A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF PICTURES IN SELECTED NEWSPAPERS

Abstract

Every newspaper house today uses pictures to either complement stories or stand to give news independently. This practice has given photojournalism a critical place in the print media of mass communication. The study sought to content-analyse the use of pictures in two newspapers, the Graphic and Daily Sun. The aim was to among other things, ascertain the frequency of the use of photographs in the newspapers and identify the various types of photographs used in them. It also identified the sources of the pictures used in the newspapers. Out of a population of 105 editions of the newspapers cutting across all Tuesdays in the months of May, June and July 2014, 26 editions were studied using purposive sampling method. Coding sheet was used to analyse the newspaper photos. It was found out that both the Graphic and the Daily Sun used photographs in all the pages of the editions; and the aware pictures dominated the newspapers with 64% while the candid pictures followed with 21% and the semi-aware picture 15%. Most of the pictures were relevant to the stories, but the Graphic newspapers had more of negative pictures (75%), than Daily Sun with 25%. Most of the pictures (60.6%) used were sourced from photojournalists as against other sources. Based on the findings, it was concluded that the newspapers had adopted extensive use of pictures in news reporting. I recommended that newspapers should give prominence to the use of candid pictures as it is capable of showing the reader the action in the event and story without any pretence as is often the case with aware photographs. Since pictures play significant roles in complementing newspaper stories, print media houses should sustain their usage with modern professional touch to keep readers glued to the print contents.