Influencing the Message: The Role of Media Ownership on the Press Coverage of the 2015 Presidential Electoral Campaign in Nigeria
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Keywords

Nigerian Media
Ownership
2015 Presidential Electoral Campaign

How to Cite

Abubakre, F. I. (2017). Influencing the Message: The Role of Media Ownership on the Press Coverage of the 2015 Presidential Electoral Campaign in Nigeria. Brazilian Journalism Research, 13(3), 60–85. https://doi.org/10.25200/BJR.v13n3.2017.1009

Abstract

This study focuses on the role of media ownership on the press coverage of the 2015 presidential election campaign in Nigeria. Using content analysis, the aim of the study was to identify the themes and examine the direction of the coverage of election campaign news items between the two main political parties in the country-Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) published in The Nation on one hand and the Nigerian Tribune on the other hand, between January 2015 and March 2015. Findings from the study indicate coverage replete with biases, although with some remarkable incidents of objectivity and balancing, and show that the two newspapers analysed in this study merely reflected the political leanings of their respective publishers.

Este estudo se centra no papel da propriedade da mídia na cobertura jornalística das eleições presidenciais de 2015 na Nigéria. Por meio de análise de conteúdo, seu objetivo é identificar os temas e examinar os direcionamentos dos itens noticiosos relacionados à cobertura da campanha ente os dois principais partidos do país – Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) e o All Progressives Congress (APC) – e que foram publicados entre janeiro e março de 2015 nos jornais The Natione Nigerian Tribune. Os resultados do estudo apontam para uma cobertura repleta de vieses, apesar de alguns incidentes relevantes de objetividade e de equilíbrio, e mostram que os dois jornais analisados simplesmente refletem os direcionamentos políticos de seus respectivos proprietários.

Este estudio se centra en el papel de la propiedad de los medios en la cobertura de prensa de las campañas electorales presidenciales de 2015 en Nigeria. Utilizando análisis de contenido, el objetivo del estudio fue identificar los temas y examinar el direccionamiento de la cobertura y de las noticias sobre la campaña electoral entre los dos principales partidos políticos del país: el Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) y o All Progressives Congress (APC), publicadas en The Nation y en el Nigerian Tribune, entre enero de 2015 y marzo de 2015. Las encuestas de estudio indican una cobertura repleta de vieses, aunque con algunos incidentes relevantes de objetividad y  equilibrio, y muestra que los dos periódicos analizados reflejan simplemente las directrices de los respectivos propietarios.
https://doi.org/10.25200/BJR.v13n3.2017.1009
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