Abstract This research was devoted to studying the Influence of Newspaper Ownership Identity on Readership in Nigeria. The apparently untested hypothesis that ignited this research was that people read newspapers because of geographical origins of newspaper proprietors. Testing the hypothesis, survey research method was used to ascertain readership of three national dallies by residents of Ibadan, the capital city of Oyo State Nigeria, who hail from the ethnic areas of the owners of the selected newspapers. The newspapers selected for the study were the Nigerian Tribune, Daily Trust and Daily Sun. The sample size for the study was 240 respondents and the questionnaire was used as the major data collection instrument. Consequently, the study revealed that that a high percentage of the respondents read newspapers everyday. However, contrary to mere speculations, it was gathered from the research that many of the respondents were aware of the ownership identity of the newspapers they read, but in spite of this, the ownership identity of the newspapers they read was not a determining factor as far as their choice of newspaper is concerned. The research shows that the ownership identities of newspapers have little or no effect on newspaper readership. The research also reveals that majority of the respondents read their choice of newspapers because of their availability and reach within their location. Key Words: Newspaper, Ownership, Readership, Identity. JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 3, No. 2, October 2011, 119 – 130. ©Delmas Communications Ltd. About the author *Muyiwa Popoola is a Lecturer of Journalism and Mass Communication, Department of Communication and Media Studies, Ajayi Crowther University, Oyo, Nigeria. Full Article Words: 5,644; Pages: 12
Muyiwa Popoola (Sun,) studied this question.