Abstract

Democracy is considered as the ideal and a people-centred system of government. However, democracies have been associated with violent crimes. Crime is a bane to peace and economic activities. Anchored on the Social Responsibility theory of the press, the study adopted content analysis method of research to investigate the coverage of crime committed in Nigeria. The crime stories by five National newspapers, Daily Trust, The Punch, The Sun, Nigerian Tribune, and Vanguard from 2010 to 2014 were analysed. Findings showed that the newspapers as sources of information on crime published stories on murder, kidnapping, robbery and other forms of crime committed during the period. Stories on murder were 47.1%, kidnapping/abduction 21.5% and robbery at 14.5%. Findings also showed that the selected Nigerian newspapers reported crime stories mainly as straight news; published crime stories mainly on the inside pages. Stories on violent crime (murder, kidnapping, robbery and rape) were covered more than property crime such as burglary and fencing.

Key Words: Democracy, Violent Crime, Property Crime, Content Analysis, Crime Reportage

JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 13, No. 1, April 2021, pp. 52 – 61

© Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON).

About the authors

*      Mustapha Olalekan Rufai, Ph.D., orcid.org/0000-0001-8426-289X, is of the Department of Mass Communication, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago- Iwoye, Nigeria.

**   Abiodun Salawu Ph.D., is a Professor at the Indigenous Language Media in Africa Research Entity, North-West University, Mafikeng, South Africa.

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Article Citation

Rufai, M. O. & Salawu, A. (2021). A content analysis of the reportage of crimes committed under democratic rule in Nigeria. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 13 (1): 52 – 61.