Newspaper Framing of the APC Change Mantra in the 2015 Nigerian Presidential Election - A Study of The Punch And The Guardian Newspapers

Abstract One of the ways in which the mass media shape public perceptions of key issues is through the act of framing. During election campaigns, the media are capable to shaping people’s perceptions of a political campaign through the way they frame their reports to the public. This paper therefore seeks to examine the framing of the APC Change Campaigns in two Nigerian newspapers (The Punch and The Guardian). The study is anchored on the framing theory, while content analysis and survey research designs via coding sheet and personal interview were adopted towards obtaining the needed primary data. 90 editions of the two newspapers (45 editions from each of the newspapers. ) covering 1st November, 2014 to 31st March, 2015 were purposively selected. The findings revealthat The Punch and The Guardian newspapers adopted the positive, negative, and neutral frames in reporting the APC Change Campaigns; the selected newspapers framed the APC Change Campaigns more positively to their readers. The study thus recommends that media practitioners should ensurecore journalistic principles of objectivity and fairness in news reportage and nationalistic treatment of political issues. Key Words: Framing, APC, Change Campaigns, Presidential Election, The Punch, The Guardian. _______________ *Ishola Kamorudeen Lamidi is with the Department of Mass Communication, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria **Damilola Saheed Olisa is with the Department of Mass Communication, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 8, No. 2, October 2016, 201 – 218