ABSTRACT
The research
examined the viewers' perception on President Muhammadu Buhari Maiden
Presidential Chat with a study of AIT viewers in Abuja Municipal Area Council
(AMAC). It is obvious that television plays a crucial role in politics
particularly when it comes into the use of audio-visual platforms to bring government activities to the
electorates in a more real and interactive manner. The research is anchored on
Social Responsibility Theory, Democratic Participant Media Theory, Perception
Theory and Agenda Setting Theory respectively. The research used survey method
to elicit responses from the respondents who were drawn using multistage
sampling techniques. 200 copies of questionnaires were administered to 200
respondents selected, of which 180 copies of questionnaires were returned. SPSS
was used to analyse the data collected using frequency and percentage tables.
The finding shows that respondents agree that the presidential media chat is
relevant in numbers of ways particularly to expose themselves to the direction
of government policies, reactions to important national issues etc. Also, after
watching the presidential media chat respondents did not have changed of mind
about President Buhari led administration with the majority of the respondents
were satisfied to a large extent to the responses of the President on the media
chat. It is recommended that broadcast media should be free from politicians to
avoid turning the media into tools of propaganda.
