is -8.9 which I';~lls insidc lhc xceplccl ~ c g ~ o l ) . 'l'lic: :lo, is
therefore accepted and weconclude that the readers arc gcne~.ally not si!lisI'iecl w i r h tic ctmmrs ofrhc ,
B~rsir~css 'l'in~cs.
Decision Rule
Thc obscrved value of Z (-8.9) is less lhun lhc critical valuc (1.90); :\cccp llo4
Ho,: Business Tintes is highly rated by the readers
The basis for the testing of Ho,are the responses to No IS of the qucstionnnire. l'licsc arc shown
in Table 4.9. Using the Z-test of proportion at I% of significance, Z = X-up/8. whct-c
X = 24, i t = 102.5, ?j = 6.7
Z = 24-(102.5)/6.7
= 24-15.3
= s.7
At, 1% level of significance, the critical value of Z = + 2.58 bill the obscrvccl valuc is 5.7.
This is greater than 2.58 and so falls within the acceptance region. 1-10, is thcrcf'o~.c acccpkd
and we conclude that llnsitzess 7i'tnes is highly I-atccl 1,): h e ~.caclc~-s.
Decision Rule
Observed value of Z (S.7) is greater than lhc cri~ical valuc ( -2 .55 ) ; Acccpr 110. .,.
CHAPTER. SIX
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND IIIKOMWlEN I h \ ' i ' I ONS
The media have been recognised worldwide as a verirahle tool I'or socio-economic tle\~c!opliicnt.
Because information is power, dissemination of accuratc information by ~ l l c mcdi;~ assists all scg-
ments of the society including the governmcnL to take appropriarc clecisions I'or wci:iI ;111cl cco-
nomic development.
Apart from informing, thc media also enterrain and ctlucatc tlicir. rcaticrs i n c;lsi. 0 1 . nc\\/spapc~-s
and magazines, and their listeners in case of r d i o anti television.
It is now often said that the world has'becomc a glolxd village. 'l'his is maclc possil~lc [Ilrougli
advanced technological devices now being used by rile mcdia ro relay happenings i l l one 1,iii.t of' rhc
world to the other.'
As they are referred to as the Fourth Estate of the Rcalm the media have [lie cluty ol'scw~ng as tile
watchclog of the society.
In carrying out this role, some problems may be cncountcl.ec1 ;IS a r~csult of !hc poli!ical, Icgal or
economic constraints existing within the immcdiate environment i n whicl~ tlic nlcdi:~ opcsate.
It is important to note that much as the abovc factors niay cosltrihu~c to thc changing ~astcs and
desires of newspaper readers, i t has also been cstablishcd that C C I . ~ ; I ~ I I soci;!l ; ~ n d C C O I I O I I . I ~ C f;lctors
also account for the changing taste of newspaper ~ ~ c ; ~ l c r s .
Among these are the level of income, pricc of thc commodity, pricc 01' its sul-Jslir:l:~\s. litcr-acy
level and the quality of the product among othcrs.
Up t i l l the last three years, the Busiizess 'li'iircs was (lie 1ni1j01. I ~ L I S ~ I ~ C S S i111d I'iil:~ilci;ii I I C L \ ~ S ~ ; I ~ C S
in Nigeria. But about two years ago, the Firlnrlcini S!clirdc~r.cl miii!~ its d c l ~ ~ r con:ii.i:i 00: \\;it11 ;i big
fight to wrest the market leadership from Ilrrsiucw 'l'ir,res.
Unfortunately, the bad image of the Ih l i y 'Ii'~ms i i sistcl nc\vsp:lpcr to iirlsi~ross ' l ' i t t ~ t r s , \ v i ~ l l ihc
tag of being a governnient mouth-piccc, has ncga[i\~i>ly :~fl'cc[cci rile prc\lic!~is I > i . i I ! i ; l l l ~ ~ j~~i . l 'o l .~ i l ;~~~cc
of Business Times.
The objectives of the study are:
i to find out if the readers are only.intercstcd in ncws i!cms [hat conccl-n il:cil.~jolw or c: I.;:;I 11 i -.
sation; . . 1 1 . to ascertain if they read some specific sections of thc Ilr~sirress 'I'ittrcs such as C:!piral M;II-ket
or financial market pages among others, in orcler to assist them i n ~nnkini: 1.cuso11
able investment decisions; . . . 111. to ascertain whether the daily general interest newspaper publishing busincss arid I'lnancial
news are good substitutes for weekly bi~siness xncl fir1;incial newspapers;
iv, to find out i f the readers are more in the finmcial serviccs scctor o!'rhc eco~loniic, [h i111 i ! l any
other sectors;
v. to find out if the readers are well informed a n d cduc;\icd by rexling I_Jr~s'ir~c.ss 'f'itrrcs:
vi. to ascertain the overall rating the readers givc to Llr~siriess 'li'111cs;
vii. to make recommendations in line with available obscr-vations.
The study was purely empirical with information obt~iinccl 1'1un1 ~ L I S I I I C ~ S iiritl I'in;lilciol ricnspa-
per readers within Lagos. Conceptual literature rcvicw proviclccl secondary inSo;.~!!:~lion \\:hidl
aidcd thc dcsign oSou~.q~~esiionnaire and rhc I'ol.mularion ol'o~rr Iiypoiiicscs. 'I'lic ~ l ~ ~ c ~ i i o ~ l n : ~ i ~ . i : \\/;is
stl-ucturcd such thai i i has a fixed set ol'alic~~nntivc ans\vcl,s. '1 '11~ qi~esriorlnai~c \vhicli \\.';is j,~-crcs~ccl
to reduce any ambiguities was meant for business and financial newspaper renclers numbering 245.
The readers are more interested in the Managcmeni column of Il~rsilrcss Tirrrc.
The all-interest daily newspapers are good substitu~cs which proviclc ihc ~ ~ ~ c l c r x rhc husrncss
information they require.
The readers are more in the financial services scctor [ l iun in many oiher sccios ol' riic cconomy. --
The readers are generally not satisfied with the
Business Times is highly rated by thc readcrs. ' - i )+ \
Conclusion
From the results of this study, i t is clear [hill ~ l l c Inalliigclncnt co lu~n~ l ol' ~ l ic Ilrr.sirrc.vs '/?tt~e.s i l l
which the readers are more interested should bc rnorc cmt ' t~l ly 11:11ltllcd s~icll I ~ : ! I ~ O I I I L \ I ~ ~ ~ , ~ I . ; I I . ~
management issues in other parts of the L V O I . ~ ~ shoul~l ix ;ldoptcd illlo 1 1 1 ~ ( . < ) l ~ ~ l l l i i .
For rhc readers to bc wading this colu~nn nlorc mc;:lis th:~t n goo!l propwtlon I!!' :I;c IY;;!C!CI.S arc
people who use the management ideas they get I'rom rhc Ulis i~~ess ' ~ Y I I I ~ S 1 1 1 [ I x i i . ,lob.
The results also enable the Busitiess Tiltres to knwv \hat the chily ne\vspapct.r arc 2iving the
former a good fight and must know that to do to coun[cr the clevclo~)mcl~r.
The study has revealed that the readers are more i n rhc I'inmcial scrviccs sector rhan i l l a n y othcr
sectors of the economy. This wel la ti on means !hat m o l ~ finanei:~I-~clntccl C O I L I I I > ~ I < mu>;\ ! x inrro-
cluced in Brcsinebs,s.7'imes to retain the existing c ~ ~ s ~ o ! n i : l ~ a n d \ \ / i l l moic plwl)ccr~\,cl ciislomcrs
t'rom the sector.
Because the study shows that the readers arc genc~xlly not satisl'iecl \\;ill1 thc conlcnls 01' thc
Business finres, the onus rests on the managemcnt of !lirsit~es.s 'I'inrcs to improvc ~ i i c q: ! i~ I i r y 0 1 ' rhc
newspaper by making i t more render-friendly wirh c u ~ ~ c n t ncws ilcl-i~s.
As the study shows that the Busitiess Times is highly rated by thc ~cadclrs, the managcn-lcnt of the
newspapers should not allow this to get into thcir hc;~cl, but ra[hcr. lhcy :<llo~lltl look 1'01. ; I \\:;~y ol'
meeting their readers' needs and desires.
.Baker, Michael J.: Marketing New 1rlcllis.tricil !)l-oduc't, L,oncion, l ' l ~ V1:cn ~i I Ian Press Limited (1975).
*Bartos, Rena: Marketing to Womerz - A Glohcrl! Per,spectiw, LJSA., I-Icil~cnin~~n Professional Publishing, Harvard Business Sclwoi Press (1989).
*Biddlecombe, Peter: Financial Advertising Pitblic l~elntioi~s, I,o~iclo~i, 1 3 3 , Business Books, Limited, 180 Fleet Street (197 1 ).
*Breen Edward: Do-It-Yourself Market Resctr~dz, New Yosk, NlcC;r.;lw I-IiIl Rook Company (1977)
Coulson-Thomas Colin J.: Marketi~g Coir~r~~ir~zicatio~r.~, London, I-lcincl nai in (1 983).
Crisp, Richard D.: Marketing Resea~~clz, Nciv Yol-k, McGraw-Hill 13001< ( . 'o~n- pany ( 1957).
*Duyile Dayo.: Makers qf' Nigericuz 1'1-c?,s,s, I,agos, Goi!g Cornrn~ii~~c'a~ io11 Ni- geria Limited (1 987).
*Folarin Barnidele A.: Survey Resetlr-ch Mptliotl.~, Lagos Ic!eal Press, 1'. 0. 13ox 144, Unilag Post Office.
*Frank Nathaniel D.: Data Sources, fbr Brlsilr ess clnd h'I(lrkelil~,q A II,;!\~.s~,s. Sec- ond Edition, New Jersey, Metuchen, The Scarerow 1'1.css 111c. (1909).
*Haley Ruse11 1.: Attitude Researdz ill Trtllrs'itioll, h4(ll-ketillg lie.scw~-~~lr '10~11- nique sericrs, No. 15, U.S.A., American M:u.keti~lg Associalion (1072).
*Kotler Phillip: Marketing Marzqertretit, Atltrlysis, I-'l(ctrt~itl~ ( 1 1 1 ( / C ' o t ~ / t ~ ) I . I : O L I I I I I
Edition, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, I'renticc-Ma11 Inc. (1980).
*Laze, Hector and Corpin Arnold: ~Vlurrr i~~~le t l~ i ~ t h'l(itkc~tit~g, 'li).v/ ( [ , I ( / C.'(LSOS, New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company Inc. (1961).
aLeighton, David S.R.: Interrzatio~icll &lril.kr~it!g, 'lii.vt citltl C c ~ s ~ s . Kc.\\) York,
McGraw-Hill Book Company (1 966).
*Luck David J. etc: Marketing Resenrclz. Second Edition. London, I'rcntice- Hall Inc. (1964).
*Okafor, Francis 0.: I~lvestmetzt Decisiolis, E\uluatiotz o/'I'tvjci~r r r t ~ t l ,\'cc,rct-i- ties, London Casse11 (1983).
*Robber and Wales, Hugh G.: Motivcrtio~l cr11cl1Vlci1-kc.: lioi!cl\.io//!, I I O I ~ I C ~ W O O ~ ~ .
Illinois, Richard Dr. Irwin Inc., (1 958).
*Sturdivant, Frederick D. etc.: Mmnger-icri A~itrly.sis it1 Mnr.keti~~g, I i I inoi..;, Scott, Foresman and Company Glenview (1 970).
NEWSPAPER *Egochukwu, Stanley: The Gun)-dia)~, Nigel-ia, Monday, Febt-11a1.y 28. 2000. *Obasa, Idowu: The Guardian Nigeria, Monday, I 'd~~.i~ary 2 s . 2000.
PERIODICAL *Berger, Guy: Media Review Lagos, Diamond I>ilhlica~ions I . i ~ l l i tcd ( i 0 0 . 3 ) .
*Nwakanma Chido: Media Review Lagos, lIianx)~icl l'l~blicaiions 1.11nit~~l I09 I ).
*WABP Street Map of Lagos; West African Book 1-'ublislwr ( 1995).
UNPUBIJSHED THESIS *Daniel Aina A.: Agenda Setting in Plrblic Co~~llllrllzicntio~~: A Strldy 01' I q o , \ , Ni- geria, A Thesis for Doctor of Pl~ilosopl~y, Depnr[menl of Po1ilic;tl Scicncx. Ilnivcr- sity of Ibadan. (Septernbel; 1998).
RESEARCH QUES'I'I f )NNAIIii!:
Dear Sirmadam,
This rescnrchcr, Tajudeen Kunlc Rcllo. is a stilcIcn[ 111 rlic I>epasri~icr~r ( I ! ' Vlar.!;i-;~ri~;. I . : ; ! c - ! ~ ? I ! ~ o f
Busincss /\clminisrration, Univcssiry of Niger-ia, NsuI.tkx
with a view to determining how the socio-econon~ic status of the readcrs ;\l'l'cc~ LIlcir pi i i .~i l i~~c ol'ixtsincss
and financial newspapers such as Business Times. It is cx pectecl that tlic rcsult of t l l i x ~~escnscll \voi~ltl
assist the Daily Timcs of Nigesia PIC in making decisions [o\\lascls i1nprovi112 lhc cli~aliry ol'IIrrsi,rtr.~.~ ' l ' i ~ ~ ~ e s
and hcnce, the total revenue generated therefrom.
You arc therefore cordially requested to givc the u])psoprir~te ans\\ws to thc lji:cst~ons Ixlow. I
like to assure you that all information obtained will bc t~.catccl i n strict conl'idcnc.~~ ;mcl \ \ ! i l l nor bc
divulged except in thc f o ~ m of statistics.
(Please fi l l in your answers in the space proviclccl ;~gai~i?;! cadi qi~csrion ;mtl LIL:I< i i i i l l : : IN\ ;IS ,:p!~sop.i-
ate)
I . What is the name of your organisation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
'2. What is your occupation? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3 What is your position in the organisa[ioi~?
4. Which of the following represents your ai:c bi.;i~.l~,::r'!
18-23 years n 2 5 - 2 9 y e a 1 . s 0 30-34ycars a 35-39 y a s s L I
40-44 years 0 45-49 y e a r s 0 50 years atid :~hovc 0 Which of the following represents your salary bracI<el !KI. annuni?
Under N5,000 0 N5,000 - N9,999 0 N 0 0 0 - X 19,990
N50.000 and above
Are you a pensioner? Yes n No El What is your marital status'?
What is your highest qualification?
School CertIGCE, Grd I1 0 DegreeIHND 1Maste1-s 1kgl.w [ l%,D E-J Others ACA, ACIS, AIB etc Please specify
Mow often do you read Brrsi~wss Times?
Regularly 0 Occasionaly 0 No[ ;I[ all 0 Whar year and month did you start reading Brrsincss Tirrres?
What kind of news do you always read in Brrsiness 7i'rrre.s?
(i) Finance News [ (ii) Infotech News (iii) Insurance Ncws
(iv) Investor's Forum [ (v) Capital Market ncws and tablc 0
(viii) Foreign News [ (ix) Company NCWS
(x) Labour and Agric News 0 What features articles do you enjoy reading most in I ~ ~ l s i n c s s 'l'i;tle.s'!
(i) Development 0 (ii) News analysis 0 ( i i i ) 0pi11ioi1 E-1 - (iv) Issues [ (v) Management (v i ) Invesrnlcnl r--]
I read the above sections because they:
(i) are most relevant to my job/organisation
(ii) are very informative and they increase tny k~~o\i~lctlge (1
(iii) hold my attention and interest 0 (iv) assist me i n making,investment decis~ons -.
14. If you don't read Brtsiness 7'imes at all, wli y:'
(i) Because i t is not always available to l>uy
( 1 1 ) BCC;ILISC i t ; I I W ; I Y S carries stalc ncws
(iii) Because the daily newspapers provictc mc all ~ h c h~1sinc.s ~~it'o:ma[ic)!: [hat I I M Y I (3
not. Please name them ....................................................................................................................
16. Why do you read these other publications? Becausc they:
(i) Are better edited 0 (ii) Contain more useful information on c x h issuc tscatctl 0 (iii) Contain more pages of interesting topics 0 (iv) Are printed in colour and are better graphically 0
17. What day of thc week do yo11 get Rrlsirress Tirrrc~.v to Imy? PIc;isc, SI;! IC
1 S. What ovcsall sating will you give to Illrsir~cs,v K I I I O , ~ ' !
I . What threat do you think thc daily ncwspapc1.s pul>lishing I>usincss ;~ncl I'in;~!lcial ~ ~ \ \ i s posc
to Business Times?
S e v e r e n M o d e r a t e n None 0 1 don't know rr] 20. In what areas of Urtsiness 7 i '~zes operations is this ~llscat nios~ I i Iicly'?
Please indicate ........................................................................................................................
2 1 . How can Brtsircess Tirrzes bc i~i~provecl? Plcasc, si;itc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
