ATTITUDE OF UNIBEN MASS COMMUNICATION STUDENTS IN BENIN CITY TOWARDS BROADCAST MEDIA REPORTAGE ON THE NELFUND LOAN POLICY

This study investigated UNIBEN Mass Communication students’ attitudes towards broadcast media reportage on the NELFUND loan policy with the objectives of assessing their level of exposure to these reports, examining their perception of report credibility, determining their attitudes towards the coverage, and identifying the factors influencing these attitudes. Anchored on the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Expectancy Theory, the study adopted a survey research design utilizing a stratified sampling technique, which resulted in the successful retrieval and analysis of 255 copies of a structured questionnaire using mean scores against a 2.50 criterion mean. The findings revealed that the students are highly exposed to the coverage through television news, radio updates, and special programmes explaining the application process, and they generally perceive the reportage as credible, accurate, and reliable, maintaining a high level of trust in broadcast media as a source for government loan information. Furthermore, the results indicated that the students hold a positive attitude towards the coverage because it successfully encourages engagement, awareness, and information sharing, with their attitudes being significantly influenced by factors such as media presentation, clarity, accuracy, the responsiveness of NELFUND officials, and motivational framing. The study concluded that broadcast media play a significant role in shaping students’ awareness, perception, and attitudes towards the NELFUND loan policy by serving as an effective channel for public engagement, and it consequently recommended that broadcast stations provide regular, clear, and balanced programming using audience-friendly strategies, that NELFUND officials respond promptly to media enquiries, and that media literacy programmes be introduced to help students critically evaluate media content.