Coverage of Human Rights issues in Nigeria: A Content Analysis of The Nation and Vanguard Newspapers

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the coverage of human rights issues in Nigerian newspapers, specifically analyzing 56 editions of Vanguard and The Nation from June 2019 to December 2019. Employing content analysis and guided by the theoretical frameworks of Agenda-setting and Framing theories, the research explores the frequency, placement, and content types used in reporting human rights. Findings indicate a consistent but relatively low frequency of human rights coverage, with predominant placement on the “Inside page.” Both newspapers employ diverse content types, emphasizing “News” and “Opinion” pieces. Subjects primarily focus on “Violence,” “Extremism/Bigotry,” and “Infringement of constitutional rights.” The study suggests the need for a more extended analysis, qualitative exploration of editorial decisions, and comparative studies across newspapers. Recommendations include longitudinal analysis, qualitative methods incorporation, sensitivity training for journalists, and mechanisms for reader feedback.

References

1. Adeyemo, O., & Obaje, E. C. (2020). Newspapers Coverage of Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria: May – July 2018. Global Journal of Human-Social Science: Arts & Humanities – Psychology, 20(2).

2. Ahmad, A., & Sahu, G. K. (2019). Newspaper Coverage on Human Rights Issues: A Comparative Study of The Times of India and The Indian Express. Indian Journal of Communication Review, 7(1).

3. Alimi, S. (2011). Under The Jackboot: The Nigerian Tribune and Human Rights Agitation, 1984–1998. African Study Monographs, 32(2), 43-68.

4. Awoniyi, S. (2019). Moral Reflections on Human Right, Development and Corruption in Africa: The Nigerian Experience. International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science, 7(5), 82-98. www.ijlass.org

5. Borah, P. (2011). Conceptual issues in framing theory: A systematic examination of a decade’s literature. Journal of Communication, 61(2), 246-263. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01539.x

6. Borah, P. (2011). Conceptual issues in framing theory: A systematic examination of a decade’s literature. Journal of Communication, 61(2), 246-263. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2011.01539.x

7. Clark, R. (2012). Bringing the media in: Newspaper readership and human rights*. Sociological Inquiry, 82(4), 532-556. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682x.2012.00417.x

8. Cobbah, J. A. (1987). African values and the human rights debate: An African perspective. Human Rights Quarterly, 9(3), 309. https://doi.org/10.2307/761878

9. Cole, W. (2010). No news is good news: Human rights coverage in the American print media, 1980-2000. Journal of Human Rights, 9(3), 303-325. https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2010.501264

10. Dada, J. A. (2012). Impediments to Human Rights Protection in Nigeria. Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law, 18(1), Article 6. http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/annlsurvey/vol18/iss1/6.

11. Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51-58. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1993.tb01304.x

12. Frame, frame analysis. (2006). The SAGE Dictionary of Sociology. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446279137.n363

13. Harwood, T. G., & Garry, T. (2003). An overview of content analysis. The Marketing Review, 3(4), 479-498. https://doi.org/10.1362/146934703771910080

14. Henkin, L. (1989). The universality of the concept of human rights. The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 506(1), 10-16. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716289506001002

15. Jauhari, Alka, “Colonial and Post-Colonial Human Rights Violations in Nigeria” (2011). Government, Politics & Global Studies Faculty Publications. Paper 5. http://digitalcommons.sacredheart.edu/gov_fac/5

16. McCOMBS, M. (1997). Building consensus: The news media’s agenda-setting roles. Political Communication, 14(4), 433-443. https://doi.org/10.1080/105846097199236

17. McQuail, D. (1982). Book reviews : The whole world is watching: mass media in the making and unmaking of the new left, by Todd Gitlin. University of California press, 1980 media power politics, by David L. Paletz and Robert M. Altman. The Free Press, 1981. Gazette (Leiden, Netherlands), 29(1-2), 107-108. https://doi.org/10.1177/001654928202900110

18. Powers, M. (2016). A new era of human rights news? Contrasting two paradigms of human rights news-making. Journal of Human Rights, 15(3), 314-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/14754835.2015.1106309

19. Ramos, H., Ron, J., & Thoms, O. N. (2007). Shaping the northern media’s human rights coverage, 1986—2000. Journal of Peace Research, 44(4), 385-406. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022343307078943

20. Speetzen, D. D. (2010). James Griffin, on human rights. The Journal of Value Inquiry, 44(3), 389-394. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10790-010-9216-2

21. Weaver, D. H. (2007). Thoughts on agenda setting, framing, and priming. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 142-147. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2006.00333.x

22. Yin, J. (2007). The clash of rights: A critical analysis of news discourse on human rights in the United States and China. Critical Discourse Studies, 4(1), 75-94. https://doi.org/10.1080/17405900601149491

Download all article in PDF

WSN 196 (2024) 17-30

ADVERTISEMENT