PLANET FM RADIO PROGRAMME "POLITICS AND YOU" AND POLITICAL MOBILIZATION OF ELECTORATE IN IKOT EKPENE

ABSTRACT The study examines the "Planet FM Radio Programme "Politics and You" And Political Mobilization Of Electorate in Ikot Ekpene. Objectives were formulated for the study to have its focus, one of the objective was to find out whether the residents in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area listen to Planet Programme "Politics and You, to find out how often the residents in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area listen to Planet Programme "Politics and You", to find out the perceptions of the residents in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area about Planet Programme "Politics and You" and to find out how effective is Planet programme "Politics and You on Political Mobilization among residents in Ikot Ekpene. The population of this study consists of the residents of Ikot Ekpene L.G.A who have attained the age of 18 years and above. A sample of three hundred and eighty four (384) was drawn from the population of this study through a Cluster Sampling Procedure. Data was gathered through the use of questionnaire. The findings of this study revealed that the residents of Ikot Ekpene LG.A listen Planet FM programme "Politic and You" and the programme "Politics and You" is informative, have persuasive influence on their decision to take part in political activities, positively on political mobilization, encourage residents in Ikot Ekpene L.G.A to vote and serve as an excellent tool for political propaganda in Ikot Ekpene. Also findings revealed that the programme "Politic and You" is very effective on political mobilization in Ikot Ekpene LGA Based on these findings, the study recommended that the management of the station should as a matter of urgency boost the programme with more music and entertainment element with view to broadening its appeal. Also the programme should be scheduled for morning prime time on Saturday where most families and listeners could be reached at their breakfast table.