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NIGERIAN PRESS COVERAGE OF THE
ARAB SPRING: A CONTENT ANALYSIS
OF SIX NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS.
BY
OKEKE, NNENNA GRACE
PG/MA/10/57915
A RESEARCH PROJECT
SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MASS
COMMUNICATION UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA,
NSUKKA FOR THE AWARD OF MASTERS
DEGREE IN MASS COMMUNICATION.
SUPERVISOR: DR. N. M. OKORO
OCTOBER 2012
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CERTIFICATION
This research project is an original work of Okeke, Nnenna Grace with
registration number PG/MA/10/57915. It satisfies the requirements for
presentation of research report in the Department of Mass Communication,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
_________________________ ______________
Dr. N. M. Okoro Date
Project Supervisor
________________________ ______________
Dr. N. M. Okoro Date
Head of Department
________________________ _______________
External Examiner Date
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DEDICATION
To Mum and Dad of the blessed memory.
May your gentle souls continue to rest in perfect peace. Amen.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
So numerous are those who encouraged me in the course of this research work.
To my mum, Late Mrs. Nwannediya Mlewemchianya Okeke, the woman of my
heart, you are always there for me. Though, this work you live not to see, still you are
the best. I will never forget you.
My project supervisor, Dr. N. M. Okoro, I cannot wait for heaven to thank you
for your advice and for the idea to get started in the right direction. If I have
accomplished any success in this work, it was because you sacrificed your time and
intellect. The enormous attention you paid to this research made it a huge success.
I also remain grateful to my lecturers without whom I would not have any
knowledge to offer, they include: Dr. N. M. Okoro, Dr. C. S. Akpan, Dr. Ray. Udeaja,
Dr. Greg Ezea, Prof. I.S. Ndolo, Mr. L. I. Anorue, Miss E. U. Ohaja, Mr. C. A.
Ekwueme, Mr. E. C. Nnaji, and Mr. M. Ukonu. Your inspiring lectures have
contributed so much in shaping my academic life. Thanks a million times.
To Omisore Olasunkanmi, you are a friend indeed. Your financial support has
been tremendous, may you be blessed by God abundantly. My brother-colleagues,
Kingsley Nnabugwu, Theophilus Anoliefo and Edwin Okafor, thank you for your
words of encouragement.
Finally, I remain indebted to Nnamdi Azikiwe Library of the University of
Nigeria, Nsukka, Bishop Uzodike Memorial Seminary’s library, Nnewi, The Guardian,
The Nation, ThisDay and Sun Newspapers’ libraries in Lagos, Daily Trust and
Leadership newspapers’ libraries in Abuja for providing me with research materials.
Okeke, Nnenna Grace,
The Department of Mass Communication,
Faculty of Arts,
School of Postgraduate Studies,
University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- i
Certification ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ii
Dedication ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- iii
Acknowledgement ----- ----- ----- ---- ----- ----- ----- ----- iv
Table of Contents ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- v
List of Tables ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- vii
Abstract ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- viii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 1
1.2 Statement of Problem ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 9
1.3 Objectives of Study ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 9
1.4 Research Questions ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 10
1.5 Significance of the Study ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 11
1.6 Scope of Study ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 11
1.7 Delimitations of the Study ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 11
1.8 Definition of Terms ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 12
References ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 14
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Focus of Review ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 16
2.2 An overview of Nigerian Press Coverage of the Arab spring-----` ----- 16
2.3 International Press Coverage of Developing Nations ----- ----- ----- 22
2.4 Nigerian Press Coverage of Africa in Context ----- ----- ----- 27
2.5 The Press and Crisis Management ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 29
2.6 Theoretical Framework ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 37
2.6.1. The Emancipatory Media Theory ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 38
2.6.2. The Gate-Keeping Theory ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 38
2.6.3 The Agenda Setting Theory ----- ---- ----- ----- ----- ----- 40
2.7 Summary of the Literature Reviewed ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 41
References ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 42
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design ----- ------ ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 45
3.2 Population of Study ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 46
3.3 Period of Study ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 48
3.4 Sampling Technique ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 49
3.5 Sample Size ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 50
3.6 Instrument for Data Collection ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 51
3.7 Unit of Analysis ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 51
3.8 Validity and Reliability of Research Instruments ----- ----- ----- 55
3.9 Method of Data Analysis ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 56
3.10 Limitations of the Methodology ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 56
References ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 57
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CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.1 Description of the Sample ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 58
4.2 Data Presentation and Analysis----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 59
4.3 Discussion of Findings ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 73
References ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 79
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 80
5.2 Conclusion ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 81
5.3 Recommendations ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 82
Bibliography ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 84
Appendix 1 Coding Guide ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- 90
Appendix 2 Code sheet for The Guardian newspaper ------ ----- 91
Appendix 3 Code sheet for The Nation newspaper ----- ----- 93
Appendix 4 Code sheet for ThisDay newspaper ----- ----- ----- 95
Appendix 5 Code sheet for Sun newspaper ----- ----- ----- 97
Appendix 6 Code sheet for Daily Trust newspaper ----- ----- 99
Appendix 7 Code sheet for Leadership newspaper ----- ----- 101
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LIST OF TABLES AND CHARTS
Tables
1. Description of the Sample
2. The volume of coverage of the Arab spring in the six newspapers under study.
3. Topics covered by the six newspapers under study.
4. The news sources of published items in the six newspapers.
5. The direction of news coverage of each of the six newspapers under study.
6. The total direction of news coverage in the six newspapers under study.
7. The position of stories in each of the six newspapers under study.
8. The overall position of stories in the six newspapers.
9. The score index for headline column.
10. The score index for length of stories.
11. The story genre of each news papers under study.
12. The comparison of position of stories in the six newspapers under study.
13. The comparison of direction of news in the six newspapers under study.
Charts
Figure 1: Chart showing the volume of coverage of the Arab spring in the six
newspapers under study
Figure 2: Chart showing the topics covered by the six newspapers under study.
Figure 3: Chart showing the news sources of the published items in the six
newspapers.
Figure 4: Chart showing the total direction of news coverage in the six
newspapers under study.
Figure 5: Chart showing the position of stories in the six newspapers under
study.
Figure 6: Chart showing the score index for headline column.
Figure 7: Chart showing the score index for length of stories.
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ABSTRACT
This study was set to examine the Nigerian press coverage of the Arab spring. It
analyzed the content of six Nigerian newspapers: The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay,
Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers in their coverage of the Arab Spring from
January 2011 to December 2011. The researcher systematically selected a sample of
720 issues of the six newspapers to generate data for the study. 46 issues do not have
stories on the Arab spring while 674 issues have stories on the Arab spring. Therefore,
a total sample of 674 issues that yielded 2162 stories were analyzed. The major
findings of the study are that the direction of news coverage of the Arab spring is
unfavourable and the Nigerian press still depends on the foreign media and the
international wire services for coverage of events in Africa and other developing
countries of the world. The study discovered that the Nigerian press portrayed the Arab
spring in bad light. Also the international news flow is still from the west to the south.
The implication is that, as long as the African media depend on the western media to
cover events in Africa, the slant of coverage will always be unfavourable. It was
recommended among other things that the Nigerian media houses should scrutinize
news from the international news agencies before publication. They should also
reawaken the existing links and cooperation with the press of other African countries in
order to achieve adequate coverage of Africa and other developing nations.
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CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
In the contemporary world, there are crises of violence, threats of violence and
wars either internally or by external aggression. The series of protests and
demonstrations across the Middle East and North Africa have become known as the
Arab Spring, Arab Awakening or Arab Uprising.
According to Youssef (2011, p. 39), it was sparked by the first protest that
occurred in Tunisia on December 18, 2010 following Mohammed Bouzazizi’s self
immolation in protest of police corruption and ill-treatment. With the success of the
protests in Tunisia, a wave of unrest struck Algeria, Jordan, Oman, Morocco, Egypt,
Yemen, and it spread to other Arab nations.
The Arab nations are represented by 21 separate countries which include
Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya,
Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia,
United Arab Emirate (UAE) and Yemen.
According to Maccffery (2011, p.42), “the factors that led to the protests in
these Arab nations include issues such as dictatorship, absolute monarchy,
unemployment, economic decline, extreme poverty, and a number of demographic
structural factors such as large educated but dissatisfied youth within the population.
The catalyst for the revolts in all the Northern Africa and Persian Gulf countries have
been the concentration of wealth in the hands of autocrats in power for decades,
insufficient transparency of its redistribution, and especially the refusal of the youths to
accept the status quo increasing food prices, and global famine rates been a significant
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factor, as they involve threat to food security. In recent decades, rising living standards
and literacy rates, as well as the increased availability of higher education, have
resulted in improved human development index in the affected countries. The tension
between rising aspirations and a lack of government reform have been a contributing
factor in all the protests”.
On January 30, 2011 and February 1, 2011 protest took place in Sudan. The
protesters called on the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to step down. Non Darfuris
also joined in the anti-government protests. President Omar al Bashir announced that he
would not seek to run in the next presidential election in 2015. (Leadership, July 22,
p.12).
Browne (2011, p.34) writes that on December 29, 2010, protests began in
Algiers over the lack of housing, and it escalate to violent confrontations with the
police. Three people were killed, 853 injured and 1129 arrested. From January 12 to
19, 2011, a wave of self-immolation attempts swept the country, beginning with
Mohammed Aouchia, who set himself on fire in Bordj Menaiel in protest at his
family’s housing. On January 13, 2011, Mohsen Bouterfif set himself on fire after a
meeting with the mayor of Boukhadra in Tebessa, who had been unable to get a job and
a house. About 100 protested his death, resulting in the mayor’s dismissal by the
provincial governor. At least ten self-immolations were reported in Algeria that week.
On January 22, 2011, the RCD party organized a demonstration for democracy in
Algiers, though illegal under the State of Emergency enacted in 1992, it was attended
by 300 people. The demonstration was suppressed by police, with 42 people injured. In
an apparent bid to stave of unrest, President Addelaziz Bouteflika announced on
February 3, 2011 that the 19-year state of emergency would be lifted, a promise
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fulfilled on February 22, 2011 and on April 15, 2011, President Boutflika announced
that he would seek revisions to the country’s constitution as part of a broad push for
democratic reforms.
According to Mclean (2011, p.18), the 2011 protest in Bahrain were aimed to
achieve political freedom and respect for human rights and were not intended to
threaten the monarchy. The protests began in Bahrain on February 14, 2011 and were
peaceful until a raid by police on February 17, 2011 killed three protesters. Following
the deadly raid, the protesters call for the end of the monarchy. On February 18, 2011,
government forces opened fire on protesters and journalists. On February 19, protesters
occupied the Pearl Square after the government ordered troops and police to withdraw.
On March 14, at the request of the Crown Prince, the Saudi Arabian troops entered
Bahrain and opened fire on the protesters, several people were killed. The Shia
protesters in Iraq and Qatif in opposition to the Saudi-led intervention in Bahrain. King
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa declared a three-month state of emergency on March 15,
2011. On March 16, 2011, protesters camp in the Pearl roundabout was evacuated,
bulldozed and set on fire by the Bahraini Force, police and the Peninsula Shield Force.
The state of emergency was lifted on June 1, 2011, still rallies have been staged by the
Shi’ite communities demanding for the release of the detained protesters, greater
political representation and an end to sectarian discrimination. As of July 2011, medical
personnel are being prosecuted for treating injured protesters, and several human rights
groups. The journalists have also alleged that they have been targeted by the Bahrain
government.
In 2011 Syrian uprising, protests started on January 26, 2011. Protesters called
for political reforms and the reinstatement of civil rights, as well as an end to the state
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of emergency which has been in place since 1963. A ‘Day of Rage’ was set for
February 4 to 5, 2011, but it was uneventful. On March 6, 2011, the Syrian forces
arrested 15 children in Daraa south of Syria for writing slogans against the regime.
Children were tortured and brutally reduce nail avulsion, making Daraa the first city to
protest against the government of Paathy regime, which has ruled Syria since 1963.
(Sam and Wilson, 2011, p. 25).
According to Bakri and Goodman (2011, p. 41), protests occurred in many
towns in both north and south of Yemen which started in mid-January 2011.
Demonstrators initially protests against governmental proposals to modify the
constitution of Yemen, unemployment, economic conditions, corruption and a call for
the resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. A major demonstration of over 16,
000 protesters took place in Sana’a on January 27, 2011, the human rights activist and
politician Tawakel Karman called for a ‘Day of Rage’ on February 3, 2011, about 20,
000 protesters demonstrated against the government of Sana’a. Others participated in
the ‘Day of Rage’ in Aden that was called for by Tawakel Karman, while soldiers,
armed members of the General People’s Congress, and many protesters held a pro-
government rally in Sana’a. Yemenis again took to the streets protesting against
President Saleh on February 11, 2011, in what has been dubbed a ‘Friday of Rage’. In a
‘Friday of Anger,’ protests continued following clashes with the government advocates.
In a ‘Friday of Rage’, held on February 18, 2011, tens of thousands of Yemenis took
part in anti-government demonstrations in the major cities of Sana’a, Taiz, and Aden.
In the capital, Sana’a, the crowd marched towards the Presidential Palace, chanting
anti-government slogans. In an attempt for police to stop them, three people were killed
in the demonstrations, the protesters set fire on the local government building and
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protests continued in the three major cities. An assassination attempts left president
Saleh and several other high ranking Yemeni officials injured by a blast in the
presidential compound’s mosque. President Saleh was evacuated to Saudi Arabia for
treatment but handed over power to Vice President Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi.
President Ali Abdullah Salleh of Yemen announced on April 23, 2011 that he would
step down within 30 days in exchange of immunity, a deal accepted on April 26, 2011.
Salleh reneged on the deal prolonging the Yemen uprising.
In 2011 Iraqi protests, the Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki announced that
he would not run for a third term in 2014. On February 12, 2011, protesters gathered in
several major urban areas demanding a more effective approach to national security, to
investigate federal corruption cases as well as government involvement in making
public services fair and accessible. In response, The Iraqi government promised to
subsidize electricity costs. (Mccrummen, 2011, p. 37).
In Oman 2011 uprising, the protesters marched on January 17, 2011 demanding
for salary increase, end of corruption, a lower cost of living, more jobs and better
distribution of oil revenue. On February 26, 2011, problem escalated in Sohar, the
protesters burnt down shops and the police responded by using tear gas and rubber
bullet to disperse the crowds of protesters. Two people were killed on the process
resulting in burning down a police station in the region of Salalah. The Sultan started
his reform campaign by dissolving the ministry of National Economy, setting up a state
audit committee, granting students and unemployment benefits, dismissing scores of
ministers and reshuffling his cabinet. (Jones, 2011, p.29).
In Saudi Arabia 2011 uprising, the protesters protested against the poor
infrastructure in Jeddah following flooding and also call for major political and
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economic changes. Saudi Arabia has the worst gender rights and discrimination
regimes in the world. On February 5, 2011, 40 women demonstrated for the release of
prisoners held without trial.
In Kuwait, protesters marched in an anti-government protest, calling for the
resignation of the prime minister for crisis growing in the country, mismanagement of
public funds, corruption and insufficiency. The Emir of Kuwait, Shekih Sabah Al-
Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah gave every citizen free food ration and 4, 000 pounds.
In 2011 Lebanon uprising, protesters rallied in Beirut on February 27, 2011,
calling for the reform of the country’s confessional political system. On March 13,
2011, protesters called for the dismantlement of Hezbonah in Beirut, rejecting the
supremacy of Hezbonah’s weapons over political life. They also showed support for the
UN backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon after the fall of Hariri government and the
creation of Mikati government.
In Mauritania, Yacoub Ould Dahoud burned himself near the presidential palace
on January 17, 2011, in opposition to the policies of Mauritania President Mohamed
Abdel Aziz. Protesters took to the street of the capital Nouakchott. The mayor of the
city of Awjeft, Mohammed El Moctar Quid Ehmeyen Amar resigned from the ruling
party to politically support what he called the just cause of youngsters. On April 25,
2011, protesters took to the street to call for the resignation of the Prime Minister,
Moulaye Qould Mohamed Laghdaf. (Jones, 2011, p. 29).
Massoudi (2011, p.14) writes that in United Arab Emirate (UAE), a group of
intellectuals petitioned their ruler for comprehensive reform of the Federal National
Council including demands for universal suffrage. In May 2011, the government started
expanding its network of surveillance cameras as a preventive measure against revolts.
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According to Spencer (2011, p.44), anti-government protests began in Libya on
February 15, 2011, and by February 20, 2011, protests spread to Tripoli, the capital of
Libya. The Libyan Leader, Maummar Gaddafi has refused to step down, causing a civil
war between the pro-Gaddafi loyalists and anti-Gaddafi rebels. Gaddafi warned
protesters that their country could descend into civil war. On March 17, 2011, the
United Security Council Resolution mounted necessary measure to protect civilians.
France, the United States, and the United Kingdom intervened in Libya with a bombing
campaign against pro-Gaddafi’s forces. A coalition of 27 states from Europe and the
Middle East joined in the intervention. After Tripoli was destroyed on August 2011 by
anti-Gaddafi rebels, Gaddafi fled the Libyan capital to the southern part of the country,
Sirte. The rising death toll which currently numbers in thousands was drawing
international condemnation, resulting in the resignation of several Libyan diplomats
and their call for Gaddafi’s regime dismantlement.
On October 20, 2011, the US fighters captured Sirte, Gaddafi’s hometown,
ending a two-month siege and extinguishing the last significant hide out of troops loyal
to the deposed leader. The Libyan leader, Maummar Gaddafi was captured in his
hometown, Sirte and killed at the age of 69 after ruling Libya for 42 years. He was the
first leader to be killed in the Arab Spring of popular uprisings that swept the Middle
East. He was captured alive after his convoy was attacked by the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) war planes. He was beaten and killed alongside his son,
Mutassem Gaddafi by the National Transitional council (NTC) forces in Sirte.
As of December 31, 2011, the total death toll recorded in the protests in these
countries; Tunisia, Algeria, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania, Egypt, Yemen,
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Lebanon, Sudan, Bahrain, Iraq and Morocco is 50, 010. Libya topped highest in the
death toll of 30, 000 out of 50, 010. (Warren, 2011, p.33).
According to Jack (2011, p.27), “the geopolitical implications of the protests
and demonstrations have drawn global attention. The protests have shared the
techniques of civil resistance in sustained campaigns involving strikes, demonstrations,
and rallies as well as the use mass media to organize, communication and raise
awareness. Protests in many countries affected by the Arab spring have attracted
widespread support from the international community while harsh government
responses generally met condemnation”.
The Arab spring has both geographical and psychological proximity. The press
as the mouthpiece of the society has been in the forefront bringing the analysis, reports
and news on the Arab Spring through the various organs of mass communication.
According to Okigbo (1985, p.7), information about a crisis ridden society is
gotten from the press and we live in a globalize world with new media in which events
thousands of miles away can be brought to our doorsteps just in a second.
Therefore, this study is geared towards finding out how The Guardian, The
Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers fared in their one year
coverage of the Arab Spring from January 2011 to December 2011.
1.2 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Considering the wide attention the Arab Spring attracted both within and
outside the Arab nations, the revolutionary wave has been adjudged newsworthy
enough to warrant adequate coverage by the Nigerian press. There are divergent views
on the coverage of the Arab Spring by the Nigerian press. In various quarters, the
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Nigerian press has been criticized of biased and out of context coverage of crisis. Some
criticized the Nigerian press for outlandish editorial focus (Afghanistanism).
The problem therefore is the loud complaints that the Nigerian journalists give
conflicting information on issues concerning crises situation. Some argued that the
coverage differ from one newspaper to the other. What is reported in the media about
an individual, an organization, a government, a society, or a nation is taken with a note
of seriousness by the masses.
It is against the backdrop of these, that this study attempts to analyze the content
of 12 months coverage of the Arab Spring by the Nigerian press. Therefore, the content
analytical study of The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and
Leadership newspapers from January 2011 to December 2011 constitute the mandate of
this study.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
The study is aimed at analyzing the manifest content of The Guardian, The
Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers on their coverage of the
Arab Spring from January 2011 to December 2011. The objectives of the study are:
1. To find out the volume of coverage of the Arab Spring in the Nigerian press.
2. To ascertain the kinds of topics the Nigerian press covered on the Arab spring.
3. To find out the sources of the Nigerian press coverage of the Arab spring.
4. To ascertain the direction of the news coverage of the Arab spring in the
Nigerian press.
5. To determine whether prominence is given to the Arab Spring in the six
newspapers under study.
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6. To compare The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and
Leadership newspapers in terms of volume of coverage, story genre, position of
stories and direction of news.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions were formulated to guide the study:
1. What is the volume of coverage of the Arab spring in The Guardian, The
Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers?
2. What kinds of materials on the Arab spring appeared in the Nigerian Press?
3. Who are the sources of the Nigerian press coverage of the Arab spring?
4. What is the direction of news coverage of the Arab spring by the Nigerian
press?
5. Are the published materials given prominence in the six newspapers under
study?
6. Comparatively, how does the coverage of the Arab spring differ from The
Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers
in terms of volume of coverage, story genre, position of stories and direction of
news?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The study will be of utmost importance to reader to know to the role of the press
in crisis situations. It is hoped that the study will help the reader to know the quantity
and quality of coverage given to the Arab Spring by the Nigerian press.
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The work would also be of immense benefit to the practicing journalists on how
to cover and report crisis, civil disorder and wars of this magnitude in future.
Finally, the study will be a good reference material for people who are
researching on the press coverage of the Arab Spring in future.
1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study covered the Nigerian press coverage of the Arab Spring. It traced the
qualitative and quantitative elements of news feature, letters and opinion articles,
editorials, pictures and cartoons as reported in The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay,
Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers from January 2011 to December 2011.
The study also measures the contents of the six newspapers and the extent of the
coverage, and equally presents the results in tables and charts.
1.7 DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
It will be unwieldy and herculean to analyze the whole Nigerian newspapers’
coverage of the Arab Spring. Therefore, the study is limited to the coverage of The
Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers between
the periods of January 2011 to December 2011. It analyzed only the manifest content as
gleaned from the six newspapers under study.
1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
The Press: The press includes both print and electronic media that is newspaper,
magazine, radio and television. Traditionally, the press refers to newspapers and
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magazines. The research therefore, uses the word ‘press’ in its traditional sense
referring to newspapers in this study.
Newspapers: According to Encyclopedia Britannica (2008, p.16), “newspapers are
publications usually issued on a daily or weekly basis. The main function of which is to
report news”. Buttressing this definition, Agba (2001, p.37) adds, “when we talk of
newspapers, we are referring to a broad range of publications from the huge
metropolitan dailies to the small provincial papers”. To Nwosu (1995, p.24), “a
newspaper is a wholesome package of news, events, and views for readership.
Press Coverage: According to Okigbo (1987, p.23) in his work ‘The news flow
controversy: Professional Journalists’ evaluation of news imbalance’, “press coverage
is the art of recording, gathering, collecting and disseminating news and information
through the process of mass communication which include newspapers, magazines,
radio and television”.
To Mustapha (1997, p.5) in his study “New World Information and
Communication Order (NWICO) debate”, “press coverage is to collect, gather and
disseminate information using newspapers, and periodicals which include magazines
and journals”. According to Encyclopedia Britannica (2008, p.56), “press coverage
implies reporting of news and dissemination of information by the journalist who writes
for a newspaper or a magazine houses”. Therefore, this study uses press coverage as
reporting of news and events in the newspaper.
Arab Spring: According to Mclean (2011, p.2), “the Arab Spring literally means
the Arabic rebellion, the Arab revolution or the Jasmine revolution. It is also known as
Arab awakening or Arab uprising”. It is a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and
21
protests occurring in the Arab world. It is characterized with civil wars, civil disorders
and civil uprisings.
To McCaffery (2011, p.42), “Arab Spring refers to the pro-democracy uprisings
currently sweeping the Middle East and North Africa”.
To Jones (2011, p.15), “Arab spring refers to the current crop of pro-democracy
uprisings and the movements in multiple Arab nations to overthrow the Arab leaders”.
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23
Okoro, N. M. (2001). Mass communication research: Issues and methodologies.
Nsukka: AP Express Publishers.
Peterson, S. (2011). Egypt’s revolution redefines what’s possible in the Arab world.
Libya: Christian Science Monitor.
Sam, S. and Wilson, A. (2011). Dozen resources spanning Arab spring to world public
opinion. The Washington Post. USA.
Sasser, E. and Russel, J. (1972). The fallacy judgment, Journalism Quarterly. 49
Spencer, R. (2011). Libya: Civil war breaks out as Gaddafi mounts rearguard fight.
Egypt: The telegraph.
Steven, A. (2011). The struggle for Egypt. Oxford University Press: London.
Tauris, I. B. (2011). Politics and society under Asad; The Times: New York.
Sun, (2011, October 21). The birth and death of Gaddafi. p.2
The Guardian, (2011, October 21). The end of a dictator. p. 41
The Nation, (2011, May 12). Obama presses for middle east reform. p. 14
_________ (2011, October 21.). How Gaddafi was captured? p.2
ThisDay, (2011, July 24). Syrian forces bombard Damascus, fight rages on Allepo. p.
23
Wael, G. (2012). Revolution. Miflfin Harcourt: New York
Warren, A. (2011). The battle for the Arab spring. Yale University Press: Noueiled Lin
White, R. A. (1950). Communication popular: Language of liberation in media
development. vol. 27 (3): 3 – 9.
Youssef, S. (2011). The revolution of jasmine and spring of Arab. www.amazon.co.uk
Retrieved October 21.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 FOCUS OF REVIEW
24
This chapter constitutes a review of related literature that will aid in
understanding of the research. There exist communication scholars who have tried to
analyze the content of the print media but very few were devoted to coverage of war,
crisis and mayhem. Therefore, this is an appraisal of the contributions made by other
researchers in the areas of press coverage of crisis and conflict.
The literatures reviewed were largely derived from empirical studies from
magazines, newspapers, journals and other published works of communication
scholars. The review of this literature will be broken into sub units, this will aid in the
comprehension of the research. The review will include the following sub topics:
An overview of Nigerian press coverage of the Arab spring.
International press coverage of developing nations.
Nigerian press coverage of Africa in context
The press and crisis management.
2.2 AN OVERVIEW OF NIGERIAN PRESS COVERAGE OF
THE ARAB SPRING
In the whole world, mayhem or crisis is more less war, no matter how short it
lasts. It will always attract a great population of reporters and correspondents who dash
in, to report events as they unfold for their various media organizations in order to feed
their information hungry audiences timely. These crises that took place in the Arab
nations in 2011 received a wide coverage from the press all over the world. The
Nigerian press have not been left out in the coverage of the Arab spring as Browne
(2011, p.12) writes in The Nation’s newspaper of November 27, with a banner
headline, “Africa and the tidings of war”:
25
Apart from the theatre of war in the Middle
East and Central Asia, Africa is the most
dangerous place in the world. Parts of North
Africa, most horn of Africa and a swath of East
and Central Africa lay under the tent of war.
Sudan remains a sick man with two grave
afflictions. In Darfur, people still starve and
die. The situation is worst than last year.
Meanwhile the horn of Africa has become
albatross itself. Functionally, Djibouti is
nothing more than an American airbase with
indigent locals squatting around the foreign
installations wondering what is going on and
hoping to grab hold of a few dollars falling
from the pockets of the American soldiers. This
is a sophisticated form of occupation. Next
door Somalia is a den of war. The majority of
Somalians have spent the majority of their lives
in war. The destruction visited on this people
has been apolypcatic in proportion. Cities have
been reduced to rubble and the farmland to
dusty wasteland punctuated by gusts of hot
wind. Violence is the way of life; thus life is
death in Somalia.
ThisDay (2011, July 25, p.24) has a story with this headline: “Mubarak on the
run” The story writes that Hosni Mubarak became the Egypt’s fourth president after
the killing of Anwar Sadat. As a commander of the Egyptian air force and deputy
minister of defense, he was instrumental in planning the surprise attack on Israeli forces
occupying Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula in 1973 which resulted in Yom Kippur war. Hence,
protests begin in Egypt on January 25, 2011 and ran for 18 days. Around midnight of
January 28, 2011, the Egyptian government successfully eliminates the nation’s internet
access in order to inhibit the protesters’ ability to organize through the media. Later, as
tens of thousands protested on the streets of Egypt’s major cities, President Hosni
Mubarak dismissed his government and appointed a new cabinet. Mubarak also
appointed the first vice president in almost 30 years of ruling Egypt. On February 10,
2011, pro-Mubarak activists led a counter protest that turned violent. Many
26
international journalists complained of harassment and one local journalist was killed in
the protests. On February 10, 2011, President Hosni Mubarak ceded all presidential
power to Vice President Omar Suleiman, but soon announced that he would remain as
president until the end of his term. However, protest continued on February 11, 2011,
and Suleiman quickly announced that Mubarak had resigned from presidency, left
Cairo with his family, and transferred power to the armed forces of Egypt. The military
immediately dissolved the Egyptian Parliament, suspended the Constitution of Egypt
and promised to lift the nation’s thirty-year emergency laws. Civilian Essam Sharaf
was appointed as the Prime Minister of Egypt on March 4, 2011.
Al-Najima Zidjaly (2011, p.22) writes in the Sun newspaper of January 28 with
a headline: "Youthquake hits Arab nations”. Zidjaly stressed that the self-immolation of
Mohammed Bouazizi in Sidi Bouzid caused a series of increasing violent street
demonstrations throughout December 2010 which led to the ouster of longtime Tunisia
President Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali on January 14, 2011. The demonstrations were
precipitated by high unemployment, food inflation, corruption, lack of freedom of
speech and poor living conditions. The protests constituted the most dramatic wave of
social and political unrest in Tunisia and resulted in scores of deaths and injuries, most
of which were result action by the police and the security forces against demonstrators.
President Ben Ali fled into exile in Saudi Arabia, ending his 23 years in power in
Tunisia. Following Ben Ali’s departure, a state of emergency was declared and a
caretaker coalition government was created which include members of Ben Ali’s party,
the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD) as well as opposition figures from other
ministries. However, the five newly appointed non-RCD ministers resigned almost
immediately. As a result of continued daily protests on January 27, 2011, the Prime
27
Minister Mohammed Ghannouchi reshuffled the government by removing all the
former RCD members other than himself, and on February 6, 2011, the former ruling
party was suspended. Then, on March 9, 2011, it was dissolved. Following the public
protests, Ghannouchi resigned and Beji Caid el Sebsi became the Prime minister.
Leadership (2011, March 21) writes that the Moroccan rallied in the capital,
Rabat to demand King Mohammed VI relinquished some of his power. The peaceful
protests and demonstrations were not aimed at overthrowing the king, however, as he
remains revered by Moroccans, everything calm down for about a week after the
demonstration. On February 26, 2011, about 1000 demonstrators gathered in
Casablanca to demand for political reform. King Mohammed VI announced that he
would begin a comprehensive constitutional reform aimed at improving democracy and
the rule of law.
In 2011 Jordanian uprising, protest commenced in the capital Amman as well as
Ma’an, Alkarah, Salt and Irbid. The protest led by the trade unionists and leftist parties
occurred after Friday prayers, and call on Prime Minister Samir Rifai to step down. The
Muslim Brotherhood and 14 trade unions hold a sit-down protest outside parliament.
The following day, they denounced government economic policies. Following the
protest, the government reversed a rise in fuel prices. On February 1, 2011, the Royal
palace announced that King Abdullah had dismissed the government on account of the
street protests, and appoints a former prime minister and ambassador to Israel, Marouf
al-Bakhit to form a new government. Daily Trust, (2011, March 17, p.38)
The Guardian (2011, October 23) writes with headline "The timeline of Libya’s
revolution”. The Libyan revolution began on February15 to16, 2011 when the arrest of
human rights activist Fethi Tarbel started a riot in Benghazi. On February 24, the anti-
28
government militias take control of central coastal city of Misarata after evicting forces
loyal to Gaddafi. On February 26, the United Nations (UN) Security Council imposes
sanctions on Gaddafi and his family, and refers the crackdown on rebels to the
International Criminal Court.
On March 5, 2011 the rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) in Benghazi
declares itself Libya’s sole representative. On March 17, the UN Security Council votes
to authorize a no-fly zone over Libya and military action to protect civilians against
Gaddafi’s army. On March 19, 2011, the first air strikes halt the advance of Gaddafi’s
forces on Benghazi and target Libya’s air defenses.
On April 30, 2011, a NATO missile attack on a house in Tripoli kills Gaddafi’s
youngest son and three grand children.
On June 27, 2011, the NTC issues arrest warrants for Gaddafi, his son Saif al-
Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi on charge against humanity.
On August 21, 2011, the rebels enter Tripoli with little resistance. Gaddafi
makes audio addresses over state television calling on Libyans to fight off the rebel
rats. On August 23, the rebels overrun Gaddafi’s fortified Bab al-Aziziya compound in
Tripoli, and trashed the symbols of his rule. On August 29, Gaddafi’s wife, his daughter
Aisha and two of his sons enter Algeria. Aisha Gaddafi gave birth in a clinic in a
boarder town hours after crossing the frontier.
On September 1, 2011, the Libyan’s interim rulers meet world leaders at a
conference in Paris to discuss reshaping Libya. Gaddafi, on the 42nd
anniversary of his
coming to power, urges his supporters to fight on. On September 8, the interim Prime
Minister, Mahmoud Jibril arrives in Tripoli on first visit since it was taken by his
forces. On September 11, the Libya starts producing oil again. On September 13, the
29
interim government Chief Mustafa Abdel Jalil makes his first speech in Tripoli to a
crowd of about 10, 000. On September 15, the France’s Nicolas Sarkozy and Britain’s
David Cameron land in Libya to a hero’s welcome. On September 16, the UN Security
Council eases sanction’s on Libya, including on its national oil company and central
bank. The UN General Assembly approves a request to accredit interim government
envoys as Libya’s sole representatives at the UN, effectively recognizing the NTC. On
September 20, the US President, Barack Obama calls for the last of Gaddafi’s loyalist
forces to surrender as he announces the return of the US ambassador to Tripoli. On
September 21, the interim rulers captured most of Sabha, one of the three main towns
where Gaddafi loyalists have been hiding since the fall of Tripoli. Gaddafi’s birth
place, Sirte and the town of Bani Walid continue to be a Gaddafi’s hide out. On
September 27, the Libya’s interim rulers took full control of the country’s stockpile of
chemical weapons and nuclear material.
Leadership (2011, October 27, p.45), write with a headline ‘UN demands
Gaddafi’s corpse’, the story stressed that on October 12, 2011, the government fighters
capture Gaddafi’s son Mutassem after he tried to escape Sirte. On October 13, the NTC
forces controlled the world of Sirte except neighbourhood ‘Number Two’ where
Gaddafi forces are surrounded. On October 14, the gunfights break out in Tripoli
between Gaddafi supporters and NTC forces, the sign of armed resistance to the
government. On October 17, the NTC forces celebrate the capture of Bani Walid, one
of the final bastions of Gaddafi loyalists. On October 18, the US Secretary of the State
Hillary Clinton arrives in Libya on an unannounced visit, and urges militias to unite.
On October 20, 2011 Maummar Gaddafi was captured in a tunnel in his hometown,
Sirte and killed ending his 42 years rule in Libya.
30
With the above stories culled from the six newspapers, it is evident that the
Nigerian press did their watchdog role creditably in the 2011 Arab spring.
2.3 INTERNATIONAL PRESS COVERAGE OF DEVELOPING
NATIONS
The background history of crises in the Middle East and North Africa gave an
insight why the western media covered the Arab nations. Already before now the
western media have been accused of negative portrayal of the developing nations. Their
reports on developing nations have been said to be distorted, misrepresented, biased,
imbalanced, conflict focused, and most importantly out of context.
Although the issue of negative reporting of the developing nations by the
western media is not a new discourse, yet some of the developing nation’s experience is
quite disheartening.
Historically and currently, the issue of giving the developing nations bad image
has been in the policy of western media. Ndolo and Megwa (2005, p.67) examined how
much coverage the developing nations received in the United States media and the
nature of the coverage. They analyzed US News, World Report and Newsweek from
January 1979 to December 1989. The findings revealed that:
The political news made up mainly of
negative news stories dominated
Newsweek, News and World Report
coverage of developing nations, regardless
of the region. Their data showed that Africa
received the most coverage and all of them
were news that emphasized conflict and
crisis. One therefore cannot help but
wonder what intention of the three
magazines were during the ten years period
they examined, so they asked, is it all that
31
happened in Africa between 1979 and
1989?What about positive, developmental
and success stories?
Still in the seventies, ‘A comparative content analytical study of four British
and American newspaper’s coverage of Africa by Nwosu (1979, p.53) indicated that
0.1% of the news space was used in their coverage of Africa over a period of four
months. This reveals under-reporting of the developing nations by the western media.
Similarly in 2002, Ojo analyzed the content of The New York Times and The
Washington Post on their coverage of developing nations. He takes a critical look at the
African related stories that appeared in both the New York Times and The Washington
Post from March to August 2000. The result remarkably showed that all 89 published
articles on Africa are out of context, seventy-five of these stories were negative in
content. Africa was portrayed as the bane of wars, diseases, AIDS, and civil disorders
(Ojo, 2002, p.27).
More recently, in 2008, Amina Kothari studied the New York Times coverage of
the Darfur Sudan Conflict from July 2003 to July 2006. Her findings showed that out of
the 25 public events stories, 92% representing 23 of the public event stories portrayed
the US as a saviour, aid giver and also being compassionate towards the suffering
developing nations. (Amina, 2008, p.53)
Several investigations of the international flow of news have revealed a lower
coverage of third world countries. In 1968, under the auspices of the United Nations, a
worldwide investigation concerning news about the United Nations was carried under
the direction of Alexander Szalai. In the investigation, more than one type of unit of
measurement were used; number of news items and number of characters expressed as
Standard Typewritten Pages (STP) of 2,000 characters. The investigation revealed that
32
majority of the STP was mainly on the regions of Africa that were involved in war, and
internal and external conflict, from Democratic Republic of Congo to Sierra Leone
crisis, the war in Ethiopia and Eritrea and the various civil wars. There have been over
9.5 million refugees and hundred thousands of people have been slaughtered while
achievements by Africans are undermined and underrated.
In 2000, in a Trans-Africa Forum study of The New York Times and The
Washington Post, 26 out of 89 articles about Africa were devoted solely to AIDS.
Another 63 were related to armed conflicts in the continent.
Another research conducted by Reta on how The New York Times and The
Washington Post reflect the US foreign policy in their coverage of Sudan conflict from
1983 to 1996 and the Eritrean war from 1962 to 1991 found that as long as the US has
either close ties or clearly antagonistic relation with the developing nations, there is
likely to be certain amount of directional treatment of the parties in conflict even when
coverage as a whole is predominantly favourable. (Reta, 2002, p.252).
Confirming this, Tenor conducted a research from January 1, 2002 to June 30,
2003 on coverage of developing nations by the Times International and Newsweek. The
study revealed that conflict and wars dominated the subject category. (Tenor, 2002,
p.34). In his cover story, Ankomah Baffoue, the editor of the New African pointed out
reasons why the western media continued to paint Africa black. He said that the
western media have always been true to its core beliefs and government lead in foreign
policy matters where national interest begins. Political ideology determines the size of
domestic reporting, historical baggage, and economic interest determines the reporting
of Africa and other developing nations. Ankomah (2008, p.8) explained that the US
political ideological is the reason that guides what the western media report about
33
Africa. According to Ankomah (2008, p.12), “if the western government foreign policy
favours you, their media will favour you, if they consider you, their media will consider
you, but if they are against you, then you cannot escape what Lord Beaverbook referred
to as ‘a flaming sword’ which cut through any political armour”.
It is quite understandable that the media in shouldering their responsibilities
ought to report the happenings across the nations, but the issue of context is the greatest
culprit at the moment when it comes to media coverage of the developing nations. The
Arab nations received much of it in 2011.
Jere-Makinda (2008, p.39) writes in an online debate about reporting Africa, a
contributor put up a very good argument, he argued that when people have complained
about how Africa is reported, it is the context question that is at heart of the debate. The
root context question in western media coverage of the developing nations could be
connected with what Ronald Sparks, the then chief lead writer of the British tabloid,
The Sun, said in 1991, “that truth is sacred, but a newspaper that tells only part of the
truth is a million times preferable to one that tells the truth to harm a country”.
Amina (2008, p.29) writes, when Robins (2003) analyzed the US newspapers’
coverage of the Sudanese Lost Boys, she found that the stories were presented out of
context and many contained discrepancies in the details of the Sudan’s civil war.
Another research was conducted by Okwara (2005) on “International press
coverage of Nigeria”. Okwara (2005, p.68) analyzed Times International and News
Week one year coverage of Nigeria. His findings showed that accident and disaster
dominated the subject category covered by the two magazines from January 2004 to
December 2004 while social amenities and development is only 1%.
34
In Nigeria, the western media is being accused of negative reporting of conflicts
in the country. The National Broadcasting Commission of Nigeria (NBC) accused the
major international broadcast stations based mostly in Western Europe and United
States of exaggeration of figures of causalities from the Jos and Kano upheavals of
2001, as well as the use of language that tended to portray the country as barbaric and
backward. The NBC described most of the global reports of crisis in Nigeria as
unfavourable and disputed adding that statistical checks to corroborate the facts have
shown the flaws in the broadcast. The Guardian (2001, October 18, p.34)
Against the backdrop of this, Agba (1998, p.22) warns that “the press should
continually sort out and coordinates the endless stream of news reports and arranges
them so as to give meaning to the news event. For we realize that news items that are
out of context are bound to confuse the audience”.
After analyzing what goes on in some African countries, Koki (2006, p.44)
wondered how the western media report the issues out of context. He said, “the so-
called civilized and unprofessional western media failed to point out or even criticize or
publicize the illegitimate ownership of black African land by the minority white
population despite the fact that over the century, since the slave trade era, Africans have
been deprived of utilizing their lands for the betterment of their families and they are
piteously punished in return by an unceasing tapping of their resources and the total
subjugation to slavery and labour in their hijacked lands. Isn’t this racism in disguise?
How often the western media do carried the Watergate scandal of Bill Clinton and
Monica Lewinsky on the pages of their newspapers and magazines?
In the same vein, Lekan (2011, p.59) pointed out that the west are only
interested in tapping the resources of the developing nations and will never report such
35
in the media, as the Arab nations are boiling in crises, the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) were interested in analyzing how the Arab spring has affected the oil prices.
According to Lekan (2011, p.11), the IMF stated that the oil prices were likely to be
higher than originally forecast due to unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
The view of historical and current issues on negative portrayal of Africa is
necessary as one would not expect a favourable coverage of any developing nations by
the western media.
2.4 NIGERIAN PRESS COVERAGE OF AFRICA IN CONTEXT
Unfortunately, the western media are not the only one to be blame on this out of
context coverage of the developing nations. African media are also guilty of this when
covering African related issues. Several communication scholars have blamed the
African media on over dependency on foreign media and portrayal of the developing
nations in negative perspective.
A critical look at the headlines of the The Egypt Telegraph (2012, p.24) with a
banner headline “Libya: Rebels fight on” Spencer writes: In the North Africa, Libya
fights itself despite Gaddafi’s exit. The rebels were forged together by their desire to
oust Gaddafi. With his erasure, their unity has been exposed for the forgery it is, the
glue that bound them has been eroded by the acridity of their latent rivalries. They will
be lunging at each other for some time to come.
Similar headlines were carried by the Nigerian press; The Guardian, Vanguard
and ThisDay during the Zimbabwe’s March 2008 presidential election crisis, one will
not but pause on whose interest. Both foreign and African media reported the
Zimbabwean related stories out of context, their pen point towards painting Zimbabwe
36
black. Little or no effort was made to dig out the core issue that generated the election
crisis.
In a study carried out by Abayomi (2004, pp.47 – 60) on Nigerian press
coverage of African continent: A five year review of TELL magazine from 1995 –
2000, content analysis which is a major tool in analyzing the manifest content of print
media in both textual and pictorial forms, was used as research method. He formulated
six research questions and presented the data collected in simple percentage. He
examined the TELL’s coverage of Africa by regions, the news category, the news
directions and sources of news used by TELL magazine, he found that only politics and
crises news categories were given prominence by TELL magazine; news published
about African nations had more negative items and TELL magazine did not fully report
Africa as expected considering Nigerian leadership position in Africa and in the black
world. According to him, TELL magazine, a medium from a highly respected country
still perceive Africans in an unfavourable light. The work of Abayomi (2004, p.65) is
equally related to the present work, for it investigates the direction of news coverage
and source of news coverage published in the Nigerian newspapers. In order words, any
analysis of the international coverage of any developing nation required that one
examines the sources of that coverage. Most stories on the developing nations
especially African related stories in the pages of Nigerian newspapers were often culled
from the international media, this did not argue well for Nigerian press coverage of
African in context.
2.5 THE PRESS AND CRISIS MANAGEMENT
37
All through history, the press has been used as a catalyst to conflict resolution
and crisis management. There are considerable literatures on press coverage of crisis
and most of it are in agreement on one point; that during crises, the press will be
carriers of inaccuracies and rumours. Journalists covering such events may create a
problem to the crisis-ridden society. Dyne (1970, p.76) says that early media reports of
an unexpected event will tend to exaggerate the extent of the crisis. Barton (1962,
p.258) agrees, as he states that the media disseminate crisis reports without checking
their accuracy. Fritz and Mathewson (1957, p.62) also agree with the above scholars,
they say that “media reports in the wake of crisis will be confused, disorganized,
carrying conflicting information and contain gross ambiguities and inaccuracies”.
However, Scalon (1978, pp.69 – 72) analyzed the contents of four newspapers,
Toronto Star, Toronto Globe and Mail, the Hamilton Spectator and the Monstreal Star
to ascertain the media reports of six crises and disaster events. The result of the study
showed that the media were inaccurate, confused and contradictory.
Welter (1970, pp.719 – 724) studied how the Minnesota newspapers covered
the Cuban crisis. He found that Yellow journalism was the case with the New York
dailies. Sensationalism dominated stories about crisis carried by the New York Press.
Welter’s study discovered that the US Press showed a high level of unprofessionalism,
bias, subjectivity, sensationalism and lack of fairness on the coverage of Cuban
invasion of the United States.
Goren Dina N. et.al (1975, pp.199 – 266) analyzed the press coverage of Yom
Kippur war. The Yom-Kippur was fought in 1973 following the sudden attack by
Egypt and Syria on Israel. It was entirely an Arab-Israeli war. The findings of their
study showed that both the resident and visiting reporters agreed that Israeli authorities
38
did not provide sufficient information concerning the war situation. Reasons for this,
according to the reporters were that information was being withheld for justified
reasons and in an attempt to maintain high morale and a positive image of the Israeli
army. Other reasons were a negative attitude of the press; hostility towards foreigners,
an attempt to withhold the truth from coming out, cumbersome bureaucracy and
inefficient information dissemination systems.
Similarly, Agha (1978, pp.180 – 195) studied the role of mass communication
in inter-state conflict with the Arab-Israeli war of October 6, 1973 as a case study. The
main hypothesis of the study was if the mass media of the countries engaged in
interstate conflicts presented a two-sided view, the process might have helped to
establish effective communication and trust between the two. (‘Trust’ in the research
design was defined as the degree to which opinion message reproduce official positions
taken by an adversary nation, and the degree to which some or any of the positions
taken by an adversary nation are accepted or recognized as having some measure of
legitimacy) The findings of the study supported the main hypothesis that two-sided
orientations in communication reflected trust between two adversaries compared with
those communications which were not accompanied by such broad orientations.
In the same vein, Warden (1979, pp.776 – 782) analyzed the editorials of four
U.S. newspaper dealing with the 11 years Arab-Israeli conflict which began on January
1, 1967. The US newspapers chosen were the New York Times, Washington Post,
Christian Science Monitor and Wall Street Journal. These papers collectively formed
what was referred to as the prestige press. The results of the analysis showed that the
prestige press presented a monolith opinion in their treatment of the Arab-Israeli
conflict. The prestige press supported an observation that hierarchy exited on the
39
editorial pages of the papers examined. Israeli support overshadowed Arab support.
The prestige press was critical in the coverage of the Arab-Israeli war. They found
Israel to be defensive and the Arabs as offensive. New York Times (January 1971, p.24).
Shipman (1983, pp.719 – 722) studied the New York Times’ coverage of the
war in El Savador. This study was prompted by the sharp criticisms of the paper’s
reports of the war from the Wall Street Journal and President Regan. The study adopted
a method of measuring objectivity by analyzing the sentences of the reports on the war.
Sentences were categorized under report sentence, inference sentence and judgment
sentence. A report sentence was defined as one which can be verified or disapproved.
Inference sentence was defined as a statement about the unknown made on the basis of
the known, and a judgment sentence was seen as expression of the writer’s approval or
disapproval. Wall Street Journal criticized reporters for wrong judgments about the
Salvadorian revolutionaries. On his part, President Regan criticized the Times for
downbeat reporting on El Salvador. Other complaints against Times centred on lack of
fairness and objectivity. The result of the analysis showed that hypothesis one, which
said that report sentences before and after Journal attacks was supported. The number
of reports sentences in both time periods was significant. Hypothesis two, stated that
the number of attributed report sentences would increase in stories written after the
attacks, was not supported. Hypothesis three, which said that there would be a decrease
in the number of inference sentences in the period after the attacks, was not supported.
There was no significant change. Hypothesis four, which said that there would be
virtually no judgment sentence in stories written before the Journal attacks or after the
attacks, was supported. Only one judgment sentence was found in the period of study.
40
Still on the war El Salvador, Sodelund and Schmitt (1986, pp. 268 – 274)
studied how the North and South American press covered the war. The main objective
of the study was to find out whether media images of reality regarding El Salvador
differed from the readers of the newspapers in four different countries – two each in
North America and South America. The newspapers studied were: In Argentina, La
Nacion and La Prensa; in Chile, El Mercurio and La Teracera; in Canada, The Toronto
Globe and Mail and the Ottawa Citizen; and in the United States, the Washington Post
and the New York Times. The findings showed that in the volume of coverage,
American newspapers featured more materials on El Salvador war than did the
newspapers from other countries.
Agba (2011, p.22) stressed that “the press should puts news on wars, civil
disorders, and impeding danger in perspective thereby making people understand it
better as well as its implication to the society”. Similarly, Onabanjo and Lord (2002,
p.146) buttressed that “crisis and the press go hand in hand. The press spends much
time and energy describing and analyzing individuals, groups and society involve in
crisis”. Knicker (1979, p.136) also confirms this as he maintained that:
The journalists are first to get to crisis
zones while disregarding the risks and
they struggle and run like mad men to get
into the scene of disaster while hundreds
of thousands of people run helter skelter
to get out of the scene of the disaster. By
so doing, the press alarmed the society on
impeding danger by giving lots of
interpretations and analyses. This goes to
say that crisis reporters are simply risk
takers and taken as a people who have
some elements of insanity in them as they
sacrificed their lives to give the society
what it deserves and what it needs.
41
This was evident when Krees Imodibe of The Guardian newspaper and Tayo
Awotusin of Champion newspaper both Nigerian journalists lost their lives while
covering the Liberian war in the 1990s.
In the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike of 1981, Obando in
his study of newspaper coverage of the strike action found that geographical proximity
of a newspaper seemed to influence its performance.
Nwosu (1987, p.100) in a similar study to Obando’s findings while reviewing
foreign media coverage of African liberation struggles used the Angola crisis as a case
study. In the study, Nwosu content analyzed the media coverage of Angola crisis. He
content analyzed six newspapers: The Washington Post, The Christian Science
Monitor, The New York Times, The London Times, The Guardian of London and The
Daily Express. He discovered that proximity is a crucial factor in press coverage of
crisis. Information and communication are the powerful instrument that holds the
society together all over the world, without it, the society is in trouble. In crisis
situations such as wars and civil disorders, he recommends that the press should
exercise moderation and balance the necessity of informing the public with the need to
preserve public safety. The ethical principle of Golden Mean should be observed by the
press when covering crisis. He explains that the duty of the press through its
surveillance function is to highlight the areas of crisis in a society and provide a forum
for discussion so that the crisis may be resolved, before it reaches to the highest level.
In the task of performing these roles, the press tries as much as possible to alert the
society on impeding danger, tell their significance, consequences and predict the
outcome of the situation.
42
Orhewere (2004, p.44) conducted a study on Nigerian newspapers’ coverage of
the 2011 Tiv – Jukun ethnic conflict. He analyzed the content of The New Nigerian,
Daily Times, The Guardian and The Punch. His findings indicted the government for
using Daily Times to escalate mayhem in Tiv land. He discovered that reporting
conflict and crisis explosive nature makes crisis to aggravate further and recommends
that the ethical principle of restrain should be observed by the press when covering
crisis.
In a study carried out on “The press coverage of Ikeja bomb explosion in
Nigeria,” A content analytical study of The Guardian and Daily Times”, Onyemenam
(2003, p.53) discovered that the press draws the attention of the public to the disaster
and rallied national and international support by constant information dissemination
making the event to become a major focus of public discussion. She found out that the
bomb blast in Ikeja cantonment on January 27, 2002 became a public concern due to
the nature of coverage given to it by the press.
A similar study was carried out by Okoye (2003, p.59) on “Media effect, media
use, and crisis management in a national emergency: A study of Ikeja bomb blasts of
January 27, 2002”. He used survey method to test two hypotheses. The two hypotheses
tested were that education will be effective management of crisis such that those with
higher education will be more organized and depend on the media for information than
the less educated who rely on interpersonal communication. Also those with higher
education will depend less on interpersonal communication sources and more on the
mass media for information. His findings showed that in crisis situations, people with
higher education depend on the media for information and less on interpersonal
communication.
43
Okeke (2006, p.46) carried out a similar study on, “Public perception of the role
of the mass media in crisis situations: A study of Bellview and Sosoliso plane crashes
of October 22 and December 10, 2005”. She used survey method to ascertain the role
of the press in crisis situations. She discovered that majority of the respondents got the
information from the press than interpersonal communication. It was logically drawn
from her study that in crisis situations people rely more on the press for information.
Her findings showed that majority of the respondents got the information from the
media and the mass media set agenda for public discussion during the plane crashes.
During the Detroit riot of 1967 in the United States of America. The committee
set up to look into the matter indicted the press for failing to reflect the accurate scale
and character. The overall effect was, according to the committee, ‘an exaggerated the
event. It cited an instance where news reports of property damaged put the figure in
excess of $500 while subsequent investigations showed it to be below $48. The press
inflated figure. While the Detroit riot Commission accepted that factual errors were
dished out by Beleaguer officials, it however blamed the media for giving the errors in
currency and uncritically published inflated figures leaving an indelible impression of
damage up to more than ten times greater than what actually occurred.
According to the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development
(UNRISD), the press is an alarm raiser in crisis situations. According to the institute,
the press can act as a whistle blower, giving a lot of prominence to issues at hand, and
increase awareness of crisis situations. The press can suggest possible solutions to the
crisis. In doing this, the press also mobilizes national and international bodies to
intervene when necessary before the crisis turns to flames.
44
Salihu (2002, p.150) also stressed that “in crisis situations, the press analyze
the event by etching out the battle lines more vividly and making them the point of
focus, and in the midst of chaotic situation, the press offer direction to people”. Momoh
(1998) cited in Onabanjo (2004, p.17) states that:
The journalist is charged with the onerous
duty of monitoring the environment and
society at large. The press constitutes the
last gateway of agenda setting and the
watchdog of human society through its
surveillance function, as the press collects
and disseminates information within and
outside a given society, they draw the
attention of both the government and the
public to sensitive issues in the society and
also proffers suggestions as to how issues
can be resolved. The press is always in the
vanguard of the struggle to expose injustices,
tyranny, social ills and man’s inhumanity to
man. Thus, the amount of success to be
recorded by any society depends to a very
large extent on the performance of the
surveillance function of the press.
For a peaceful society, conflict resolution and crisis management, Ndolo (2004,
p.19) asserts that “the press can facilitate the flow of information which should enable
the people to form intelligent opinions about them; provide the forum for expressing
diverse views and aspirations, and as a corollary, help to provide a basis for nation
building and sustainable democratic structures that make a peaceful society”.
2.6 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
Mass communication research cannot be complete without theories which will
serve as the basis on the subject of study. Grunning (1983, p.30) affirmed this when he
asserted that, “basic research cannot be successful without a broad theory to guide a
45
particular study and to tie several studies together”. Okoro (2001, p.6) agrees with the
above assertion, as he stated that, “a theoretical framework is a research formulation
which enables the researcher to describe, explain, analyze, predict and interpret a
phenomenon”.
For proper examination of the study therefore, three theories of mass
communication shall be examined. The essence is to have a more lucid assessment of
the subject.
2.6.1 THE EMANCIPATORY MEDIA THEORY
The emancipatory media theory was propounded by Klaus Krippendorf in 1980.
It is a theory of rebellious communication. Krippendorf’s emancipatory media theory
tries to formulate a certain kind of ethics which would prevent social pathologies from
arising and help to overcome social pathologies that may arise anywhere. When
Krippendorf says pathology, he means abnormality in the society. The emancipatory
media theory seeks to free the society from social pathology be it normative or
reflective. A social pathology presupposes entrapment. Entrapment is when the
individual is trapped within the fabrics of the leaders. There are two conditions of
entrapment:
1. The first is being trapped in a closed-system.
2. The second situation is that entrapment is the source of stress and pain.
Krippendorf states that oppression is a concept which explains someone’s disablement
or burden. This concept is evident of a pathological society. Meaning, the greater the
oppression, the greater the pathology. While the oppressed people have problems
acknowledging their miseries and pains, they revolt to fight for their rights.
46
This theory explains why the Arab spring, awakening, uprising or jasmine
revolution is happening in the Arab nations. The Arabs are living in a pathological
society where they are oppressed and they revolt to fight for their rights.
2.6.2 THE GATE-KEEPING THEORY
The gate-keeping theory was propounded by Kurt Lewin in 1947. The theory
emphasized on the acceptance and coverage of a news event over the other in a given
society. White (1950, p.383) says information always flow along certain gate areas
where decisions are made either according to impartial rules or personally by a gate-
keeper as to whether information will be allowed to enter in or continue in a channel.
Continuing on the gate-keeping theory, White (1950, p.36) noted that one
criteria for selection of news stories is the ‘Reality Principle,’ according to him, editors
select stories they consider realistic. Also, stories that have the widest chance of
acceptance are those which are representative of the culture and society.
White’s work led to other communication scholars to research on the gate-
keeping theory. Other scholars on the gate-keeping theory include Gerbner (1956,
p.77), Chyde and Buckham (1969, p. 91), Gatlung and Ruge (1965, p.79), including
Sasser and Russel (1972, p.123). They proved that the flow of news and of gate-
keeping pass through a process of successive selections according to a number of news
values or criteria which affect the perception of the news events.
According to the above scholars, the following news factors influence news
selection by the various gate-keepers all over the world.
Time span: An event is widely going to be noticed if its occurrence fits the time
schedule of the media.
47
Intensity or Threshold value: An event of great magnitude will be noticed. This
supposes that the impact of the event is felt by everyone.
Clarity or Lack of Ambiguity: A clear event that is devoid of personal interpretations
is more likely to gain treatment than an ambiguous one.
Proximity and Relevance: The closer the event, the higher the chances of being
reported.
Unexpected and Oddity: The more unusual and unpredicted the event, the more likely
it is to be selected by the gate-keepers.
Continuing: Once an event has been defined a newsworthy, there will be some
momentum to the continued noticing of the event or related happenings.
Based on the foregoing, it is basic assumption that events may take place in
both the developed and developing countries which contain joint ingredients of these
news factors. Going by these postulations, the Arab spring has been found newsworthy
and has the aforementioned news factors that make the Nigerian gate-keepers consider
it worthy to be published in the newspapers.
2.6.3 THE AGENDA-SETTING THEORY
The Agenda-setting theory was propounded by Maxwell McCombs and Donald
L. Shaw in 1972. This theory posits that the media determine what people think about.
Bernard Cohen, a communication scholar, while elaborating this theory, opined that the
media may not always be successful at telling us what to think, but what to think about.
According to McCombs and Shaw (1972, p.44), “audiences not only learn about
public issues and other matters through the media, they also learn how much
importance to attach to an issue or topic from the emphasis placed on it by the mass
48
media”. By stressing specific issues and ignoring or giving “shift nature’ to certain
issues, the mass media set the tone, thinking, perspective and general orientation of the
public on issue in the society. They agreed that the media set the agenda for public
discussion and debate on any issue through the determination of what goes into the
media. In the course of carrying out this agenda-setting function, the mass media
determine the thought patterns and perceptions of the public in respect of social,
political, economic, cultural, and technological developments in the human society.
2.7 SUMMARY OF THE REVIEWED LITERATURE
Related literature on press coverage of the Arab spring was reviewed on the
overview of Nigerian press coverage of the Arab spring, international press coverage of
developing nations, Nigerian press coverage of Africa in context, and the press and
crisis management. Related empirical studies reviewed are in agreement on one point,
their results showed that the international press under report the developing nations.
Disaster and crisis news form the bulk of news on the developing nations by the
international media. The African media also portrayed the developing nations in an
unfavourable light. In coverage of crisis, the results of the empirical studies proved that
the press lacked fairness and objectivity to a very large extent. They disseminate a
crisis reports which contain gross ambiguities and inaccuracies.
49
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ThisDay, (2011), June 25). Youthquake hits Arab nations. p. 35
52
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
This chapter is concerned with the techniques to be employed in the actual
execution of this study. It will comprise the research design, population of study, period
of study, sampling technique, sample size, instrument for data collection, unit of
analysis, validity and reliability of research instruments, method of data presentation
and analysis, and limitations of methodology.
3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN
The research study is an analysis of the content of six Nigerian newspapers. To
achieve the objective of comparing these six distinct papers and presenting detailed
outline of what they cover during the 2011 Arab Spring, content analysis was utilized
as a research methodology. Content analysis is considered the most appropriate method
of study since it involved the analysis of the manifest content of the six newspapers
under study. The data generated from the selected newspapers were subjected to
qualitative and quantitative analysis. Quantitative analysis is a highly systematized
activity which involves subjecting data to varying levels of mathematical and statistical
calculations so as to bring out the underlying features, characteristics, trends and
relationships. On the other hand, qualitative analysis is concerned with data
interpretations, and description of results and findings. The reasons are obvious; the
manifest content of the selected newspapers in terms of news stories, features,
editorials, letters to the editor and opinion articles, and photonews were carefully
53
examined and analyzed with a view to making justifiable inferences on the manner of
coverage given to the Arab Spring. To achieve these aims, content analysis provides
the attributes, as opposed to other methodologies.
3.2 POPULATION OF STUDY
The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership
newspapers constitute the population of study. These six newspapers were chosen to
represent the universe of study because they are daily newspapers with wide coverage
and circulation. They also appeared everyday on the news stand across the country.
The Guardian newspaper is considered as a newspaper with national repute in
interpretation and investigation. It is an elitist newspaper. By character and analytical
focus, it is fearless, popular reputable medium, catering for the news, information,
education and entertainment interest of the well-educated Nigerian populace. Its
penchant for in-depth reporting issues of national interest has endeared it to the literate
segment of the Nigerian society. The pattern and spectrum of its coverage made it a
vital medium to be included in the population of study.
The Nation newspaper is another strong newspaper in investigative journalism
widely read by all Nigerians. The newspaper has been significant in shaping national
opinion and enlivens the intellect of its readers. The breath and depth of its coverage
made it a relevant medium to be included in the population of study.
ThisDay newspaper belongs to the first class newspapers in the country. It is
known for interpretative journalism and is widely embraced by the elitist segment of
the Nigerian society. ThisDay is good at human interest stories both within and outside
the country. It is hoped that since the Arab spring constitutes wars and civil disorders, it
54
will give it a wide coverage in 2011. Because of its in-depth reporting, it was included
in the population of study.
Sun newspaper is the king of Nigerian tabloid with its banner headlines and
straight news stories; it is embraced by its readers. It is believed that there will be a
measure of objectivity in its coverage of this spectacular event. It is included in the
population of study because it has wide circulation and large readership across the
country.
Daily Trust is a national newspaper with headquarter in Abuja. It is circulated
mostly in the northern part of the country and embraced by Nigerians who enjoy
reading the socio-political affairs of the country. The intelligentsia in the Nigeria’s
Federal Capital Territory (FCT) embraced Daily Trust newspaper.
Leadership newspaper is a national newspaper symbolically embedded in the
nation’s capital. It is read by those interested in the political, cultural and religious
affairs of Nigeria. Its headlines and pictures are neither screamers nor banners by
tabloid standard. It is mostly circulated in the northern part of the country, and
embraced by the northern elite.
The features of these six newspapers placed them right choice for proper
sampling. The six newspapers are a representative sample of the population because
The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay and Sun newspapers are based on the western part
of country while Daily Trust and Leadership are based in the northern part of the
country, and they circulate across the nation. The six newspapers are true
representation of Nigerian press and were purposively selected to generate data for this
research.
55
3.3 PERIOD OF STUDY
The study covers a period of one year, from January 1, 2011 to December 31,
2011. The choice of 2011 is predicated on the fact that it was when the major protests
and demonstrations took place in most of the Arab nations. Since January 2011 there
have been series of revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, civil war in Libya resulting in the
fall of the regime there, civil uprisings in Bahrain, Syria and Yemen, major protests in
Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco and Oman, and minor protests in Kuwait, Lebanon,
Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Western Sahara. Clashes at the border of Israel
have also been inspired by the regional Arab Spring.
The two heads of state; Tunisia President, Zine El Albidine Ben Ali fled to
Saudi Arabia January 14, 2011 following the Tunisia revolution protests, and President
Hosni Mubarak of Egypt ceded all Vice president Omar Suleiman. On January 30,
2011 and February 1, 2011, protests took place in Sudan. The protesters called on the
President Omar al-Bashir to step down.
In Algeria from January 12 to 19, 2011, a wave of self-immolation attempts
swept the country, beginning with Mohammed Aouchia, who set himself on fire in
Bordj Menaiel in protest at his family’s housing. On January 13, 2011, Mohsen
Bouterfif also set himself on fire after a meeting with the mayor of Boukhadra in
Tebessa, who had been unable to get a job and a house. About 100 protested his death,
resulting in the mayor’s dismissal by the provincial governor. At least ten self-
immolations were reported in Algeria that week.
56
Then on January 15, 2011, anti-Gaddafi protests began in Libya causing a civil
war. It spread to Tripoli, Misarata and other cities in Libya. By October 20, 2011,
Gaddafi was captured and killed in Sirte alongside his son Mutassim Gaddafi.
One would therefore expect that these civil disorders and wars will be on the
pages of Nigerian newspapers in 2011. Also, the year 2011 is much recent study as
opposed to 2010.
3.4 SAMPLING TECHNIQUE.
The items for analysis were drawn from The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay,
Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers using the systematic random sampling
method. The idea was to give each item in the population an equal chance of being
included in the sample. According Osuala (2001, p. 114), “systematic random sampling
is that method of drawing a portion or sample of a population so that each member of
the population has an equal chance of being selected”.
Ohaja (2003, p. 80) defines systematic random sampling as one of the types of
random sampling technique in which we work by the proportion of the population we
need. She stated, if for example, we need to interview 50 employees of a company and
we find that the staff is 300, we can get a list of all the staff and decide to interview
every 6th
person on the list. Systematic random sampling was to give issue a fair chance
of being selected. The technique is systematic; it is not based on probability or
accidental. The selection of the issues of the chosen newspapers was done without
replacement to ensure that no issue was selected more than once.
3.5 SAMPLE SIZE
57
A total of 720 editions of The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust
and Leadership newspapers were selected through systematic random sampling to
constitute a representative sample of the issues published during the period of study.
This was done systematically that is 120 editions of The Guardian, 120 editions of The
Nation, 120 editions of ThisDay, 120 editions of Sun, 120 editions of Daily Trust and
120 editions of Leadership. These accounted to a total of 720 editions, which were
selected from the libraries of the six newspapers under study, from 1st January, 2011 to
31st December, 2011. All the issues of both newspapers were listed in order, which is
from the 1st of January, 2011 to 31
st December, 2011. The systematic random sampling
starts from the 1st day of January. The 4th day of January was selected leaving a three
day interval. The next issue selected was 7th
January, a three day interval was left and it
ran continuously till December 31st 2011. For a comparative analysis, the six
newspapers were studied simultaneously. The details of the systematic random
sampling of the sample period are represented in the table below.
The systematic random sampling of The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust
and Leadership newspapers from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011.
Month Editions
January 1st 4
th 7
th 10
th 13
th 16
th 19
th 22
nd 25
th 28
th 31
st
February 3rd
6th 9
th 12
th 15
th 18
th 21
st 24
th 27
th
March 2nd
5th 8
th 11
th 14
th 17
th 20
th 23
rd 27
th 30
th
April 2nd
5th 8
th 11
th 14
th 17
th 20
th 23
rd 27
th 30
th
May 3rd
6th 9
th 12
th 15
th 18
th 21
st 24
th 27
th 30
th
June 2nd
5th 8
th 11
th 14
th 17
th 20
th 23
rd 27
th 30
th
July 3rd
6th 9
th 12
th 15
th 18
th 21
st 24
th 27
th 30
th
August 2nd
5th 8
th 11
th 14
th 17
th 20
th 23
rd 27
th 30
th
September 2nd
5th 8
th 11
th 14
th 17
th 20
th 23
rd 27
th 30
th
October 3rd
6th 9
th 12
th 15
th 18
th 21
st 24
th 27
th 30
th
November 2nd
5th 8
th 11
th 14
th 17
th 20
th 23
rd 27
th 30
th
December 3rd
6th 9
th 12
th 15
th 18
th 21
st 24
th 27
th 30
th
3.6 INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION
58
The research as a content analysis adopts the use of coding guide and code
sheet. According to Wimmer and Dominick (1987, p. 19), coding is the placement of a
unit of analysis into a content category. Nwodo (2004, p. 34) states that coding remains
an essential ingredient of processing the collected newspaper for content analytical
study. Nwogu (1998, p. 15) agrees with the above scholars as he maintained that after
breaking of unit of analysis into subsections or content categories as shown below, the
researcher will tabulate the units of analysis in frequency and percentage to arrive at a
dependable conclusion. Therefore, the following form the instrument from which data
are collected for this study. All the editions of The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay,
Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers were selected from the six newspapers’
libraries.
The instrument used to generate data is the code sheet. It is an instrument used
to categorized data generated for content analysis as it lends variables to qualitative and
quantitative analyses. Stories examined cut across new stories, features, editorials,
letters to the editor and opinion articles, and photonews.
3.7 UNIT OF ANALYSIS
The data collected were coded and analyzed under the following subject
category, source, story genre, direction, position of news and news play. Details of such
classification are provided as follows:
1. Newspapers: This represents the selected newspaper used for in this study.
They include: The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and
Leadership
59
2. Subject categories and topics covered.
(i). International Relations: This includes news about international politics,
international organizations, such as UNO, Commonwealth, NATO, NTC, AU,
Arab League, Non Aligned Movement, diplomatic corps and other international
agencies.
(ii). Armed forces: This encompasses news about activities of the armed forces,
liberation struggles and military manouvers,
(iii) Politics: This refers to items dealing with political matters in relation to the use
of physical force to unseat a political opponent, rival groups, political instability
and general administration and governmental relations.
(iv) International Economy: This covers news about economic activities of
international bodies such as IMF, OPEC, ECOWAS, foreign aids and loans.
(v) Governmental activities: This deals with all the items touching on government
operations such as government negligence, corrupt practices, and
highhandedness of the leaders.
(vi). Crime: These deals with news, features, and illustrations about corruption,
social pathology, and willful murder.
(vii). Law and Order: This embraces news about the activities of the police,
military, ministry, and commissions of enquiry.
(viii) Disaster: This is stories about wars, famine, earthquakes, disease, terrorism
and use of violence in order to achieve a selfish goal such as political,
economic, religious or social aims.
(ix) Social amenities and development: These are stories about developmental
projects, education, health, religion, arts and culture.
60
(x) Human Interest: This is news about birth, deaths, marriage, personal profiles,
success and failures and activities of general interest.
3. Source: The classification is used to show the origin of the story. Four sources
are use. They are:
(i) Correspondents: These are reporters working for the newspaper houses that
are credited for by-lines for writing stories.
(ii) News agencies: These include, UPI, AP, AFP, TASS, Reuters, BBC, CNN, Al
Jazeera, PANA, MENA, and News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
(iii) Unidentified: News without any specific mention of a source.
4. Story Genre: This is the type of stories published in the newspapers such as;
(i) News Story (SG 01) - 2 points
(ii) Editorials (SG 02) - 3 points
(iii) Features (SG 03) - 4 points
(iv) Letters to the editor and opinion articles (SG 04) - 5 points
(v) Illustrations, such as photographs and cartoons. They are classified together as
photonews. - (SG 05) - 6 points.
5. Direction of news: This is the slant of coverage. It is the measurement of the
nature of the news story or event reported. The three categories constructed are:
(i) Favourable News - (DN 01) - 1 points
(ii) Unfavourable News. - (DN 02) - 2 points
(iii) Neutral News. - (DN 03) - 3 points
5. Position of stories: This is the page placement, degree of importance and
prominence given to stories as they are placed in the newspaper. The following
three categories are constructed.
61
(i) Front Page (PS 01) - 1 points
(ii) Inside Page. (PS 02) - 2 points
(ii) Back Page. (PS 03) - 3 points
6. News play: This is the treatment of news item by the editors in such a way
that one item is given prominence over another. The research adopted attention
score index using a scale of headline column and length of stories to measure
space allotment of stories.
i. Headline: This measures the headline of a story.
Banner headline. (NP 01) - 1 point
Four-Column headline. (NP 02) - 2 points
Three-Column headline. (NP 03) - 3 points
Two-Column headline. (NP 04) - 4 points
One-Column headline. (NP 05) - 5 points
ii. Length of stories. This indicates the space allotment of the stories in the
newspaper. It measured the number of words in a story such as:
0 to 200 words. (LS 01) - 1 points
201 to 400 words. (LS 02) - 2 points
401 and above. (LS 03) - 3 points
The data generate were computed using frequency distribution in numbers and
percentage scores, and equally presented in tables and pie charts. The subject categories
were grouped and computed. This helps to calculate the volume of coverage, to
ascertain the aspect of news that receive more prominence or are more emphasized, and
also ascertain the sources of the published stories and the subject areas covered by the
Nigerian press.
62
In order to determine the direction of news, all favourable news were grouped
together and all unfavourable news were also grouped together. So, it was possible to
determine the nature of the news coverage of the Arab spring in The Guardian, The
Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers.
3.8 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
The study employed face validity. “This validation technique assumes that an
instrument adequately measures what it purports to measure if the categories are rigidly
and satisfactorily defined and if the procedure of the analysis have been adequately
conducted”. (Wimmer and Dominick, 2003, p.160). So the researcher ensured that the
instruments adequately measure what it claims to measure and the raw information
(manifest content) coded is the right thing required.
A study is also said to be reliable when a repeated measurement of the same
data is found similar with previous findings and results. The researcher therefore,
conducted a pilot study by employing two research assistants to independently code the
same content using the same coding instrument. If the inter coding agrees, it will help
the researcher to eliminate errors and arrived at a dependable conclusion.
3.9 METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS
The data collected were analyzed using frequency distribution tables which will
showcase the percentage of occurrence and it will also be presented in pie charts. The
data will be subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. The analysis and
63
interpretation were related to the research questions from which conclusion will be
reached.
3.10 LIMITATIONS OF THE METHODOLOGY
In carrying out this study, time constraint and inadequate finance influenced its
scope. The number of newspapers operating in Nigeria today is estimated at over sixty.
In view of the time available for this study, it was a difficult task to adequately analyze
the content of all the Nigerian newspapers. Consequently, all other newspapers
published in Nigeria, but not selected were not content analyzed in the study. The
rationale for selection was based on their availability to the researcher.
According to Wimmer and Dominick (1987, p. 70), “content analysis alone
cannot serve as a basis for making statement about the effects of content on the
audience”. Based on this, the methodology used in this research is limited to the
quantitative and qualitative aspects of the manifest contents of communication used by
the Nigerian press in the coverage of the Arab spring between the periods of January
2011 to December 2011. It does not delve into the effects of the message content on the
readers.
REFERENCES Berelson, B. (1952). Content analysis in communication research. New York: The Free
Press.
Deutschmann, P. J. (1959). Newspage content of twelve metropolitan dailies.
Cincinnati Scripps: Howard Research.
64
Holsti, O. R. (1981). Content analysis: An introduction, in Janowitz, M. and Hirach, P.
(eds). Reader in public opinion and mass communication. New York: The Free
Press.
Krippendorf, K. (1980). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology. Beverly
Hills: Sage Publication.
Nwodo, L. C. (2004). Research in communication and other behavioural sciences
principles: Method and issues. Enugu: Rhyce Kerex publishers.
Nwogu, B. G. (1998). Educational research: Basic issues and methodology. Uganda:
wisdom Publishers Ltd.
Ohaja, E. U. (2003). Mass communication research and project report writing. Lagos:
John Letterman Ltd.
Okoro, N. M. (2001). Mass communication research: Issues and methodologies.
Nsukka: AP Express Publishers.
Okoro, N. (2006). Media Perception of local government administration in Nigeria: A
content analytical study, in Nsu (ed) Nsukka journal of humanities. Enugu:
Magnet Business Enterprises.
Wimmer, R. D. and Dominick, J. R. (1987). Mass media research: An introduction.
California: Wordsworth Incorporated.
Sasser, E. and Russell, J. (1972). The fallacy of news judgment. Journalism Quarterly
49.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS.
4.1 DESCRIPTION OF THE SAMPLE
The study generally examined the Nigerian press coverage of the Arab spring
from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011. As stated earlier, a total of 720 editions
65
of the six newspapers were the sample size. 46 editions could not be analyzed because
they have no stories on the Arab spring. The editions were 11 editions of The
Guardian, 6 editions of The Nation, 7 editions of ThisDay, 4 editions of Sun, 8 editions
of Daily Trust, and 10 editions of Leadership. This makes a total of 46. Therefore, the
sample size is (720 – 46 = 674).
Table 1: Description of the sample.
The sample size analyzed was 674 editions and it yielded 2162 stories. The
data are presented in tables using frequency scores and percentages. In the tables
below, ‘F’ represents frequency while ‘%’ represents percentage. It was further
presented in pie charts for more comprehensive analysis. The data presented are
answers to the research questions raised in chapter one.
4.2 DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
For a lucid presentation and analysis of data, it is imperative to look at the
research questions raised in chapter one.
1. What is the volume of coverage of the Arab spring in The Guardian, The
Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers?
2. What kinds of materials on the Arab spring appeared in the Nigerian Press?
S/N Newspaper Editions No. of editions with stories
on the Arab spring.
No. of editions with no
stories on the Arab spring. 1 The Guardian 120 109 11
2 The Nation 120 114 6 3 Thisday 120 113 7 4 Sun 120 116 4 5 Daily Trust 120 112 8 6 Leadership 120 110 10
Total 720 674 46
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3. Who are the sources of the Nigerian press coverage of the Arab spring?
4. What is the direction of news coverage of the Arab spring in the Nigerian press?
5. Are the published materials given prominence in the six newspapers under
study?
6. Comparatively, how does the coverage of the Arab spring differ from The
Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers
in terms of volume of coverage, story genre, position of stories and direction of
news?
Research Question One: What is the volume of coverage of the Arab spring in The
Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers?
The volume of coverage of each newspaper was used to answer research question one.
The result showed that the Nigerian press covered the Arab spring since 674
editions of the six newspapers studied yielded 2162 stories. This volume of coverage
justify that the Nigerian press carried out their watchdog journalism on the Arab spring
creditably in 2011. Although there was a remarkable difference between the total
published items in Sun newspaper as compared to The Guardian, The Nation. ThisDay,
Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers. Sun newspaper topped highest with the total of
428 published items representing 19.8%. ThisDay newspaper followed with 385
(17.8%) published items, Daily Trust took the third position with the total of 364
(16.8%) published items, The Nation followed with the total of 347(16.0%) published
items, Leadership took the fifth position with the total of 326 (15.2%) published items,
while The Guardian newspaper came last with the total of 312 published items
representing 14.4 %. Table 2 and figure 1 below offer details.
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Table 2: The volume of coverage of the Arab spring in the six newspaper under study.
Newspaper Frequency (F) Percentage (%) Position
The Guardian 312 14.4 6th
The Nation 347 16.0 4th
ThisDay 385 17.8 2nd
Sun 428 19.8 1st
Daily Trust 364 16.8 3rd
Leadership 326 15.2 5th
Total 2162 100
Figure 1: Chart showing the volume of coverage of the Arab Spring in the six
newspapers under study.
The result showed that Sun newspaper, a tabloid topped highest for publishing stories
on the Arab Spring than The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Daily Trust and
Leadership newspapers during the period of study.
Research Question Two: What kinds of materials on the Arab spring appeared in
the Nigerian press?
Each topic was coded in relation to its frequency of occurrence in the six newspapers
under study and it was used to answer research question two. Table 3 and figure 2
below displayed all the topics covered by the six newspapers.
Table 3: Topics covered by the six newspapers under study.
68
Subject/Topics covered Frequency (F) Percentage (%) Position International relations 169 7.8 5
th
Armed forces 83 3.8 7th
Politics 524 24.2 1st
International Economy 22 1.0 9th
Government activities 516 23.9 2nd
Crime 158 7.3 6
th
Law and Order 69 3.2 8th
Disaster 428 19.8 3rd
Social amenities and developmental projects. 10
th
Human interest 193 9.0 4th
Total 2162 100
Figure 2: Chart showing the topics covered by the six newspapers under study.
Table 3 and figure 2 above displayed the topics covered on the Arab spring by
The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers. The
result showed that politics were 524(24.2%) of the total coverage area. Government
activities followed with 516(23.9%). 428(19.8%) disaster stories were published in the
six newspapers, human interest stories followed with the total of 193(9.0%),
international relation accounted for 169(7.8%), armed forces accounted for 83(3.8%),
crime stories were 158(7.3%), 69(3.2%) stories were published on law and order,
69
international economy accounted for 22(1.0%), while social amenities and
developmental projects had no stories.
The data emanating from table 3 and figure 2 above is quite instructive in many
ways, the topic that attracted the highest coverage was politics, governmental activities
and disaster. The findings of the study did not indicate the contrary, these showed that
politics and governmental activities were the major causes of the Arab Spring in the
Arab nations as reported in the six newspapers under study. The press as the fourth
estate of the realm usually waxed eloquence whenever issues and activities centred on
political instability and corrupt practices of the leaders.
Research Question Three: Who are the sources of the Nigerian press coverage of
the Arab spring?
The news sources of the published items in the six newspapers were used to answer
research question three. Table 4 and figure 3 below displayed the data that answered
this research question.
Table 4: The news Sources of published items in the six newspapers.
S/NO Sources Frequency (F) Percentage (%) Position
1. Reporters 438 20.3 2nd
2. NAN, MENA and PANA 81 3.7 4th
3. International News Agencies 1289 59.6 1st
4. Unidentified 354 16.4 3rd
Total 2162 100
Figure 3: Chart showing the news sources of the published items in the six newspapers
under study.
70
The result showed that the bulk of stories analyzed in the six newspapers were reported
by the international news agencies since 1289 out of 2162 stories representing 59.6%
were from the international news agencies. Then 438 published items representing
20.3% were from reporters, 354 published items representing 16.4% were not attributed
to any source while 81(3.7%) published items were from the national and the regional
news agencies such as News Agency of Nigerian (NAN), MENA and PANA. Since the
result showed that most of the stories on the Arab Spring during the period of study
were gotten from the international news agencies, the findings of this study have
proved that the Nigerian press and other developing nations were still tied to the apron
string of the international news agencies in coverage of events.
Research Question Four: What is the direction of news coverage of the Arab
spring in the Nigerian press?
Table 5: The direction of news of each of the six newspapers under study.
Favourable Unfavourable Neutral
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S/N Newspaper F % F % F %
1 The Guardian 17 0.8 272 12.5 23 1.1
2 The Nation 12 0.6 289 13.4 46 2.1
3 ThisDay 23 1.1 348 16.1 14 0.6
4 Sun 28 1.3 374 17.3 26 1.2
5 Daily Trust 57 2.6 258 11.9 49 2.3
6 Leadership 46 2.1 263 12.2 17 0.8
Total 183 8.5 1804 83.4 175 8.1
The data displayed in table 5 above revealed that the Nigerian press had more
unfavourable news on the Arab Spring during the period of the study. The Guardian
newspaper had 17 favourable news representing 0.8%, 272(12.5%) unfavourable news,
and 23 neutral news representing 1.1%.
The Nation newspaper had 12 favourable news representing 0.6%, 289(13.4%)
unfavourable news, and 46 neutral news which is 2.1%.
ThisDay had 23 favourable news which is 1.1%, 348 (16.1%) unfavourable
news stories, 14 neutral news representing 0.6%.
Sun had 28 favourable news representing 1.3%, 374 (17.3%) unfavourable
news, and 26(1.2%) neutral news.
Daily Trust had 57 favourable news representing 2.6%, 258 (11.9%)
unfavourable news, and 49(2.3%) neutral news.
Leadership had, 46 favourable news representing 2.1%, 263(12.2%)
unfavourable news and 17 neutral news representing 0.8%.
Table 6: The total direction of news coverage in the six newspapers under study.
Direction of news Frequency Percentage Position
Favourable 183 8.5 2nd
Unfavourable 1804 83.4 1st
Neutral 175 8.1 3rd
Total 2162 100
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Figure 4: Chart showing the total direction of news coverage in the six newspapers under
study.
In table 6 and figure 4 above, the result showed the total direction of news
coverage of the Arab spring in the Nigerian press. The findings revealed that majority
of the stories and photonews were unfavourable. Nigerian press still perceived issues
from fellow African in an unfavourable light. The results reflect this as 1804 (83.4%)
out of 2162 published items were unfavourable news, favourable news accounted for
183 (8.5%) while neutral news are 175(8.1%). Before now, analysts of the global media
system believed that the western media which control the international news flow were
guilty of the sins of deliberate misinterpretation and error of ignorance in their
treatment of news from African continent and other developing nations. One would
expect that the African press especially the Nigerian press would be fair in treatment of
issues from Africa. This still border on the accusation leveled against the African
media, Nigerian press inclusive, on indiscriminate dependency on the footage and
reportage from the western media.
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Therefore, the result did not indicate the contrary, since majority of the news
sources were from the international news agencies. All their efforts must be geared
towards portraying the developing nations in an unfavourable light.
Research Question Five: Are the published materials given prominence in the six
newspapers under study?
The position of stories, the headline column and the length of stories answer this
research question. Tables 7 and 8, and figure 5 offered the quantitative analysis.
Table 7: The position of stories in each of the six newspapers under study
S/NO Newspaper Front Page Inside Page Back Page
F % F % F %
1. The Guardian 4 0.1 306 14.1 2 0.0
2. The Nation 8 0.4 335 15.5 4 0.2
3. ThisDay 10 0.5 369 17.1 6 0.3
4. Sun 14 0.7 406 18.8 8 0.4
5. Daily Trust 12 0.6 348 16.1 4 0.2
6. Leadership 16 0.7 303 14.0 7 0.3
Total 64 3.0 2067 95.6 31 1.4
Table 8: The overall position of stories in the six newspapers.
S/NO Placement Frequency (F) Percentage (%) Position
1 Front page 64 3.0 2nd
2 Inside page 2067 95.6 1st
3 Back page 31 1.4 3rd
Total 2162 100
Figure 5: Chart showing the position of stories in the six newspapers under study.
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Tables 7 and 8, and figure 5 above were glaring evidences of the short shift
attention the Nigerian press gave to the Arab spring. As the positioning analysis
revealed, most of the published items about the Arab spring were tucked away inside
the pages of the newspapers. The result showed that inside page took the lead in
position of stories with the total of 2067 representing 95.6% out of the 2162 published
items. However, the published items that attracted the front page position were 64
(3.0%). The back page received only 31 (1.4%). The results showed that prominence
was not given to the Arab spring by the Nigerian press. The stories in the front page
and back page add together were not up to half of the stories in inside pages. It was
glaring evidence that prominence was not achieved through positioning of stories in the
six newspapers studied. This is buttressed by the fact that most of the stories that
attracted the front page position (64 out of 2162) were the major protests,
demonstrations and the civil wars in Libya.
75
The treatment of news in such a way that it gets prominence can also be
achieved through the use of headline. The researcher therefore, used the score index for
headline column to determine whether prominence was given to the Arab spring in the
Nigerian press during the period of study. Table 9 and figure 6 offered details.
Table 9: The score index for headline column.
Type of headline Frequency Percentage Position
One-Column headline 61 2.8 5th
Two-Column headline 154 7.1 3rd
Three-Column headline 1638 75.8 1st
Four-Column headline 183 8.5 2nd
Banner headline 126 5.8 4th
Total 2162 100
Figure 6: Chart showing the score index for headline column.
Table 9 and figure 6 showed that three-column headline took the lead with the
total frequency score of 1638 representing 75.8%. Four-column headline was
183(8.5%), two-column headline was 154 (7.1%), banner headline was 126(5.8%)
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while one-column headline was 61 (2.8%). The result showed that these stories were
positioned in such a way that they will not catch attention of the reader obviously.
Stories with banner headline attract the attention of the reader much more than stories
with shorter headlines. It was discovered that in the headline column, The Guardian,
The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers did not give
prominence to the Arab Spring.
Since prominence was not achieved through positioning of stories and headline
column, the score index for length of stories was used to determine whether
prominence was given to the Arab spring by the Nigerian press. The result also proved
that prominence was not achieved in the six newspapers studied.
The length of the published items was another area which reflected the tuck
away mentality of the Nigerian press in relation to the Arab spring.
Table 10 and figure 7 below showed that stories within the range of zero to 200
words were 1691 (78.2%), stories that fall between 200 to 400 words were 264(12.2%)
while stories within the range of 401 and above were 207(9.6%). Therefore, the results
showed that analytical features were largely short. Most of the stories on the Arab
spring were mainly straight news. The findings revealed that interpretative reporting on
the Arab spring was not carried out by the Nigerian press. This substantiates the short
shift nature of media attention on the Arab Spring by the Nigerian press. They were
concerned on spot news and straight news that is why the six newspapers studied had
more stories within the range of zero to 200 words in length.
Table 10: The score index for length of stories.
S/NO Length (No. of words) F %
1 0 – 200 1691 78.2
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2 201 – 400 264 12.2
3 401 and above 207 9.6
Total 2162 100
Figure 7: Chart showing the score index for length of stories.
Research Question Six: Comparatively, how does the coverage of the Arab spring
differ from The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and Leadership
newspapers in terms of volume of coverage, story genre, position of stories and
direction of news?
For a comparative analysis of the six newspapers studied, in terms of volume of
coverage, the result displayed in table 2 and figure 1 showed a remarkable difference
between the total published items in Sun newspaper as compared to The Guardian, The
Nation. ThisDay, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers. Sun newspaper topped
highest with the total of 428 published stories representing 19.8%. ThisDay newspaper
followed with 385 (17.8%) published items, Daily Trust took the third position with the
total of 364 (16.8%) published items, The Nation followed with the total of 347(16.0%)
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published items, Leadership took the fifth position with the total of 326 (15.2%)
published items, while The Guardian newspaper came last with the total of 312
published items representing 14.4 %.
To compare the six newspapers in terms of story genre, table 11 below
displayed the analysis.
Table 11: The story genre of each newspaper under study.
S/N Newspaper The
Guardian The Nation ThisDay Sun Daily Trust Leadership
F % F % F % F % F % F %
1 News stories 192 8.8 231 10.6 266 12.3 321 14.9 289 13.4 254 11.8 2 Features 56 2.6 32 1.5 34 1.6 27 1.3 23 1.1 16 0.7 3 Editorials 2 0.1 3 0.1 5 0.2 3 0.1 4 0.1 5 0.2 4 Letters to
the editor
and Opinion
Articles
38 1.8 43 2.0 51 2.4 46 2.1 22 1.0 29 1.3
5 Photonews 24 1.1 38 1.8 29 1.3 31 1.4 26 1.2 22 1.2
Total 312 14.4 347 16.0 385 17.8 428 19.8 364 16.8 326 15.2
For a lucid comparison of the six newspapers, it becomes necessary to
determine the type of story in each medium. A total of 192 news stories representing
8.8% were published in The Guardian newspaper, it also had 56 features representing
2.6%, 2 editorials representing 0.1%, 38 letters to the editor and opinion articles
representing 1.8%, and 24 photonews representing 1.1%.
The Nation newspaper had 231 news stories representing 10.6%, 32 features
representing 1.5%, 3 editorials representing 0.1%, 43 letters to the editor and opinion
articles representing 2.0%, and 38 photonews representing 1.8%.
ThisDay newspaper had 266 (12.3%) news stories, 34 (1.6%) features, 5(0.2%)
editorials, 51 (2.4%) letters to the editor and opinions articles, and 29 (1.3%)
photonews.
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Sun newspaper had 321 news stories representing 14.9%, 27 features
representing 1.3%, 3 editorials representing 0.1%, 46 letters to the editor and opinion
articles representing 2.1%, and 31 photonews representing 1.4%.
Daily Trust had 289 (13.4%) news stories, 23(1.1%) features, 4 (0.1%)
editorials, 22 (1.0%) letters to the editor and opinion articles, and 26 photonews
representing 1.2%.
Leadership newspaper had 254(11.8%) news stories, 16 (0.7%) features, 5
(0.2%) editorials, 29 (1.3%) letters to the editor and opinion articles, and 22 (1.2%)
photonews.
For a comparative analysis in story genres, Sun newspaper leads in news stories
with 321(14.9%). The Guardian newspaper leads in features with 56 (2.6%) published
items, ThisDay and Leadership newspaper lead in editorials with 5 (0.2%), ThisDay
leads in letters to the editor and opinion articles with 51 (2.4%) while The Nation leads
in photonews with 38 (1.8%).
To compare the six newspapers in terms of position of stories and direction of
news, tables 12 and 13 below displayed a comparative analysis of the six newspapers in
terms of position of stories and direction of news. The results showed that there were
no differences in their position of stories and direction of news. The six newspapers
placed most of their stories inside pages, than the front and back pages. In terms of
direction of news, majority of the stories published by the six newspapers were
unfavourable.
Table 12: The comparison of position of stories in the six newspapers under study.
S/N Newspaper Front Page Inside Page Back Page
F % F % F %
1. The Guardian 4 0.1 306 14.1 2 0.0
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2. The Nation 8 0.4 335 15.5 4 0.2
3. ThisDay 10 0.5 369 17.1 6 0.3
4. Sun 14 0.7 406 18.8 8 0.4
5. Daily Trust 12 0.6 348 16.1 4 0.2
6. Leadership 16 0.7 303 14.0 7 0.3
Total 64 3.0 2067 95.6 31 1.4
Table 13: The comparison of direction of news in the six newspapers under study.
S/N
Newspaper
Favourable Unfavourable Neutral
F % F % F %
1 The Guardian 17 0.8 272 12.5 23 1.1
2 The Nation 12 0.6 289 13.4 46 2.1
3 ThisDay 23 1.1 348 16.1 14 0.6
4 Sun 28 1.3 374 17.3 26 1.2
5 Daily Trust 57 2.6 258 11.9 49 2.3
6 Leadership 46 2.1 263 12.2 17 0.8
Total 183 8.5 1804 83.4 175 8.1
4.3. DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
In Research Question One displayed in table 2 and figure 1, which is the
volume of coverage of the Arab spring in the six newspapers under study. Out of the
2162 issues analyzed, Sun newspaper topped highest with the total of 428 published
stories representing 19.8%. ThisDay newspaper followed with 385 (17.8%) published
items, Daily Trust took the third position with the total of 364 (16.8%) published items,
The Nation followed with the total of 347(16.0%) published items, Leadership took the
fifth position with the total of 326 (15.2%) published items, while The Guardian
newspaper came last with the total of 312 published items representing 14.4 %. It is
clear that Sun newspaper, a tabloid topped highest for publishing stories on the Arab
Spring than The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Daily Trust and Leadership
newspapers during the period of study. The frequency was high in Sun newspaper
because of its style of reporting foreign news and concern on human interest stories. It
81
was also surprising that The Guardian has two pages meant for foreign news; one for
‘African news’ and the other for ‘World news’, yet it came last in the six newspapers
under study.
Research Question Two: What kinds of materials on the Arab spring appeared
in the Nigerian Press? Research question two ascertains the performance of each topic
within the spectrum of press coverage. The result showed that the international press
focused more on political instability and disaster in the developing nations within the
period of study. It is of interest to note that there were other subject areas such as social
amenities and developmental projects that did not have any coverage. But the Nigerian
press focused more on politics, government activities and disaster. It is not surprising
that social amenities and developmental projects were left untouched since most of the
stories were culled from the international press. This result vivifies neglect by the
international press of prominent areas of the developing nations.
Research Question Three: Who are the sources of the Nigerian press coverage
of the Arab spring? This seeks to find out those that report news on the Arab spring in
the Nigerian press. The bulk of the stories studied were reported by the international
news agencies. The data displayed in table 4 and figure 3 above showed that 1289
stories representing 59.6% were from the international news agencies, 438 published
items representing 20.3% were from reporters. 354 published items representing 16.4%
were not attributed to any source, while 81(3.7%) published items were from national
and regional news agencies such as; News Agency of Nigerian (NAN), MENA and
PANA. This goes to say that most of the stories on the Arab Spring during the period of
study were gotten from the international news agencies. The result showed that the
Nigerian press and other developing nations were still tied to the apron string of the
82
international news agencies for coverage of events. McQuail (2005:253) gave reason
for that in his model of International Communication Dependency, he pointed out that
“the developing countries are dependent on the technology and means of information
distribution for the flow of international communication. These technologies and means
of information distribution are controlled by the western media. As long as we depend
on those technologies, foreign media will permanently be our source for foreign news”.
The result of this study has also proved that the study by MacBride (1980) and his
UNESCO Commission still hold sway today. The result of this study has proven that
despite the submission of the MacBride’s Commission, there is still not much change in
the trend of press coverage of developing nations by the international press.
Research Question Four: What is the direction of news coverage of the Arab
spring in the Nigerian press? From the data analyzed, Nigerian press still perceived
issues from fellow Africans in an unfavourable light. The findings reflect this as 1804
(83.4%) were unfavourable news, favourable news accounted for 183(8.5%) while
neutral news are 175 (8.1%). Since the results emanating from the data analyzed in
table 4 showed that majority of the stories 1289 (59.6%) were from the international
news agencies, therefore, the developing nations should not expect favourable news
from the western media. Several studies have showed that the developing nations are
under reported and portrayed in unfavourable light by the international news agencies
especially the UPI, AP, TASS, Reuters, CNN, and BBC. This study however, has
discovered the same.
Research Question Five: Are the published materials given prominence in the
six newspapers under study? This is another crucial aspect of this study. It tends to
determine the prominence given to the Arab Spring by the Nigerian press. Based on the
83
data collected, Nigerian press never placed high level of importance on the Arab spring
since the percentage of inside page stories were high as 2067(95.6%) compared with 64
(3.0%) and 3.1(1.4%) of front page and back page respectively. Comparing this finding
with Ekeanyanwu’s study on how the Nigerian press reports the western world. She
found that 89.6% of the news reported about the western world appeared in the inside
pages, 7.7% appeared on the front pages while 2.6% were placed on the back pages.
The implication is that the Nigerian press treats African news like the news reported
about the western world. Her study showed that western news covered by Nigerian
press that appeared on the front pages hardly cross 10%. This is not different from the
findings of this study as the stories that appeared on the front pages were 1.4%. It
appears that Nigerian press is biased in treatment of news from the developing nations.
Other ways to determine prominence is through headline column and length of
stories. Majority of the stories had headlines that ran through three columns. This
implies that these stories were positioned in such a way that they will not catch the
attention of the reader. Therefore, prominence was achieved through headline column.
The length of stories was also used to measure the level of importance given to
the Arab spring. It was discovered that 1691(78.2%) stories were within the range of
zero to 200 words in length. 264(12.2%) stories fall between 201 to 400 while
207(9.6%) stories were within the range of 400 and above. This did not argue well for
prominence.
However, three indicators such as positioning of stories, headline column and
length of stories have been used to determine whether prominence was given to the
Arab spring in the Nigerian press, the findings showed that the Nigerian press did not
give prominence to the Arab spring.
84
Research Question Six: Comparatively, how does the coverage of the Arab
spring differ from The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay, Sun, Daily Trust and
Leadership newspapers in terms of volume of coverage, story genre, position of stories
and direction of news? In terms of volume of coverage, the result showed a remarkable
difference between the total published items in Sun newspaper as compared to The
Guardian, The Nation. ThisDay, Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers. Sun
newspaper topped highest with the total of 428(19.8%) published stories representing.
ThisDay newspaper followed with 385(17.8%) published items, Daily Trust took the
third position with the total of 364(16.8%) published items, The Nation followed with
the total of 347(16.0%) published items, Leadership took the fifth position with the
total of 326(15.2%) published items, while The Guardian newspaper came last with the
total of 312(14.4 %.) published items.
To compare the six newspapers in terms of story genre, a total of 192(88.8%)
news stories were published in The Guardian newspaper, it also had 56(2.6%) features,
2(0.1%) editorials, 38(1.8%) letters to the editor and opinion articles, and 24 photonews
representing 1.1%. The Nation newspaper had 231(10.6%), 32(1.5%) features, 3(0.1%)
editorials, 43(2.0%) letters to the editor and opinion articles, and 38(1.8%) photonews.
ThisDay newspaper had 266 (12.3%) news stories, 34 (1.6%) features, 5(0.2%)
editorials, 51 (2.4%) letters to the editor and opinions articles, and 29(1.3%)
photonews. Sun newspaper had 321(14.9%) news stories, 27(1.3%) features, 3(0.1%)
editorials, 46(2.1%) letters to the editor and opinion articles, and 31(1.4%) photonews.
Daily Trust had 289 (13.4%) news stories, 23(1.1%) features, 4 (0.1%) editorials,
22(1.0%) letters to the editor and opinion articles, and 26(1.2% ) photonews while
Leadership newspaper had 254(11.8%) news stories, 16 (0.7%) features, 5 (0.2%)
85
editorials, 29 (1.3%) letters to the editor and opinion articles, and 22 (1.2%) photonews.
Sun newspaper took the lead in news stories. The Guardian newspaper leads in the
features, ThisDay and Leadership newspapers took the lead in editorial, ThisDay took
the lead in letters to editor and opinion articles while The Nation leads in photonews. It
was also discovered that it was only The Guardian that gave an in-depth analytical
features and comprehensive information than straight news on the Arab spring as
observed in Sun newspaper.
In terms of position of stories and direction of news, there were no differences
since majority of the stories in the six newspapers were place inside pages, they also
have more stories with three-column headline and within the range of zero to 200
words in length. It was only Leadership that had 16 and 7 stories placed in front and
back pages respectively. The differences were not much in direction of news in the six
newspapers since 1804(83.4%) were unfavourable news.
REFERENCES
Ekeanyanwu, N. T. (2007). Global news flow controversy: is the South also guilty?
International Journal of Communication Vol. 7, pp.20-28.
McQuail, D. (2005). McQuail’s mass communication theory (5th
Ed.) Los Angeles: Sage
publication.
Ohaja, E.U. (2002). Feature writing simplified: Enugu: Eldemak Publishers.
Okoro, N. and Obeni, E. (2007). Periscoping the NWICO debate using Nigerian press
coverage of Darfur conflict in Sudan. International Journal of Communication.
Vol. 7 pp.351 – 367.
86
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 SUMMARY
The research was an in-depth study of the Nigerian press coverage of the Arab
spring in 2011. A systematic random sampling of The Guardian, The Nation, ThisDay,
Sun, Daily Trust, and Leadership newspapers was used to collect the sample. A sample
size of 674 generated 2162 items to enable the researcher to answer the research
questions posed in the study. Each research question was answered in relation to the
unit of analysis. The data generated from the six newspapers were able to proffer
answers to the research questions.
However, it was found that the Nigerian press coverage of Arab Spring, apart
from being placed inside pages, suffered in-depth and interpretative analysis. Most of
the stories published were straight news which centred on politics, government
activities and disaster. The Nigerian press portrayed the Arab spring in a bad light and
they were also guilty of misinterpretation of African news. However, the findings
showed that the Arab Spring did not receive prominence and fair coverage from the
Nigerian press. This may be due to the fact that stories on war and violence were not
developmental in nature and do not merit undue prominence. In the same vein, social
amenities and developmental projects were left untouched. Does it mean that there
were no developmental projects in the Arab nations that deserved a favourable
coverage by the Nigerian press?
It was also discovered among other findings that there was an unfavourable
coverage of developing nations by the international press. Majority of the stories were
87
reported by the international news agencies such as, UPI, AP, Reuters, AFP, BBC, and
CNN. It is disheartening that the developing nations still depend on the international
press in coverage of events within and across the frontiers. The international news flow
is still one sided from the west to the south. Up till now, Nigerian has not found a
solution to over-dependency on the foreign media and the international wire services.
As a result of this, the Nigerian press became tools for amplifying the western
government foreign policies on the Arab spring, and in the process shape the mindset of
the Nigerians to accept these policies often to our detriment. This has always been the
cry of the developing nations. The study has proved that the age long cry of imbalance
and unfavourable coverage of developing nations by the international press still exist.
5.2 CONCLUSION
Base on the 674 editions of the six newspapers analyzed that yielded 2162
items, the following conclusion were arrived at. The accusation of bias reporting has
always arisen from the developing nations. Such accusations range from the
quantitative to qualitative disparity in coverage. In the world of journalism today, there
is still imbalance in news flow by the international press in coverage of the developing
nations. This research has, nonetheless, proved that views held by the developing
countries were in every respect correct. The research has also proven that there were
imbalances on the Nigerian press coverage of the Arab Spring in 2011. Thus, in terms
of statistics and names, they differ from one newspaper to another. These, of course, are
biased and imbalance reporting. The Nigerian press only informed the readers about
the Arab spring, but did not give in-depth analysis and interpretative reporting on the
Arab revolution.
88
The study also discovered that the direction of news coverage of the Arab
spring in the Nigerian press was largely unfavourable because most of the stories
published by the six newspapers under study were gotten from the international news
agencies. With this knowledge what could be done to altar the trend?
5.3 RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the findings of this research, the researcher recommends as follows:
1. The developing nations should structure a new communication policy
that will suit the coverage of the developed nations. This policy should serve in
form of a law that will guide the journalists in their coverage of events world
wide. This will curtail the biased and imbalance reporting often seen in the
reports of the western media on the developing nations.
2. The Nigerian journalists and other press in developing nations should
engage in more affirmative reporting. They should give journalism a proper
perspective, focusing on the right issues in the society. It is not just enough for
the developing nations to cry that they were not adequately covered by the
international press. They should scrutinize any news that come from the
international media before publication.
3. News Agency of Nigerian (NAN), Pan African News Agency (PANA)
and Middle East News Agency (MENA) should be revived and adequately
funded to assume their primary role of gathering, processing and disseminating
news all over the world.
4. The press in developing nations should give an interpretative reporting
of any events such as civil disorders and wars than straight news for people to
89
be better informed to make right decisions. It will also help to change people’s
mindset about Africa related events.
5. Since dependency on international news agencies means Africa
unwittingly submitting their media as willing tool for amplifying foreign
agenda, Nigerian press should boycott those foreign agencies. The western
media should not cover Africa for Africans. Therefore, the Nigerian press
should establish and reawaken the existing links and cooperation with the press
of other developing countries in order to achieve adequate coverage of their
countries. This can be done by taking advantage of increasing access to ICT.
6. The Nigerian media houses should be sending their reporters to cover
events in Africa at least for the period it happens. This is not a mission
impossible or unachievable task. It is a matter of interest and sponsorship.
The question to ask is this, why does the press in the developing nations
depend on the international media for news coverage? The scope of this
research may not be able to offer answer to this question. Therefore, this point
provides a ready subject for further research.
90
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96
APPENDIX 1
CODING GUIDE FOR NIGERIAN PRESS COVERAGE OF THE ARAB
SPRING: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF SIX NATIONAL NEWSPAPERS.
Objectives of the study. Data item (Unit of
analysis
Unit of
observation
Code
number
At the end of this research, the study
would be able:
(i) To find out the volume of coverage
of the Arab spring in the Nigerian
press.
(ii) To ascertain the topics areas
covered
on the Arab spring by the Nigerian
press.
(iii) To ascertain the sources of the
stories
in the Nigerian press.
(iv) To determine the direction of news
coverage.
(v) To ascertain whether prominence is
given to the Arab spring.
(vi) To compare the six newspapers in
terms of volume of coverage, story
genre, page placement and
direction
of news.
1. Newspaper
The Guardian
The Nation
ThisDay
Sun
Daily Trust
Leadership
1
2
3
4
5
6
Direction Favourable
Unfavourable
Neutral
8
Source Reporters,
International,
local, and regional
news agencies.
9
10
12
Story genre Straight news
Features
Editorials
Letters to editor
and Opinion
articles.
Photonews.
13
14
15
16
17
97
News play Front page
Inside page
Back page
Headline and
length of story.
18
19
20
21
98
99
APPENDIX 2
CODE SHEET FOR NIGERIAN PRESS COVERAGE OF THE 2011 ARAB SPRING:
THE GUARDIAN
News stories Features Editorials Letters & Articles Photonews Score index for News Play
Date
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k P
age
Fav
ou
rable
Un
favou
rab
le
Neu
tral
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k P
age
Fav
ou
rable
Un
favou
rab
le
Neu
tral
P.E
A.
C
C.C
0-2
00
201
-400
401
& a
bo
ve
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k P
age
Fav
ou
rable
Un
fav
ou
rab
le
Neu
tral
P.C
C.C
M.C
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k p
age
0 -
200
20
1 -
400
40
0 &
ab
ov
e
1 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
2 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
3 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
4 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
Ban
ner
Hea
dli
ne
To
tal
Sco
re
(TS
)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
100
24
25
CODE SHEET FOR NIGERIAN PRESS COVERAGE OF THE 2011 ARAB SPRING:
THE
GUARDIAN
News stories Features Editorials Letters & Articles Photonews Score index for News Play
Date
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k P
age
Fav
ou
rable
Un
favou
rab
le
Neu
tral
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k P
age
Fav
ou
rable
Un
favou
rab
le
Neu
tral
P.E
A.
C
C.C
0-2
00
201
-400
401
& a
bo
ve
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k P
age
Fav
ou
rable
Un
fav
ou
rab
le
Neu
tral
P.C
C.C
M.C
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k p
age
0 -
200
20
1 -
400
40
0 &
ab
ov
e
1 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
2 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
3 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
4 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
Ban
ner
Hea
dli
ne
To
tal
Sco
re
(TS
)
26
27
28
29
30
31
To
tal
Description of the Scoring points
Total (T) = The total published items in a month
Total Score (TS) = The total published items in a day.
101
APPENDIX 3
CODE SHEET FOR NIGERIAN PRESS COVERAGE OF THE 2011 ARAB SPRING:
THE
NATION
News stories Features Editorials Letters & Articles Photonews Score index for News Play
Date
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k P
age
Fav
ou
rable
Un
favou
rab
le
Neu
tral
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k P
age
Fav
ou
rable
Un
favou
rab
le
Neu
tral
P.E
A.
C
C.C
0-2
00
201
-400
401
& a
bo
ve
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k P
age
Fav
ou
rable
Un
fav
ou
rab
le
Neu
tral
P.C
C.C
M.C
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k p
age
0 -
200
20
1 -
400
40
0 &
ab
ov
e
1 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
2 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
3 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
4 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
Ban
ner
Hea
dli
ne
To
tal
Sco
re
(TS
)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
102
23
24
25
CODE SHEET FOR NIGERIAN PRESS COVERAGE OF THE 2011 ARAB SPRING:
THE
NATION
News stories Features Editorials Letters & Articles Photonews Score index for News Play
Date
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k P
age
Fav
ou
rable
Un
favou
rab
le
Neu
tral
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k P
age
Fav
ou
rable
Un
favou
rab
le
Neu
tral
P.E
A.
C
C.C
0-2
00
201
-400
401
& a
bo
ve
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k P
age
Fav
ou
rable
Un
fav
ou
rab
le
Neu
tral
P.C
C.C
M.C
Fro
nt
Pag
e
Insi
de
Pag
e
Bac
k p
age
0 -
200
20
1 -
400
40
0 &
ab
ov
e
1 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
2 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
3 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
4 C
ol.
Hea
dli
ne
Ban
ner
Hea
dli
ne
To
tal
Sco
re
(TS
)
26
27
28
29
30
31
Tota
l
Description of the Scoring points
Total (T) = The total published items in a month
Total Score (TS) = The total published items in a day.