Press Coverage of Environmental Pollution In The Niger Delta Region of Nigeria. A Content Analysis of the Guardian, Vanguard, Daily Sun and Thisday Newspapers

Abstract

Over the years, the Niger Delta region of Nigeria has always received negative media publicity due to its restive youth who, under several fronts, have been campaigning against alleged pillage of the region by the oil companies as well as "neglect" of the region by the federal government of Nigeria. The region has also been agitating against the "massive destruction" of their farmlands, water resources and the general ecology of the region, occasioned by the activities of oil companies in the region, resulting in environmental degradation and pollution. This study is a content analysis of four mainline newspapers in Nigeria: The Guardian, Vanguard, Daily Sun and Thisday. It was aimed at ascertaining whether the Nigerian press covers environmental pollution and the extent of the coverage, in addition to forms of environmental pollution in the Niger Delta, as covered by the Nigerian press. Using random sampling, 90 issues of each of the papers were selected (from 1092 issues) within the study period-September 2010 to May 2011. The study found that environmental pollution in the region by the press received low coverage. The study also revealed that environmental issues are largely confined to the inside pages of the newspapers.