An appraisal of the utilisation of social media for political communication in the 2011 Nigerian presidential election

The study is a survey aimed at examining the utilisation of social media for political communication during the 2011 presidential election in Nigeria. The rationale behind the study was to determine whether voters’ choice of presidential candidates was influenced by their social media use. 249 respondents selected through random sampling responded to 249 copies of questionnaire administered. The results of the descriptive statistics show that majority of the respondents’ choice of presidential candidates during the 2011 presidential election was influenced by the use of social media as indicated by high value of mean (1.5805). Similarly, the respondents were of the opinion that the two selected presidential candidates were popular because they used social media in their political campaign (mean value of 1.5575). In addition, the respondents affirmed that their voting pattern during the 2011 presidential elections was influenced by social media usage. This was validated by a high mean value of (1.6667). Similarly, the result of the test of hypothesis indicated that voters’ choice of political candidates was influenced by political communication on social media. The findings further indicated that religious affiliations and ethnicity were also factors that influenced voter’s choice of candidates. In view of the findings of this study, it was therefore concluded that social media have redefined the landscape of political communication in Nigeria and it should continue to be used in future elections in Nigeria. It is also recommended that electorate should also ensure that they deemphasized ethnic and religious considerations in their voting patterns in future elections; only credible candidates should be voted into power.Keywords: Communication, Election, Politics, and Social medi

Democratic Participant Media Theory in the Nigerian Context

This work examines how effective democratic participant media theory (DPMT) is in the Nigerian media context, in terms of the tenets upheld, tenets not upheld as well as tenets marked with ambiguities. Data from the analysis of the editorials of three national newspapers –The Nation, The Sun and Vanguard - show that only The Sun - has editorials published daily, which supports the theory’s tenet of the citizen’s need for content. Political issues emerge fifth among six other sub-themes in their coverage and the citizen’s determination of the need for media content turns out to be the purview of the journalists who are centrally controlled

Audience Perception of Television Animated Cartoons as Tool for Political Communication: A Study of Selected Towns in North Central Nigeria

This study investigated audience perception of television animated cartoons as tool for political communication. The specific objectives of the study were: to find out the frequency of exposure to television animated cartoons between males and females; to find out the frequency of exposure to television animated cartoons between audience members with primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education; to find out the perception of television cartoons between males and females and to find out the perception of television cartoons between audience members with primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The sample size was 384 selected from three areas-Lokoja, Makurdi and Lafia of North Central Nigeria-while multi-stage sampling technique was adopted for the study. A self-developed questionnaire was the instrument of data collection. Findings showed a difference in the mean scores of males and females on their exposure to and perception about TV animated cartoons. Result also showed a difference in the mean scores of respondents with primary, secondary and tertiary education on their perception about TV animated cartoons. The researcher recommends, among others, that TV cartoonists should think out of the box and come with crafty cartoons that effective convey political messages.Key words: audience assessment animated cartoons, TV for political communicatio

Print Media Framing of Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria: A Content Analytical Study of the Guardian, Daily Sun, Vanguard and Thisday Newspapers

This study set out to identify the pattern of frames adopted by Nigerian newspapers in the coverage of Boko Haram insurgency. Four newspapers (The Guardian, Daily Sun, the Vanguard and ThisDay) were analysed to find out the framing patterns in the reportage of Boko Haram insurgency. The research method was content analysis. Inter-coder reliability was tested using Holsti’s formula which showed an overall 0.86 percent agreement. Findings indicate that Nigerian newspapers reported the Boko Haram insurgency in a predominantly policy response frame. This pattern was conspicuously manifest in The Guardian, ThisDay and Vanguard newspapers. However, this contrasted with the pattern identified in the Daily Sun newspaper, which emphasized ethnic and religious frames. Findings also showed that there was 60% prevalence out of the 10 frame categories used in the study. From these findings, it is clear that Nigerian newspapers reported government interventions in positive terms. Such positive framings are germane to minimizing insurgencies like that of Boko Haram, while on the other hand, coverage which emphasize ethnic and religious frames are negative and are detrimental to peace initiatives in a secular and multi-cultural State like Nigeria. We therefore recommend the optimization of positive frames to promote the peace media initiative which forms the critical plank of positive media interventions. Keywords: Frames, Newspapers, News coverage, Boko Haram, Framing Categories

Media Representation of Nigerian Women in the News: Evidence from Selected Newspapers

The aim of this study was to examine newspaper representations of women. To do so, the researchers examined four newspapers that were nationally circulated. The four newspapers examined were Vanguard, the Punch, The Guardian, and ThisDay. The duration of the study was three years (January 1st, 2015 to December 31st, 2017). The study sought to achieve three objectives and tested two null hypotheses. The design that was utilized to conduct the study was content analysis while data were collected through the use of a code sheet. In the analysis of the collected data, the researcher deployed simple percentages to describe and explain the outcome while a Chi-Square test of independence was used to test the hypotheses. The result showed that the volume of representation of stories related to women was poor. Additionally, the prominence of newspaper representation of women was less. The researcher recommends, among others, that journalists should improve representation of women

Influence of Facebook Users’ Self-Presentation Tactics on Their Response to Persuasive Political Messages

This study examined the influence of self-presentation tactics of Facebook users on their response to persuasive political messages. The self-presentation tactics examined were supplication, ingratiation, self-promotion, success and basking. The responses to political persuasive messages among Facebook users were evaluated using measures like ignoring of posts, viewing posts, commenting on posts, clicking the like option as well as sharing of posts. A total of three null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Survey research design was used for the study. The questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. In the analysis of data for the study, the researcher used simple percentages, mean and standard deviation, weighted mean, correlation, Chi-Square tests as well as multiple regression. The result of the study showed that self-presentation significantly predicts response to persuasive political messages. It was also found that a significant relationship exists between message elements and the response of Facebook users. Also, it was found that the source of Facebook message plays a role in influencing the responses of Facebook users. Recommendations have been made based on the results of the study

NIGERIAN PUBLIC AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs) AND THEIR LEVEL OF IMPLEMENTATION IN NIGERIA

This study was aimed at assessing the status of Nigerian public awareness and knowledge of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and their level of implementation in Nigeria. Survey research design was used to this effect. Contrary to speculations from all quarters that Nigeria is on the verge of achieving the MDGs, this study revealed that the level of implementation of MDGs in Nigeria is still at its lowest ebb. Based on the findings, it is recommended that Nigerian government should as a matter of necessity and urgency, select and pursue vigorously at least four of the goals that are manageable and more critical than others instead of pursuing all at the same time and losing all at the end. It will make sense if all impediments hampering the achievement of the MDGs are removed and very quickly too

NIGERIAN PUBLIC AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS (MDGs) AND THEIR LEVEL OF IMPLEMENTATION IN NIGERIA

This study was aimed at assessing the status of Nigerian public awareness and knowledge of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and their level of implementation in Nigeria. Survey research design was used to this effect. Contrary to speculations from all quarters that Nigeria is on the verge of achieving the MDGs, this study revealed that the level of implementation of MDGs in Nigeria is still at its lowest ebb. Based on the findings, it is recommended that Nigerian government should as a matter of necessity and urgency, select and pursue vigorously at least four of the goals that are manageable and more critical than others instead of pursuing all at the same time and losing all at the end. It will make sense if all impediments hampering the achievement of the MDGs are removed and very quickly too

Citizen Journalism in Nigeria: Possibilities and Challenges

The study evaluated the possibilities and challenges of citizen journalism in Nigeria and discovered that Citizen Journalism is emerging as a powerful phenomenon across Nigeria as evidenced in popular citizen journalism websites. The Sahara Reporters, one of such websites, is noted for its timely reports on issues and events have shown in a study conducted by Dare (2011:44) where 86 of the 120 respondents surveyed cited the Sahara reporters as a source of breaking news. By its interactivity and ability to deliver news in split seconds, citizen journalism has posed a serious challenge to the mainstream media in Nigeria. However, in as much as citizen journalism in Nigeria has broadened people’s access to a variety of news, this study suggests that during emergencies, citizen journalists should not spread news or post pictures that may hamper life-saving assignments such as rescue operations. The need therefore to sensitize Nigerian citizen journalists on proper use of this emerging brand of journalism is both obvious and urgent