Analysis of the Daily Trust and the Daily Sun Newspaper   Coverage of the ‘‘Bring Back Our Girls’’ Protests in Nigeria

Ruth Ache OKPANACHI

ABSTRACT

  This study is a follow up to the rate of protests in Nigeria under the dominant theme of ‘Bring back our girls,’ following the abduction of school girls in Chibok by the Boko Haram sect. The abduction of the school children attracted condemnations from within and outside Nigeria with many calling on the government to expedite actions to secure the release of the school children. This is the issue examined in this study. The study content analysed the coverage of the protests by the Daily Sun and the Daily Trust  newspapers with specific attention to frequency, prominence and direction/slanting .Using agenda setting and frustration aggression as theoretical bases, findings revealed high frequency of coverage, low prominence and favourable direction of coverage. The researcher argues  that newspaper coverage of the protests could make or mar  the situation, hence the need to  give  more prominence to the Chibok abduction as a way  of setting agenda on  it  with a corresponding effect on   the peace and harmony of Nigeria.

KEYWORDS: Newspaper; Coverage; Protests; Bring Back Our Girls

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