Abstract:
Reality television shows are a relatively new genre on television that intriguingly
draw in and hold the interest of different viewer demographics. One of the most
common types of reality shows is a reality dating show. Reality dating shows have
steadily taken over the TV programmes market and have also recently attracted a lot
of interest from both scholars and television viewers. As such, the African media
landscape has gradually embraced this genre of television programming and Ghana is
not an exception. However, research on the phenomenon of reality dating shows has
not received much attention. This study attempts to analyse the Date Rush show, a
reality dating show produced by a privately owned Ghanaian television network,
TV3. The study gathered data through three focus group discussions with active
viewers of the Date Rush show in Winneba and phone interviews with four
contestants of the show. The work was anchored on The Uses and Gratification
theory, which offers an analysis of the motivations of the focus group participants for
watching the reality dating show. Furthermore, Para-social Interaction theory was
used to analyse the nature of interactions the viewers and contestants of Date Rush
share. A purposive and snowball sampling technique are used to draw a sample of
thirty (30) participants, consisting of four (4) contestants on the show and twenty-six
(26) viewers. An analysis reveals that the most salient gratifications sought were
entertainment and social interactions. Also, findings show that the viewers perceived
the 'real' in the reality genre as partially scripted, not original or authentic. Besides, it
was discovered that viewers and contestants of the Date Rush show form Para-social
interactions. The Para-social interactions between viewers and contestants bothered
on the kind of narrative engagement, social media engagement as well as face-to-face
interactions. The study concludes that the Date Rush show (reality dating) television
programmes have serious influences on viewers. The study recommends that there
should also be more avenues for viewers to share and comment on the show. It
appears that even though viewers interact with contestants of the show, the avenues
for interactions are limited. The inclusion of segments like call in live and pass their
comments or interests with the contestants would go a long way to enriching
interactions.
Description:
A dissertation in the Department of Strategic Communication, School of Communication and Media Studies, Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Philosophy (Strategic Communication) In the University of Education, Winneba.
DECEMBER, 2022