https://www.iprjb.org/journals/index.php/IJCPR/issue/feedInternational Journal of Communication and Public Relation2024-03-27T18:45:41+03:00Journal Adminjournals@iprjb.orgOpen Journal Systems<p>The IJCPR is a journal that publishes research on communication and public relation. It is open access and peer-reviewed, and accepts original and innovative papers from different fields and perspectives. The journal covers topics such as communication theory, media studies, public relations, crisis communication, corporate communication, digital media, and communication education. The journal has a high quality standard and offers editing and proofreading services to authors. The journal is indexed by Google Scholar and other databases, and has a fast and low-cost publication option. The journal has an online submission system and clear guidelines for authors. The IJCPR is a great platform for sharing research on communication and public relation with a global audience.</p>https://www.iprjb.org/journals/index.php/IJCPR/article/view/2303Media Choice and Public Participation in the Budget Making Process for Nyeri County2024-02-09T15:06:00+03:00Lucy Ogotilubitutu@gmail.comHellen Mberiajournals@iprjb.orgJohn Ndavulajournals@iprjb.org<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The aim of the study was to determine the effect of Media Choice on Public Participation in the Budget Making Process in Nyeri County.</p> <p><strong>Methodology:</strong> The study population constituted all the residents operating and living in Nyeri County, Nyeri County Government officials and leaders from both the County Executive and County Assembly. The study applied a descriptive study design and used both primary and secondary data that was obtained from public participation reports, publications, and interviews with county government officials, budget committee members and questionnaires to the MCAs, residents, staff of the County Assembly. Stratified random sampling was used to select and identify respondents from Nyeri County residents’ attendees in public participation fora and a further random sampling to obtain respondents from the Wards. Strata and purposive sampling was used to get key informants from the County Executive and County Assembly. A sample size of 72 general respondents and 12 key informants was used. Both quantitative and qualitative data was collected using a study questionnaire and interview guides respectively. Qualitative data was represented using study themes or goals and was discussed in narrative. The quantitative data was sorted and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. The findings were presented using tables and graphs</p> <p><strong>Findings:</strong> A regression correlation analysis of the data showed that the independent variables (social media =0.044, for print media = 0.047) were significant with p values of less than 0.05 - the predetermined significance level – to imply that the results were statistically significant. The p value for radio station was 0.326, greater than 0.05, thus not significant in its effect on public participation in the budget making process in the County Government of Nyeri. From the data collected, great importance was placed on vernacular and community radio stations which are potential channels for communicating pertinent information on the budget making process. The research found out other factors that determine effectiveness of public participation to include public’s awareness of its rights, individual understanding of the processes, and level of education and prevailing support infrastructure.</p> <p><strong>Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy:</strong> The Medium Theory and Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation Model informed the study variables and approach. Further research is recommended to explore other variables. The study findings will help planners and implementers at the County level when setting out to engage the public for their participation in the County’s development agenda. .</p>2024-02-09T00:00:00+03:00Copyright (c) 2024 Lucy Bitutu Ogoti, Prof. Hellen Mberia, Dr. John Ndavulahttps://www.iprjb.org/journals/index.php/IJCPR/article/view/2426The Nature of Television and Radio Programs and Their Influence in the Growth of Kiswahili among University Students in Kenya2024-03-27T18:45:41+03:00Orleans Onindoonindooo@gmail.comHellen Mberiajournals@iprjb.orgNdeti NdatiNdanundeti@gmail.com<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> This paper traces the place of the nature of programmes in Kenyan media and their influence on Kiswahili growth among university students studying journalism in Kenyan universities. Three fundamental concerns were on focus here; Length of programs; language in programs and the type of Programs.</p> <p><strong>Methodology: </strong>The study used mixed method design to obtain qualitative and quantitative data. It targeted University students sampled from 4 public Universities in Nairobi County. A sample size of 327 students was used. Focus group discussions involving 32 participants were also involved. Four Swahili experts were interviewed to get expert opinion. Multi-stage sampling design was used to select the sample for the survey. This sampling technique was appropriate because the study sample was selected in stages using stratified random sampling and simple random sampling technique. Purposive sampling was used to collect qualitative data. The tools used to collect data were questionnaire for quantitative data, interview schedule for key informants and interview guide for focus group discussions. These were to help to assess the influence of the nature of programmes in media organizations on the growth of Kiswahili among university students in Kenya. The study triangulated quantitative and qualitative data to give results shared in this paper. Data was then analyzed using SPSS (version 20) statistical program. Inferential statistics used were descriptive, correlation regression and ANOVA. Data was presented using tables.</p> <p><strong>Findings: </strong>Findings show that nature of programmes has a significant effect on the growth of Kiswahili.For instance, majority of the respondents agreed that the length of Swahili programs in media have made them develop positive attitude toward Kiswahili. Additionally, they agreed that the nature of language used in presenting Swahili programmes makes them use correct grammar. The study also noted that the respondents agreed that the types of programs have significant influence on their Swahili vocabulary.</p> <p><strong>Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: </strong>Social Learning Theory posits that learning takes place in a social context through observation or direct instruction. People learn the tenets of language through these various types of programmes which carry instructions and are observable. For the Behaviorist Theory of Language Development focus is on objectively observable behaviors where learning is acquired based on environmental conditions (McLeod, 2016). Language acquisition, use and growth has been as a result of emulating what is going on around the learner. <strong> </strong>The Cultivation theory that suggests television is responsible for shaping or cultivating viewer conceptions of social reality has it that TV viewing affects the language development of children through role modeling where children always want to behave like the characters they see and end up developing language aspects such as pronunciation, intonations and vocabulary like those of the TV and Radio presenter believing that that is the way the world is.For practice and policy media literacy to practitioners has been found to be a necessary educational tool for them to understand the type of media content to interact with if they have to grow their language capabilities. There is need to increase knowledge of risks involved in use of hybrid Kiswahili. While this is so language policy should encompass organizing workshops and seminars for the youth to sensitize them on proper language.</p>2024-03-27T00:00:00+03:00Copyright (c) 2024 Orleans Omusula Onindo, Hellen K. Mberia, Ndeti Ndatihttps://www.iprjb.org/journals/index.php/IJCPR/article/view/2372Media Ethics and News Media Financing in a Fledgling Economy- A Case of the Gambia2024-02-28T14:08:28+03:00Morolake Adekunlewmadekunle@utg.edu.gmFemi Onifadejournals@iprjb.orgAbdul Gbambujournals@iprjb.org<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> This paper examines how media ethics and news media financing interact in the setting of a nascent economy. The study focuses on the significance of ethical standards in journalism and how obstacles to funding might have a detrimental effect on them. Issues interrogated include how media ethics are violated, how financial hardships have contributed to the phenomena, the causes of the paucity of funding, and how the news media can navigate the daunting terrain of shrinking financial resources.</p> <p><strong>Methodology:</strong> The study collected data from both primary and secondary sources. While interviews with 15 seasoned media professionals provided the primary data, recent literature provided the secondary data.</p> <p><strong>Findings:</strong> The results of this study reveal that many media organisations are underpaying their employees, failing to facilitate skills acquisition training for staff, lacking editorial guidelines, hiring underqualified staff to cut costs, and failing to adequately provide the staff with the logistics needed for news gathering, all of which compromise professionalism and drive the phenomena of sensational reporting, partisanship (especially during elections), one-sided reporting, inadequate source attribution, language decorum, inaccurate reporting, lack of skills for covering highly sensitive topics like those relating to children, domestic violence, court proceedings, etc., invasion of people's privacy, and acceptance of freebies by journalists are all examples of how ethical standards are broken.</p> <p><strong>Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy:</strong> Innovative advertising campaigns aimed at small businesses, grants for the promotion of current development issues, the creation of content that would draw viewers from outside of Gambia, increased media organization collaboration to cut production costs, the creation of high-quality content, being more inventive to create content that various populations can relate to, and the Media Council's advocacy for government subvention to news media organization’s were suggested as solutions to funding challenges faced by the media.</p>2024-02-28T00:00:00+03:00Copyright (c) 2024 Morolake O. Adekunle, Femi Onifade , Abdul Rashid Gbambuhttps://www.iprjb.org/journals/index.php/IJCPR/article/view/2287The Cause and Effect of Morality Frame on the Perception of Obesity among 35-55 years University Female Academic Staff in Nairobi County, Kenya2024-01-26T17:51:33+03:00Naomi Kahigakwarigia@gmail.com<p><strong>Purpose:</strong> The purpose of this study was to investigate the cause and effect of morality frame on the perception of obesity among 35-55 years University female academic staff in Nairobi County, Kenya.</p> <p><strong>Methodology:</strong> This study applied the one-group pretest-posttest experimental design. In the one-group pretest-posttest experimental design all study participants provided with the same treatment and assessment. The researcher, therefore, collected data using the pre-and posttest questionnaires. The treatment applied is <em>Slimpossible</em> television program season <em>six</em> episode <em>one</em> was purposively selected out of seven seasons and ninety-eight episodes covered by the<em> Slimpossible</em> television program. The obese females were qualified through an interview process to participate in the <em>Slimpossible</em> challenge, a popular weight loss television program aired by Citizen Television Network. The justification for choosing the season <em>six</em>-episode <em>one</em> television program was based on assessing the media frames according to Entman (1993), where the scholar mentions the following: human interest, consequences, morality, and responsibility. Although this study is a quasi-experimental research design, the researcher attempted to use randomization to improve the validity of the pretest and posttest experimental study design. Furthermore, out of the randomly selected sample, a purposeful sample was selected for assessment based on a specific interest (Stratton, 2019). The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. This study presented descriptive statistics using tables with frequencies and percentages. Secondly, the research conducted inferential statistics using several types of inferential analysis tools such as the Factor analysis (The Keiser-Meyer –Olkin (KMO) test), Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and regression analysis (logical regression).</p> <p><strong>Findings:</strong> The results showed that obesity and morality issues are more inclined toward Westernized perception than African perception. The inferential statistics using factor analysis was successful in extracting three independent components of the morality frame. The Keiser-Meyer –Olkin (KMO) test of adequacy (KMO=0.521; Chi-square=4254.5 d.f =66, p=0.000) was significant, implying factor analysis using the principal component method was appropriate. The three components, that is <em>personal moral opinion,</em> <em>morality & Western media</em>, and <em>morality & African media</em> cumulatively explain 71.3 % of the total variability.</p> <p><strong>Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy:</strong> This study emanated from the media framing theory, where it provided morality frame as one among five frames, mentioned by an American political scientist known as Robert Entman in 1993. Its contribution to practice, based on the findings, the respondents expressed that obesity is not subjected to moral decay/decline because their perspective was that obese females are healthy, beautiful and good people. The respondents felt that Africa faces more challenges with hunger and famine compared to obesity issues. The study recommends the involvement of academicians and health scientists to explore through research ‘why’ obesity is not a moral issue in tackling obesity. They could conduct visibility studies and experiments and publish them in peer-reviewed journals for access.</p>2024-01-26T00:00:00+03:00Copyright (c) 2024 Dr. Naomi Kahigahttps://www.iprjb.org/journals/index.php/IJCPR/article/view/2394To Say or Not To Say: The Influence of Interpersonal Communication Message Structure on Child Nutrition Promotion2024-03-05T18:34:37+03:00Florence Tsuma fctsuma@gmail.comHellen Mberiajournals@iprjb.orgIdah Muchunkujournals@iprjb.org<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>This study analyzed the influence of Interpersonal Communication (IPC) message structure in the promotion child nutrition. The study which was guided by the Health Belief Model (HBM) and employed the mixed methods research design.</p> <p><strong>Methodology: </strong>A sample of 10 Health Professionals (HPs) drawn from Public Healthcare facilities and 247 residents with children aged 5 years and below was drawn from Ganze Constituency in Kilifi County. Data was collected through questionnaires and interviews. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics while thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data.</p> <p><strong>Findings: </strong>The study found that incorporation of the 7Cs of effective communication was vital in Health Communication and Behaviour Change Communication specifically from a child nutrition perspective, with the strongest effect achieved through messages that were both concrete and coherent. Additionally, the ethos appeal proved to be the most powerful appeal in child nutrition communication.</p> <p><strong>Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: </strong>The study recommends that communicators should ensure child nutrition messages are packaged in line with the 7Cs of effective communication. It also recommends for audience analysis research prior to the dissemination of CNI messages to ensure messages are structured using the appropriate tone, stylistic devices and persuasion appeals.</p>2024-03-05T00:00:00+03:00Copyright (c) 2024 Florence Tsuma , Prof. Hellen Mberia, Prof. Idah Muchunku