CONTENT ANALYSIS OF FOUR NIGERIAN DAILES ON THE COVERAGE OF CRIME IN NIGERIA

Crime as a social phenomenon is a fundamental aspect of all human life. Nigeria has thus been referred to as one of the most crime-prone nations of the world because of its low social security level and social activities which are criminal. Crime can be seen as an “Internal violation of the criminal law and committed without defense or excuse and penalty by state felony or misdemeanor through judicial proceeding” (Toppan, 2004). This study examined A Content Analysis of Four Nigeria Newspaper on Crime Cases.  The objectives of the study were to: Know newspapers' prominence in crime cases in Nigeria; Determine newspapers' frequency in reporting crime cases in Nigeria; and know the direction of reportage given by the selected newspapers in reporting crime cases in Nigeria. To determine the depth selected newspapers gave to reporting crime cases in Nigeria. The study employed content analysis as her research design. Meanwhile, for the Content Analysis, two hundred and seventy (720) editions of, The Punch, The Sun, and Daily Trust Newspapers in the year 2023 were purposively selected as population while One hundred and twenty-six editions (126) from February to September 2023 were selected through random sampling as sample size. A validated Coding Manual (Guide) and Coding sheet (coding scheme) were used for data collection while tables were used for data analysis.

Findings revealed that:

i.                    Nigeria Newspapers’ coverage of crime cases stories was on the high, average within the period of study.

ii.                  The study also found that Nigeria Newspapers did not attach much prominence to the coverage of crime cases stories as just a few stories of crime cases stories were found on the prominent page of newspapers (front page minor)

iii.                The frame mostly used for crime cases stories was the attribution of responsibility frame followed by the morality frame, conflict frame, and human interest frame while the economic consequence frame was the least represented.

The study concluded that continued newspaper coverage of crime case stories proactively would help reduce the alarming rate of the menace. The study recommended that it would be a laudable effort if economic stress were reduced and there were enough job opportunities to help reduce crime cases. Also, the media should try and help the parents, and youths by educating them on how to go against crime scenarios through the use of newspapers.

Keywords: Crime, Newspaper, Nigeria, Coverage