Abstract

Violent spates of the longstanding conflict between herders and farmers in Nigeria have become amplified and persistent in recent times, and these have naturally elicited media focus. The media, ordinarily, are a major player during periods of conflict as they can influence the direction of a conflict situation and the public’s understanding and interpretation of conflict issues. Using the content analysis research method, this study examined coverage patterns of the herders-farmers conflict by three Nigerian national newspapers- The Punch, The Guardian and Vanguard-between January 2015 and August 2016. Findings showed that the newspapers were majorly reliant on government officials, security operatives and victims/eyewitnesses as sources of their reports on the herders-farmers conflict. The newspapers indicated herders as the principal perpetrators of violence, framing the herders-farmers conflict more as criminal attacks by herders on farming communities than as resource-use clashes between both parties. It was also discovered that the newspapers in their editorial reactions were mainly critical of the Nigerian government’s level of intervention in the herders-farmers conflict.

Key Words: Newspapers, Press Coverage, Herders-Farmers, Conflict, Nigerian Newspapers.

*    Oluwafemi Olomojobi is of the Department of Mass Communication, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria.

* * Kolade Ajilore, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Department of Mass Communication, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State, Nigeria.

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 10, No. 1, April 2018,   38-51