Abstract

In about a decade ago, the Southern Senatorial District of Plateau State in the North-Central geo-political zone of Nigeria has been bedeviled by ethno-religious conflicts. This has led to loss of several lives and wanton destruction of property. The mass media have been the major avenues through which people within and outside the state got to know about the crises. This study focused on the reportage of the ethno-religious conflicts in Southern Plateau. The newspapers content analyzed were The Nigeria Standard, The Punch, Daily/Weekly Trust and The Champion. The main objective of the study is to determine whether media reportage of the crises were in line with professional ethics of journalism. The period under study was January to June, 2004. The research method was content analysis, while the social responsibility theory was used to buttress the understanding of the study. The population of the study was the entire publications of the selected newspapers totaling 665 editions. Based on descriptive data analysis, the study reveals that prominence was given to the stories by newspapers in placement of stories in front pages. It also reveals that pictures were used to attract audience attention more than other stories such that both literates and non-literates can understand it. Furthermore, while majority of the reports were ethical, a high number were unethical. The study therefore, recommended that there should be regulations of media content by the Nigerian Union of Journalists, the Nigerian Press Council and the National Broadcasting Commission. Also, there should be effective gate- keeping in media establishments to avoid escalation of conflicts by the practitioners.

Key Words: Ethnicity, Religion, Conflict, Media, Social Responsibility

^JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 5, No. 1, April 2013, 79 – 92 

©Delmas Communications Ltd.

About the author

*Dr. Ladi  Adamu is a Lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria.

Full Article

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