Newspaper Framing and the Prediction of Nigeria’s 2016 Economic Crisis

Abstract

This study investigates newspaper framing and the prediction of Nigeria’s 2016 economic crisis.  The press through it editorial contents, has an obligation to alert the public and the authorities on ill economic policies.  But studies have blamed media partly for some economic crises in Europe and America for not predicting it coming. Thus, Nigeria economic crisis escalated to recession in second quarter of 2016. This study thus, investigated the role media play in framing the crisis using the types of frames used in explaining media framing of crisis- episodic and thematic frames, conflict, responsibility, morality, economic consequences and human interest frames, predictive frame paired with informative frame. Quantitatively, this study content analyzed 244 editions of The Punch and Daily Trust newspapers in respect of economic crisis stories from January 1^st to August 31^st 2016 using systematic sampling techniques. A textual analysis of the same economic crisis stories were purposely selected and used for the qualitative study. The study found out that the newspapers used more episodic frames than thematic frames. Responsibility frames was dominant (36.7%), though with slime margin compared to economic consequences frame (36.6%). Also, episodic frame (72%) dominate thematic frame (28%).   Predictive frame (49%) used less than informative frame (51%). These findings show that newspapers provided solutions to the economic crisis, but also considered the used of economic consequences in a huge number. The newspapers were able to predict the recession coming, but focused more in informing the public on the woes happening to the economy. The study recommended that press should see it as a responsibility to draw the attention of policy makers when issues that are congruent to economic development are brewing.

Keywords: Economic crisis, framing, newspaper, recession, prediction.