*IJEOMA DORATHY AJAERO, Ph.D. & **CHIDIEBERE ALOZIE NWACHUKWU, Ph.D.

Abstract

The 2017 floods in Nigeria affected more than 19 states, wreaking havoc on lives and properties in the country. This happened five years after the most devastating floods in the history of Nigeria occurred. Scholars have argued that the media serve as sources of information for the people especially when disaster of this magnitude occurs. It is based on this premise that this work sought to investigate the volume of coverage given to the 2017 floods; the sources of stories; identified causes (climate related and human causes) of the flood, and the dominant frame employed by the selected newspapers. The online editions of The Punch, Vanguard and Leadership newspapers were content analyzed. The findings are based on analysis of articles published by the three newspapers in 2017. The code sheet served as the instrument for data collection. Results showedthat the media did give coverage to the 2017 floods, with government/government officials as the most cited source; causes of the 2017 floods ranged from disregard for environmental laws and poor drainage/infrastructure, to high rainfall, rise in sea level and climate change as identified human and climate-related causes of the flood; the dominant frame was the human impact frame as the 2017 floods reports portrayed the impact of the floods on Nigerians. Based on the findings, the study concluded among others that an in-depth assessment of the floods and its effect should be made available to the media so that they can use the report to better inform the public.

Key Words: Newspaper, Framing, 2017 Flood, Climate-Related Causes, Human Causes

^JCMR Journal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 12, No. 2, October 2020, pp. 54-63

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

About the authors

*Ijeoma Dorathy Ajaero, Ph.D., is a Lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. Her research interest spans media sociology, gender studies, environment and health communication.    

**Chidiebere A. Nwachukwu, Ph.D., is a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria. His research interest is in health and environmental communication.

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Article Citation

Ajaero, I. D. & Nwachukwu, C. A. (2020). Coverage, reportage and framing of the 2017 floods in Nigeria by three selected Nigerian newspapers. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 12 (2): 54 – 63.