Abstract

This paper is a study of how the Nigerian press framed the strike embarked upon by National Union of Teachers (NUT) between June and July 2008. It adopted the qualitative content analysis technique in assessing the image frames of the federal government on one hand, and the NUT on the other hand, as evident in the coverage of the strike by three national dailies – Vanguard, The Guardian and Daily Champion. The study found that NUT officials and their “allies” were the dominant sources of news items on the strike, as a result of which the NUT defined the course of media coverage. The federal government had a negative image frame while the NUT had a favourable image with the majority of the stories justifying the strike. The study thus recommended, among others, that the press should engage in independent investigative reports on topical issues so as to provide more background to the issue, more objective and balanced reports, and the news behind the news.

Key Words:  Strike, Teachers, Press Coverage, Agenda Setting, Framing.

^JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 2, No. 1, April 2010, 113 – 120

About the authors

*Chinenye Nwabueze Ph.D, is a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Anambra State University, Igbariam Campus,Anambra State, Nigeria. 

**Onyeka Edegoh is a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Anambra State University, Igbariam Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria.

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Article Citation

Nwabueze, C. & Edegoh, O. (2010): Framing the agenda: Press coverage of the 2008 teachers’ strike in Nigeria. Journal of Communication and Media Research 2(1): 113 – 120.