Nigerian newspaper coverage of the millennium development goals: The role of the media

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine media coverage of development issues in Nigeria using the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as examples. The agenda setting and development media theories formed the theoretical framework for the study. Two prominent Nigerian national newspapers, The PUNCH and The Guardian, were sampled for the research. The study covered all 182 editions of each sampled newspaper published from January 1, 2008 to June 30, 2008. Thus, 364 editions were content analyzed. The findings showed that the Nigerian media did not give equal coverage to the development issues they covered. They reported some issues frequently, while other equally pressing developmental challenges in the country were neglected. Furthermore, the Nigerian media did not do much to educate, enlighten or motivate the public towards the need to achieve the developmental issues reported.