Values in Protest News in the 2020 Anti-SARS Uprising in Nigeria
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2022-09
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Mass Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, Ahmadu Bello University
Abstract
Abstract
Establishing patterns of newsworthiness in protest news contributes to the formation of social cognition responsible
for the reproduction of protest as organised resistance or solidarity. This study explores how newsworthiness is
constructed in the coverage of the 2020 #EndSARS protests in Nigeria. Based on a qualitative content analysis of 291
articles from two mainstream dailies, the Daily Trust and the Punch, this study shows that the Press tends to favour
elites in news reports about the protests. In order to be strategically effective, it is essential for a protest movement to
analyse the circumstances under which it is operating and show an understanding of its democratic character to
achieve its objectives. This study provides crucial insights into why news values are essential in explaining critical
social phenomena, especially in non-western societies like Nigeria.
Keywords: News values, journalists, #EndSARS, protests, Nigeria
Description
Keywords
Citation
News values, journalists, #EndSARS, protests, Nigeria