Abstract

This study sought to ascertain the extent to which newspapers were used by the military and the militants in prosecuting the oil war of 2008 in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria. Five research questions were postulated and the content analysis method was used to examine 24 weekend editions of the Vanguard newspaper during the months of August, September and October 2008. The study found that (i) both the military and the militants used the newspaper for propaganda in prosecuting the oil war; (ii) the newspaper gave great prominence to the oil war with much of its headlines occupying the front pages; (iii) the frequency of the newspaper reports gave the crisis greater prominence and recognition; (iv) the militants got their side of the stories into the pages of the newspaper through electronic mail; and (v) the display of pictures in the newspaper of heavily-armed militants helped to position the militants better than the military in the crisis. The study thus recommended that the mass media should always endeavour to verify all facts on a crisis before they publish their stories so as to avoid being used as propaganda tools.

Key Words: Military, Militants, Oil War, Niger-Delta, Propaganda

^JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 2, No. 1, April 2010, 121 – 130

About the authors

*Eserinune McCarty Mojaye, Ph.D, is a Senior Lecturer and Head, Department of Mass Communication, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria .

**Esther Unurhoro is of the Department of Mass Communication, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria.

Full Article

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Article Citation

Mojaye, E. M. & Unurhoro, E. (2010): Oil war or propaganda war: Use of newspapers by militants and the military in the Nigerian Niger-Delta crisis. Journal of Communication and Media Research 2(1): 121 – 130.