Chapter One

Introduction

1:1 Background of the Study

Communication being a mandatory factor for interaction and correlation stipulates the

need to communicate with individuals in a contemporary civilization which is a basic

requirement for survival just as food clothing shelter e.t.c. are essential for human existence.

Communication the most vital form of human interaction is absolutely necessary for any

enduring human relationship be it interpersonal or international. Groups institutions

organizations and nations exist by virtue of communication and cease to exist once

communication is totally interfered with.

Communication therefore is the livewire of any society and the world at large. It

stipulates the paramount factor of unification due to the fact that a society that is kept in-

communicado is a dead one. Indeed communication is the fulcrum of social intercourse and the

mirror through which society sees itself.

Cooley in Daramola (2003:1) asserts that ―communication is the mechanism through

which human relationship exist and develops‖. It is through effective communication that every

part of the society is accessed and social and institutional changes effected.

Communication is undisputedly the carrier of social system. It shapes people and people

shape it. Proper and effective communication provides useful information that enables people

make informed decisions and well executed actions.

In compliance to dissemination of information and communicating effectively are

journalists. Journalists who are professionals trained for the collection processing correlation

and dissemination of information are powerful gatekeepers and actors whose work sustain a

society. The print media journalist through their news stories editorials and opinions contained

in newspapers and magazines not only set the agenda for public discourse but also reflect the

environment.

Casmus in Abdulsalaam (1987:49) has said ―a newspaper is a nations conscience‖.

Akinfeleye (2003:18) observes that journalists are ―public servants informing members of

the public on issues of public interest‖.

Essentially they are the watchdogs who keep watch on the institutions of the society.

They are therefore expected to inform and educate the people and also create a forum which

affords people the opportunity to examine and consider all sides there are to an issue.

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Modern newspaper tends to carry many light and sensitive materials including articles

written in a light mood. This feature fulfils the entertainment function of a newspaper. Among

the light content is the cartoon.

According to Ahuja and chhabra (2002:22-23) cartoons are one of the light materials

used by newspaper houses to lighten the mood of their readers as they (cartoons) have become an

integral and common feature of most newspapers if not all. In the words of Ahuja and Chhabra

―even the most serious newspapers and magazines nowadays are expected to carry strip cartoons

or topical comics here and there. It is one thing on which most of the newspapers seem to be

agreed as it makes for the continued popularity of such newspaper...... and offers a welcome

change from the cares anxieties and worries of everyday life‖.

Rivers et al (1977:20-21) said that as an ―entertainment tool cartoons provide respite for

the individual which perhaps encourages him to continuously indulge himself with such

palliative media messages‖. Regardless of the escape they provide from the supposed ̳dreary‘

and ̳boredom‘ of reading straight news features commentaries and opinions they are also a

rich source of humour satire innuendos and parody often used to condemn commend and

generally pass across salient and trivial messages.

In most cases rather than real pictures cartoons are used to illustrate stories events

occurrences and happenings. They also lend some aesthetic value to the overall design of a

newspaper or magazine. In fact cartoonists are known to make a decent living from cartoon

drawings just as more print media houses are beginning to appreciate the value of cartoons and

devoting more newspaper space to it.

According to the Longman‘s Contemporary English Dictionary cartoons are funny

drawings in newspapers often including humorous cartoons. The Oxford Advanced Learner‘s

Dictionary describes a cartoon as an amusing drawing in a newspaper or magazine especially

one about politics or events in the news.

According to Obasi (2011:149) cartoon is a drawing or series of drawings that tells a

story or expresses a message. It can be a type of drawing usually intended to be amusing used in

newspapers magazines and books.

Pictures are said to be worth a thousand words according to a Chinese saying and as

cartoons happen to be funny pictorial representations of real events and/or characters this saying

also applies to them. This is so because pictures are able to depict more clearly things that have

to be explained in so many words. Apart from newspapers cartoons are also used in magazines

journals books as well as television programmes where they are animated and made to seem as

if they are moving.

Newspaper cartoons have however been employed as a tool for editorializing i.e. passing

across the organization‘s view on pertinent public or national issues. They have been used to

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accompany stories to illustrate what is written. Cartoons help sensitize people against social

vices thus facilitating positive human interaction yet bearing in mind the entertainment function

they are designed to serve.

Cartoons have proved to be very indispensable because while some individuals may not

be literate enough to read and adequately understand the message contained in news stories they

are still able to have an understanding of cartoons and the recognition of the subject in such

cartoons.

Boss Tweed an American politician unwittingly underscored the importance of

cartoons when he was quoted in ̳last laugh‘ (Campbel et al 2000:35) to have said back in 1871

―stop the damn pictures I don‘t care for your newspaper articles my constituents can‘t read

them but they can‘t help seeing them damn pictures‖ when cartoonist Thomas Nast published

satirical cartoons about his political activities. It can be said with some measures of certainty that

reading and understanding cartoons might not be a problem in an academic community such as

Caritas University Amorji-Nike Enugu among lecturers and students. Therefore it becomes

pertinent at this point to do a profiling on the object of study.

Caritas University

Caritas University is a private catholic university the second of its kind in the West

African Sub- Region after Madonna University Okija. By the grace of God this is the second

private university to be approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria and officially opened in

2005.

Caritas is the property of the Sisters of Jesus the Saviour a religious congregation of

sisters founded by Very Rev. Fr. Prof. Emmanuel M. P. Edeh Cssp.

Being a fast rising private catholic University enrolment in the university has now grown

to over 3052 students presently in the University and a total academic staff of 206.

The University comprises of four faculties. The faculties offer a total of 27 programmes

in Engineering Natural Sciences Environmental Sciences and Management and Social

Sciences.

Inspiration and Spirit of Foundation

Caritas University was brought into being by the admirable efforts of the afore-mentioned

Very Rev. Fr. Prof. Emmanuel M.P. Edeh Cssp of the Holy Ghost Congregation Nigeria

Province.

Greatly distressed at the miserable state of education and morals in Nigerian society

especially in schools Fr. Edeh prayed and sought any laudable means of doing something about

it no matter how small. In this he sought to rescue some of our wandering teeming youth

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population from further slide into academic and moral decay. This desire was to find its concrete

realization in the establishment of many primary and secondary schools and four tertiary

institutions the Osisatech Polytechnic Enugu Osisatech College of Education Enugu Madonna

University Okija and finally the present Caritas University at Amorji-Nike Emene Enugu State.

In all these institutions Fr. Edeh sought to combine provisions of holistic education at

affordable cost to the benefit of all both rich and poor with sound moral formation or character

building without which any form of education can be turned into a formidable instrument of

destruction of the human person.

The University Motto

The University Motto is ―Love for Education and Morals‖. This dictum is not meant to be

a mere paper proclamation of good intentions but a guiding philosophy of its entire University

life. Its practical implications are to be built into the University academic moral spiritual socio-

economic and political life. Every aspect of life in the university must breathe this flavour.

The Ultimate Goal of Caritas University

To give efficacy to its motto and its philosophy of education Caritas embraces not only

sound education for professional skills and competencies in various fields but also maintains

strict discipline. By discipline we mean the training of the mind body soul and spirit to

obedience and self-control. The students must not only be intellectually and professionally

prepared for different task and roles in the world they must also be morally equipped to face the

world itself with all its tensions conflicts challenges and contradictions. They must be prepared

well for healthy competitions in the labour market and come out victorious. They must also be

adequately prepared to face the attractions of evil in all its forms and come out winners.

Before undertaking an even more critical look at the roles cartoons play in a democratic

society which will be undertaken in chapter two it is necessary to examine the statement of the

problem in focus.

1:2 Statement of the Problem

True many newspapers are replete with burlesque representations in the form of cartoons

which are used to pass across various messages these cartoons to some people help lighten the

mood from stress when going through these newspaper cartoons giving them a sense of humour

and freedom laughing through these caricatures.

Regardless of the readership of newspaper cartoons specifically in Caritas University

which triggers a sense of reasoning as to what truly motivates the readership of newspaper

cartoons among lecturers and students of Caritas University; probably the readership of

newspaper cartoons by lecturers and students help motivate the buying of newspapers. Also

educational advancement on the part of lecturers and students might aid a better understanding of

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newspaper cartoons and probably the effects of gender on newspaper cartoon readership

understanding also pertaining to the social classification of individuals this research tends to find

out if demographic factors have an effects on the understanding of newspaper cartoons on

lecturers and students of Caritas University.

These problems and many more are what this research work tends to find out in the

course of research using Caritas University as population.

Also cartoons tend to be perceived by many newspaper readers from an entertainment-

laden perspective sometimes considered by intellectuals to be for the simple minded and less

intelligent but ̳inappropriate‘ for more serious minded people. Williams Stephenson lends

credence to this claim in his ̳Play Theory‘ of mass communication when he posited that many

people use media messages more for pleasure and relaxation than for information and

improvement.

Hence Aina (2003) states that ―it is not surprising that some people view only musicals

and drama on television while also concentrating on fashion and comics in newspapers and

magazines‖. This study therefore sought to find out what other values people sought from

reading cartoons other than the entertainment value and if lecturers and students considers

cartoons to be for the simple minded? In all this research work studied the psycho-sociological

attributes affecting readership patterns of newspaper cartoons; how individual differences and

social categories affected the readership patterns of newspaper cartoons.

1:3 Objective of the Study

1. To find out whether newspaper cartoons are read by lecturers and students of Caritas

University.

2. To find out what other value outside humour that newspaper cartoons provide.

3. To assess how demographic factors affect cartoon readership.

4. To find out whether cartoon messages are understood.

1:4 Research Questions

In order to achieve the specific objectives of this study the following questions guided this

study:

1. To what extent do Caritas University lecturers and students read the Punch newspaper

cartoons?

2. What other values do newspaper cartoons give readers outside humour?

3. To what extent is reading of cartoons one of reader‘s motivations for buying newspapers?

4. To what extent do readers of cartoons understand the messages?

5. To what extent do demographic factors such as age and sex have any sort of influence on

newspaper cartoon readership?

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1:5 Hypotheses

H

1:

Demographical factors influence the readership patterns of the Punch newspaper cartoons.

H

2:

The Punch newspaper cartoons are motivational factors for the buying of newspapers in

Caritas University.

1:6 Scope of the Study

For the purpose of adopting this research work into context Caritas University lecturers

and students were chosen as the case in study using sampling methods of two types namely

cluster sampling and simple random sampling. Caritas University which is made up of four (4)

faculties and twenty-seven (27) departments out of which two (2) faculties were randomly

selected and ten (10) departments from each of the two faculties were also randomly selected

which summed up to twenty (20) departments. Consequently thirty (30) students from each of

the ten (10) departments were randomly selected which made three hundred (300) students.

Also six (6) lecturers from each of the ten (10) departments were randomly selected

which made a total of sixty (60) lecturers. Thus a total of three hundred and sixty (360)

respondents were approximately questioned in total.

1:7 Significance of the Study

This study attempted to analyze the readership of newspaper cartoons among lecturers

and students using Caritas University as the population with a view to providing insight making

it a valuable document especially for media practitioners advertisers other stake holders and

researchers.

This study also examined the relevance of cartoons in newspapers viz-a-viz its readership

by respondents highlighting the trends and patterns in its readership pattern from a Caritas

University perspective. Therefore the significance of this study lies in the scholarship it offers

going a long way in extending the frontiers of knowledge in mass communication research.

1:8 Definitions of Terms

Operational definition

The following terms have been defined to aid the comprehension of this study.

NEWSPAPER: This is an unbounded publication that is published on a regular basis containing

a variety of reading matters and if often supplemented with pictures.

CARTOONS: An amusing drawing in a newspaper or magazine about events or happenings in

the news.

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CARTOONIST: A person who draws cartoons.

READERS: Caritas University lecturers and students who read newspaper cartoons.

READERSHIP: The number and demographic attributes of Caritas University lecturers and

students who read newspaper cartoons.

MESSAGE: The important moral social cultural or political idea that a cartoon is trying to

communicate or portray.

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