Abstract:
Television news has been studied from a number of perspectives. Few studies have
however focused on the moment of viewing from the perspective of the viewer – the
moment of the encounter between the television viewer and the television news.
Therefore the aim of this research was to investigate what took place at that moment
of encounter as described by the viewer. Its specific research questions were: –what
kinds of viewers are present at the encounter between the viewer and the incoming
television news? What could be specific television news forms which attract the
viewer? and lastly, what is the nature of the encounter process between the viewer
and the incoming news? The research was guided by a critical theory perspective and
was carried out in Kiambu, Kajiado, Machakos counties and in two additional sites in
Nairobi. It was justified because what happens at that moment of encounter is
important in defining the nature of television news communication from the
standpoint of the viewer. It should be of interest to television news research and the
practitioner. Meanwhile, the research involved a phenomenological method within the
qualitative research approach relying on the diary method but also using the face to
face indepth interviews, and the focus group discussion techniques of data generation.
Sampling was done purposefully and 58 research participants were identified for the
research. Data was analysed using thematic coding and specific procedures were
adopted to achieve trustworthiness and ethical requirements. The study had three key
findings – that the television viewer is a disturbed, reflective, and dominating person
at the moment of encounter with in coming news; that an epic news genre dominates
the encounter between the television viewer and in coming news; and lastly, that the
key process at the encounter is one of relating reported reality to viewer convictions.
The study concludes that this is a significant investigation offering a fresh perspective
of looking at communication of television news. It has potential for further
development around viewer and television news encounter studies.
