A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF TWO NATIONAL DAILIES ON DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASES IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study sought to determine the prominence, frequency and depth with which the Punch and Nigerian Tribune newspapers reported domestic violence cases in Nigeria between March and August 2023. The study was anchored on the Agenda Setting Theory. It adopted content analysis research design and through the use of purposive sampling technique, 184 editions each of the chosen newspapers making a total of 368 editions were analyzed. Data revealed that The Punch and Nigerian Tribune newspapers did not attach enough importance to the coverage of domestic violence in terms of prominence as none of the newspapers published domestic violence story on their front page although the reports had full details on the inside page. In addition, data also showed that Nigerian Tribune newspaper covered more cases of domestic violence than the Punch newspaper. Findings further revealed that the two newspapers did not give much full page coverage to the menace as only the Punch newspaper published just 8 stories while Nigerian Tribune did not publish a full page story on the menace. The study concluded that The Punch and Nigerian Tribune newspapers did not do an adequate job in informing the public about domestic violence by frequently writing on them. The study therefore recommended that the media should enlighten the public about domestic violence and its impact on family and the society at large.