Media and the Fight against Corruption in Nigeria: An Assessment of Selected Newspapers’ Coverage of the Maina Case
Abstract
Although Nigeria has gained some marginal stride in its fight against corruption, there are still some significant milestones yet to be attained. The role of the press as the watchdog of society in this fight is undeniable. In light of the need for continuous assessment of the media’s performance, this study investigated the newspaper coverage of the Abdulrasheed Maina case. The Guardian Newspaper and The Daily Trust Newspaper were selected and content-analyzed to assess how the news around the case was framed. Primary data were collected from all the editions of these newspapers, accounting for seven weeks, and covered 98 newspapers. The unit of analysis included the story categories of the Abdulrasheed Maina case were examined as News stories (Headlines). The framing theory and watchdog model formed the theoretical framework. While the content analysis was employed to investigate the tonality of the news content, critical discourse analysis assesses the linguistic style used by both newspapers, thus determining their ideological position. The research findings showed disparities in the tonality of reportage for both newspapers, although proprietary or regional influences did not affect their ideological position. This research novelty is in using content analysis and critical discourse analysis to analyze the news contents of a national and regional newspaper.
Keywords: media, corruption, framing, the Nigerian government, news.
Full Text:
PDFReferences
ADESOJI, A. O. (2010). Old wine in new bottle: The Nigerian Press in the Era of Constitutional Democracy, 1999-2009. Journal of International Social Research, 3(10), 22-32.
AHMED, K. A., ABDULBAQI, S. S., & ADISA, R. M. (2019). Anti-corruption campaigns and Nigeria development: An appraisal of media roles. Acta Universitatis Danubius, 13, 99-116.
AKANI, C. (2017). The media and corruption in Nigeria. International Journal of Scientific Research in Education, 10, 39-49.
AMODU, L., YARTEY, D., EKANEM, T., ORESANYA, T., & AFOLABI, O. (2016). Assessing the media’s watchdog role in ensuring the accountability of the Nigerian government. 3rd International Conference on African Development Issues (pp. 451-454). Covenant University Press. Retrieved from http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/8214/1/icadi16pp451-454.pdf
ARDÈVOL-ABREU, A. (2015). Framing theory in communication research. Origins, development and current situation in Spain. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 70, 423-450. http://doi.org/10.4185/RLCS-2015-1053en
AYENI, E. O., & NWAORGU, H. C. (2018). Corruption and development in the contemporary Nigerian society (2010-2015). Lafia Journal of History and International Development, 1(2), 83-100.
D'ANGELO, P. (2019). Framing theory and journalism. In T. P. Vos, & F. Hanusch, The International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies (pp. 1-10). Wiley.
DAUDA, S. (2010). The print media landscape in Nigeria and reporting conflict. Maiduguri Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 279-286.
FREYENBERGER, D. (2013). Amanda Knox: A content analysis of media framing in newspapers around the world. East Tennessee State University. Retrieved from https://dc.etsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=2281&context=etd
JUNG, H. (2019). Agenda-setting in the realm of popular culture: The case of the Korean Wave in East Asia. Global Media and Communication, 361-377. http://doi.org/10.1177/1742766519872782
KUAN, D., HASAN, N., ZAWAWI, J., & ABDULLAH, Z. (2020). Framing theory application in public relations: The lack of dynamic framing analysis in competitive context. Media Watch, 333-351. http://doi.org/10.15655/mw/2021/v12i2/160155
LEWIS, J. (2017). Social impacts of corruption upon community resilience and poverty. Journal of Disaster Risk Studies, 1-8. http://doi.org/10.4102/jamba.v9i1.391
MCQUAIL, D., & DEUZE, M. (2020). McQuail’s Media and Mass Communication Theory. SAGE Publications Ltd.
ODALONU, B. H. (2021). Persistent rise in corrupt practices in Nigeria: The irony of fighting corruption in president Buhari’s administration (2015-2020). Nigerian Journal of Social Studies, 56-84.
ODIONYE, C. M., & YARE, M. D. (2018). Coverage of corruption cases in Nigerian newspapers and magazines and print editors' perception about the fight against corruption in Nigeria. UNIUYO Journal of Humanities, 163-183.
OJO, E. O. (2006). Imperative of sustaining democratic values. In OJO, E. O. Challenges of Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria. John Archers [Publisher] Limited.
OLANIYAN, K. (2018, June 17). Buhari’s anti-corruption fight and the rule of law. Retrieved from The Guardian Newspaper: https://guardian.ng/opinion/buharis-anti-corruption-fight-and-the-rule-of-law/
OLASUPO, O., OLADEJI, I., & IJEOMA, E. O. (2017). Nationalism and nationalist agitation in Africa: The Nigerian trajectory. The Review of Black Political Economy, 44, 261-283. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12114-017-9257-x
ONYEMAOBI, K. (2018). The role of the press in emerging democracies: An analysis of newspaper coverage of political violence and corruption in Nigeria. The University of Leicester.
PETERS, A. (2018). Corruption as a violation of international human rights. Article Navigation, 1251–1287.
RIBADU, N. (2009, May 19). Capital loss and corruption: The example of Nigeria. Centre for Global Development. Retrieved from https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/archive/doc/Opinions/Ribadu_corruption_05-19-09.pdf
SCHEUFELE, D. A., & TEWKSBURY, D. (2007). Framing, agenda setting, and priming: The evolution of three media effects models. Journal of Communication, 9-20. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00326.x
TADE, O. (2019). Policing looted funds with the whistle: Newspaper coverage of the anti-corruption crusade in Nigeria. Africa Development / Afrique et Développement, 44 (4),73–90. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/26873445
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA. (1999): Government Press.
TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL (2018). Nigeria. Retrieved May 31, 2018, from Transparency International: The Global Coalition against Corruption. Retrieved from https://www.transparency.org/country/NGA
SANTAS, T., & OGOSHI, J. D. (2016). An Appraisal of Mass Media Role in Consolidating Democracy in Nigeria. African Research Review, 73-86. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/afrrev.v10i1.7
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
