Broadcast Media Responsible in Building Public Confidence in the Fight against Insecurity in Nigeria: Appraisal of "Journalist' Hangout" Programme on Television Continental

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine how journalists' hangout programmes on television Continental (TVC) Nigeria has influenced public confidence in the fight against insecurity in Nigeria. Thestudy adopted a survey research design in which the questionnaire was used as the research instrument for data collection. The collected data was analysed through descriptive statistics, and the findings revealed that Journalists' Hangout is a popular programme on TVC News, where the majority of the audience isexposed to in Nigeria, while those who watch the programme very often were smaller compared to thosewho did so often. Journalists' hangout, as also revealed in the study, pays greater attention to security issues as it maintains a high level of objectivity in the discussion of such issues in Nigeria, and that hasinfuenced the audience by way of a greater understanding of the nature of insecurity in Nigeria;Recognition of the efforts by security forces in the fight against insecurity; the need for public partnership;cooperation and participation in the fight against insecurity; the efforts by the government in the fight; theinternational collaboration and support in the fight; and the impact of the Nigerian justice system in the fight to a great extent. Despite the successes, interjections from some discussants on the Journalist's Hangout programme was the major challenge among the public, followed by too much interference from the programmer's moderator, stable power supply, and limited time for viewers to call in and contribute to the discourse for information on security issues in Nigeria. The study concluded that Television Programmes are influential in restoring public confidence in the fight against insecurity, if properly utilized.