Newspaper Coverage of Health Issues in Nigeria (A Study of the Guardian and the Punch Newspapers January 2010 to December 2011)

Abstract

The media have a role to play in communicating development messages. This study sought to establish the extent to which the media are working to set public agenda for the health sector so that it can mobilise both the government and the governed towards achieving a healthy state. The research methodology used was content analysis and the purposive sampling technique was adopted. The Guardian and The Punch newspapers were chosen based on AMPS 2010 newspaper readership data. This research covered a 24-month time period. A total of 554 health reports were found and analysed on the selected health issues. The single disease that garnered the most media attention was HIV/AIDS, and the most reported genre was straight news story. The newspapers did not give prominence to health issues. In light of the findings, this study recommends that the newspapers should endeavour to give more prominence to health issues.

Keywords: Newspaper, Coverage, Prominence, Health issues