ABSTRACT
The study investigated broadcast media agenda on environmental natural disasters and public resilience for the ultimate aim of development in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The objectives were to find out the most common environmental natural disaster message from broadcast media; to determine audience perception of environmental natural disasters messages; to ascertain whether broadcast media communication of environmental natural disasters enhance preventive measures by residents of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. The research work anchored on the Hostile perception and the Attitude change theories. This study adopted the survey method to investigate the perception of the Niger Delta region residents about broadcast communication on environmental natural disasters. The population taken was at 31,224,587 with sample size of 400 using Taro Yamane formula. Findings revealed a relationship between broadcast media communication and perception of Niger Delta audience on natural disaster at 368 or 92% respondents. It also revealed that the most common natural disaster in the Niger Delta is flooding and that Niger Delta audience have information about natural disaster but the extent which it change perceptions to adopt flood preventive measure was low and without positive effect. The study recommended that broadcast media should hype agenda function roles by emphasizing causes, effects and preventive measures against incidents of climatic change and other forms of natural disasters especially floods. It also has recommendations that media reports on disasters have to be in-depth rather than being shadow in educating people on positive and measurable preventive approaches and ways of recovery from environmental natural disasters.
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