Relationship between Photographs on Sports Newspapers and Patronage among Residents of Lagos State

Abstract

In recent times, many sports-only newspapers have started circulating in the country. One of the major features of virtually all the sports newspapers is the generous use of photographs, especially on the front pages. This article examined the relationship between the use of photographs and patronage of sports newspapers. Survey design was adopted to gather data among respondents of two purposively selected Local Government Areas in Lagos State. Findings showed that the influence of photographs on the patronage of sports newspapers is significantly positive among men than women. Findings further revealed that majority of the respondents are attracted to buy sports newspapers because of the display of captivating photographs on the cover page. Based on the findings, the researchers concluded that photographs are indispensable catalyst for the sale of sports newspapers and that for sports newspapers to be popular among women, publishers must include stories and pictures of sports involving women. The study therefore recommended that publishers of sports newspapers should introduce female-friendly sports stories, along with pictures, to create interest for sports newspapers among women. Also, the use of active yet timely photographs and well captioned pictures should be encouraged on all pages of the publications.