| Title: | Press Coverage of the Ethno-religious Crisis in Southern Kadunna |
| Author(s): | Happiness Onyemaechi Emmanuel |
| Abstract: | Ethnic and religious crises have become recurring issues in Nigeria. The study set out to analyse the nature of coverage given to the Southern Kadunna ethno-religious crisis by some selected Nigerian newspapers in terms of frequency of coverage and prominence. Purposively chosen for analyses were two national newspapers namely: The Guardian and The Daily Trust. Time frame for the study was December 25, 2016 to January 31, 2017. The study, a content analysis, used a sample of all the issues produced during the period of study which totaled 76 issues for the two selected dailies. Percentages were used to answer the research questions while chi-square was used to test the hypothesis at 0.05 level of significant. Findings show that the newspapers studied had 78.33% of their stories reflected in news stories and only 1.67% on features. The prominence accorded to the crisis was low as the hypothesis affirms that there is no significant difference in the prominence accorded to the crisis by the newspapers. The paper recommends that the press should do more of investigative reporting and give prominence to ethno-religious crisis considering its negative effects on the unity and economic development of the country. |
| Keywords: | Press, Crisis, Ethnicity, Religion |
