Frequency of Newspaper Reports of Selected Political Crisis Situations in Nigeria

Abstract Nigeria’s politics, has witnessed several instabilities, with each period in history having its attendant crisis. This study determines frequency of reportage of selected political crisis situations in Nigeria with a hope of understanding press “attitude.” The paper examines the extent to which newspapers reported on the selected political crisis situations in Nigeria; the possible differences in national dailies reportage; and the possible differences in the frequency of reportage between the political crisis situations. The research questions are: To what extent did newspapers report on the selected political crisis situations in Nigeria? What are the possible differences in the national dailies’ reportage on the political crisis situations in Nigeria? What are the possible differences in the frequency of reportage between the political crisis situations in Nigeria? Content analysis design via coding sheet is used. Findings showed that Yar’Adua’s illness and absence in office had the highest newspaper reportage; Obasanjo’s alleged third term agenda and 2011 post-election protests had relatively same overall rate of newspaper reportage. Largely, there is no significant difference between the frequencies of reports among the selected newspapers and between the selected political crises situations –meaning almost equal importance to each of the selected political crisis situations. Key Words: Politics, Political Crisis, Nigerian Newspapers, Newspaper Reports, Frequency. JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 7, No. 1, April 2015, 125 – 144 ©Delmas Communications Ltd. About the author *Raphael Olugbenga Abimbola is a Lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria. Full Article Words: 7,659; Pages: 20