International Journal of Social Sciences & Economic Environment
Online ISSN : 2456-7485
Frequency : Half Yearly
Current Issue : Volume 7 , Issue 1
2022
*Godspower Udoh, **Nsikan Senam, ***Kubiat Ebekut
*, ** & ***Faculty of Communication and Media Studies University of Uyo, Nigeria
DOI : https://doi.org/10.53882/IJSSEE.2022.0701005 Page No : 41-51
Published Online : 2022-06-30
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ABSTRACT
This article examined the extent to which news headline configuration constitutes a factor in newspaper selection by readers in Uyo Urban of Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. Specifically, the study aimed to: examine the influence of headline deck on the readers’ selection of newspapers; ascertain the role of headline grammar in newspaper selection among readers; examine the influence of headline sentence structure on readers’ selection of newspapers; and find out whether headline font sizes play a role in respondents’ newspaper selection. The survey method was adopted in the study and the population comprised all the newspaper readers in Uyo, Nigeria, numbering 472,534 people. The sample size was 383 and the questionnaire was the research instrument. Findings showed that the readers: selected newspapers whose news headlines were arranged in one or two-deck formation; were attracted to newspapers whose headlines obeyed the rules of concord; selected newspapers whose headlines were set in the subject-predicate structure; and were attracted to headlines with conspicuous font sizes. It was therefore recommended that editors should always be mindful of grammatical, editorial and stylistic issues while casting newspaper headlines.
Keywords:- Headlines, Configuration, News, Structure, Format, Deck, Grammar.
