DEVELOPMENT NEWS IN NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS: A CONTENT ANALYSIS ON THE PUNCH AND NEW NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS
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Date
2011-07
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Department of Sociology, University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
Abstract
Available literature shows that the Nigerian press had always been preoccupied with politics and that it was giving little attention to development matter. Specific kinds of information which satisfies the needs and desires of the people can contribute to economic and social progress of a country. The need for Nigerian newspaper to report development news therefore stimulated the interest of this study. The study focused on the privately-owned Punch and the state-owned New Nigerian newspaper for coverage of development news in Nigeria between the period of June, 2007 and May 2008. The method of content analysis was used for this study. The study reveals that development matters are poorly covered by the two Nigerians newspaper. However, the state-owned newspaper, the New Nigerian was relatively doing better than the privately-owned, Punch, in the coverage of development news such as agricultural practice, public health and welfare and literacy and education at the detriment of others in the two newspaper. It is recommended among others, that strictly development –focused newspaper should be established. In addition, the existing ones should train and retrain staff on the need for adequate coverage of rural development issues.
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Keywords
Development News, Journalism, National Development, Media
Citation
Kadiri, K.K. (2011). Development News in Nigerian Newspapers: A content analysis on the Punch and the New Nigerian newspapers’. Ilorin Journal of Sociology, 3 (1); 79 -100.