UNIVERSITY OF BENIN STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF CARTOONS

ABSTRACT

This study was targeted on finding out the perception of cartoons in Nigerian newspapers by students of the University of Benin. Cartoons are very important as they help to attract a large audience because they combine words with art. The theories employed to support the study were the uses and gratification theory and the perception theory. The survey research design was adopted for the study. Data generated were analysed and presented using simple percentage in a tabular form. Among the major findings of this study were that majority of the students are exposed to newspaper cartoons and the cartoon content affected newspaper cartoon readership to a great extent. Respondents also reveal that the entertainment role that the newspaper cartoons perform supersedes other roles. However a larger group of students claim that despite the humour inherent in cartoon content, Nigerian newspaper conveyed the intended message. Lastly, the researcher identified from the findings that not only are cartoons visually appealing, they also help to draw the respondents attention to problems in the society that might otherwise be overlooked. The study recommended that major newspaper houses should improve on their informative content helping students recognize the educational value alongside the entertainment factor. The Media Department within the Mass Communication Department at the University of Benin can play a leading role in conducting surveys. These surveys aim to evaluate how effective cartoons are in helping people remember news information and to collect feedback for making cartoons even better.