Rethinking Terrorism Reportage: Assessment of Nigerian and International Media Coverage of Boko Haram Terrorism


Keyword : Boko Haram .Terrorism .Nigerian Media .International Media .Nigeria.


Author(s) : Barikui Nnaane

Abstract :   

The mass media through their framing of news stories can determine to some extent if conflicts can either be escalated or de-escalated. For insurgency, which is a different kind of conflict entirely, the role of the mass media in building confidence in the people becomes very germane. This research was undertaken to assess the role of both the Nigerian media and the international media in the coverage of the Boko Haram insurgency. This was informed by the accusation and counter-accusation on the role of the Nigerian media and the international community in the Boko Haram insurgency between the Office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a leading national daily- The Punch. Out of the 2304 copies of questionnaire distributed, 2225, representing 96.6% were returned. The study covered the selected capitals of the selected states across the six geo-political zones in Nigeria. Survey was the research design, while multi-stage sampling and simple random sampling techniques were used. A major finding of the research was that both the Nigerian media and the international media were scored low in their coverage by the respondents. However, on comparable basis, the hypothesis showed that the respondents ranked the international media to be more objective in their reportage of the Boko Haram insurgency than the Nigerian media. The Study recommends, among others, that since insurgency is not a conventional warfare, both the Nigerian media and the international media should avoid the kinds of reportage that would give undue publicity to the insurgents.

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