Abstract

This study examined Nigerian newspapers’ representation of President Jonathan administration’s transformation agenda from May 2012 to May 2013. The study content analysed 168 editions of the Nation, Guardian, Sun and Trust newspapers which were selected based on their national coverage of issues, ownership identity and geopolitical location. The study used multistage sampling technique that comprised purposive, stratified, systematic random and constructive-week samples to arrive at the selected newspapers, months and editions. The study discovered that the papers had collectively given less negative representation of the administration’s transformation agenda policy. The selected Nigerian newspapers irrespective of their owners’ affiliation did not represent the administration in a negative light. The papers gave emphasis more on the growth and governance aspects of the policy than employment creation and infrastructural development. This showed that other issues that were not directly linked with the microeconomic aspects that could boost the Nigeria’s development were not given adequate representation. Therefore, the study recommended that issues of employment and infrastructure that more directly affect the masses should be given unambiguous, adequate and objective representation even if they would be negative. This would help the administration to know whether the policy is working or not.

Key Words: Transformation Agenda, Nigerian Newspapers, Representation, President Jonathan, Nigeria.

^JCMRJournal of Communication and Media Research, Vol. 7, No. 1, April 2015, 145 – 165 

©Delmas Communications Ltd.

About the authors

*Abdulmutallib Ado Abubakar is a lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, University of Maiduguri, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.

** Dr. Ismail Adegboyega Ibraheem, Ph.D., is a senior lecturer in the Department of Mass Communication, University of Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria.

Full Article

Words: 8,723; Pages: 21