Comparative Evaluation of Nigerian Newspapers’ Coverage of Political Violence, 2003-2011


Keyword : Coverage .Political violence .Reporting .Newspapers


Author(s) : Vaungwa Apaa Nyihar Tine

Abstract :   

The role of the media in informing the people can never be overstretched. This study, therefore, compares the reportage of political violence through the prisms of four Nigerian newspapers, Daily Sun, The Guardian, ThisDay and New Nigerian. Using content analysis method and predicated on the Social Responsibility theory, the study found that the newspapers buried most of the stories on political violence on the inside pages of the newspapers as well as presenting most of the newspaper contents through the traditional straightnews format at the expense of editorials, features, articles and other forms of opinionated contents. The study also found that the newspapers depended more on their in-house staff as sources for their stories on political violence. It was recommended amongst other things that the newspapers should use the other genres of reporting to inform the public as well as giving political violence the prominence it deserves through story placement. The usage of a multisource approach to news stories should also be adopted instead of the dependence on in-house staff as sources of news stories.

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