An Analysis of Daily Trust and Leadership Newspapers Coverage of the Fulani Herdsmen Attacks in Benue State, 2013/2014

Abstract

This study analyses the extent of coverage of the Fulani herdsmen attacks on Benue communities between September 2013 and April 2014 by Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers from the backdrop of the potential impact of the frames used on public perception and understanding of the crisis. Content analysis was employed as the research design with coding sheets as instrument for data collection. A total of 29 editions of the two papers and 78 news, features and editorials on the attacks were sampled and analysed. The study found that both Daily Trust and Leadership significantly covered the crisis even though they were divergent in the use of frames. The study found also, that government officials, officials of security agencies, leaders of groups, eyewitnesses and victims of the herdsmen attacks were the dominant sources quoted in the stories on the attacks by the two newspapers, with variation in extent of usage. The human interest, conflict, morality, economic, attribution of responsibility and level of responsibility frames dominantly used in framing of the stories on the attacks. Based on the empirical evidence, the study by way of scholarly exegesis concluded that both papers were influenced by the political, economic and religious interests or ideologies of their ownership in the coverage of the crisis. The study submits that this scenario portends danger to public perception and understanding of the crisis and thus recommends that; the mass media should deal with crisis in such a way as to produce the best possible and least violent outcomes for all the parties concerned through the nature of coverage. Provision of much information as possible about the roots of the problem to encourage a rational public debate concerning the various options for ending the crisis amongst other strategies was also recommended.