The Artists in the Television Media's Fight against COVID-19: A Comparative Study of LTV and EKTV

Abstract

Despite several information on the prevalence of Corona virus (COVID-19) in Nigeria, the National Centre for Disease and Control (NCDC) reports show that among the states, there have been sharp contrast in the level of infected people. This study investigates the influence of the artists in television media broadcasts in the fight against the spread of the virus. Using Ekiti State and the Lagos State (which have remarkable records of contrast in terms of the level of infected persons). It is on this backdrop that this study adopts a qualitative research design (comprising survey, interviews, focus groups discussions, NCDC reports and literary materials) for data gathering. The study uses Ekiti State Television (EKTV) and Lagos State Television (LTV) to carry-out a comparative study of the contents and impacts of television messages on the public’s (i.e. Lagos and Ekiti States’ dwellers’) perceptions of the issue of Covid-19; in order to find out the element(s) that influences the public's favourable disposition to television broadcasts in the collective fight against the spread of Covid-19. This study anchors its argument on George Gerbner's Cultivation Theory and submits that: the television media has the power to shape the public’s perception on particular subject matter, but the use of role models like the artist(s) as the channel(s) for propagating the subject matter, is key to influencing the public’s positive disposition to the message.