Western Media and Conflict Reportage in Africa: An Assessment of the Reportorial Pattern of the Cable News Network on Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria

Kingsley Chukwuemeka Izuogu; Dennis Ugochukwu Omeonu; Kalu Kalu Ibe

Authors

Kingsley Chukwuemeka, Izuogu Department of Mass Communication, Abia State University, P.M.B. 2000, Uturu, Nigeria
Dennis Ugochukwu, Omeonu Department of Mass Communication, Abia State University, P.M.B. 2000, Uturu, Nigeria
Kalu Kalu, Ibe Department of Mass Communication, Federal Polytechnic, Nekedde, Imo State, Nigeria

Keywords:

Boko Haram, Conflict Reportage, Insurgency, Mass Media, Reportorial Pattern

Abstract

A couple of studies on conflict reportage in Nigeria had accused Western media of inclinations for feeding their audience with inaccurate and contradictory reports. Coming from the background of such allegation, this study sets out to investigate the reportorial pattern of the Cable News Network (CNN) on Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, for a period of five years, 2012-2016. The study adopted the content analysis method of research and conducted a census of fifty-eight (58) online reports on Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria, as obtained from Cable News Network website (http://edition.cnn.com/text=boko+haram). While direction of reports, sources of report, prominence, balance, and report genre provided content categories for the study, the Cronbach Alpha test was adopted for inter-coder reliability. The study found among other things that CNN’s reportorial pattern on Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria did conform to the allegation of information distortion leveled against Western Media. Based on the findings of the research, the Researchers then recommended diversification of information sources, combination of report genres and fortification of conflict reporters, as measures that would enhance accuracy, objectivity and fairness in conflict reportage.

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