COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF NIGERIAN PRINT MEDIA COVERAGE OF MAZI NNAMDI KANU AND MR. SUNDAY IGBOHO’S SECESSIONIST MOVEMENTS
Abstract
Comparative analysis of Nigerian print media coverage of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and Mr. Sunday Igboho’s secessionist movements is a content analytical study whose aim was to examine the news stories on both activists in order to ascertain whether reportage and framing are dependent on background/ownership of the press and ethnic orientations. The press, bestowed with the functions of agenda setting, watchdog and surveillance etc., it became imperative to find out who formed the major agenda for the press and the reason for the formation of such. The objectives that guided the study were among others, to compare the frequency of reportage as well as the prominence given to Mazi Nnamdi Kanu and Mr. Sunday Igboho by the press, and to examine the framing of media reports on the both activists by the press. The study, anchored on agenda setting and framing theories, utilized the content analytical research method, to examine six Nigerian Dailies based on different ethnic backgrounds which include: Daily Sun, The Punch, Vanguard, The Guardian, This Day and Leadership newspapers. The content analysis was conducted from January to August 2021 with composite week sampling as the technique for sampling in the study. Findings revealed that Mazi Kanu enjoyed higher frequency and more prominence than Mr. Igboho in the Nigerian press. The study concluded that reportage and framing of news stories were dependent on background/ownership of the press, and influenced by ethnic sentiments/affiliations. The study recommended that the press should pay less attention to ethnic sentiments in its reportage, despise politics and be more objective in its reportage on the essence of agitations with their movements.
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