Nwakpu Ekwutosi Sanita, Ezema Valentine Okwudilichukwu, Ogbodo Jude Nwakpoke
Department of Mass Communication, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Nigeria.
Department of Mass Communication, Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, Nigeria.
Health Promot Perspect. 2020 Jul 12;10(3):192-199. doi: 10.34172/hpp.2020.32. eCollection 2020.
Part of the role of the media is to report any issue affecting the society to the masses. Coronavirus has become an issue of transnational concern. The importance of the media in the coverage of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Nigeria and its implications among Nigerian populace cannot be overestimated. This study evaluates how Nigerian media depict the coronavirus pandemic and how the depictions shape people's perception and response to the pandemic. The study employed a quantitative design (newspaper content analysis and questionnaire). The content analysis examines the nature of media coverage of coronavirus in Nigeria and China using four major national newspapers (The Sun, The Vanguard, The Guardian and The Punch). The period of study ranged from January 2020 to March 2020. A total of 1070newspaper items on coronavirus outbreak were identified across the four newspapers and content-analysed. The finding shows that the coverage of the pandemic was dominated by straight news reports accounting for 763 or (71.3%) of all analysed items. This was followed by opinions 169(15.8%), features 120 (11.2%) and editorials 18 (1.7%) respectively. The Punch 309 (28.9%)reported the outbreak more frequently than The Sun 266 (24.9%), The Guardian 258 (24.1%), and Vanguard 237 (22.1%). Finding further suggests that the framing pattern adopted by the newspapers helped Nigerians to take precautionary measures. Continuous reportage of COVID-19 has proved effective in creating awareness about safety and preventive measures thereby helping to 'flatten the curve' and contain the spread of the virus. However, the newspapers should avoid creating fear/panic in reporting the pandemic.
媒体的部分作用是向大众报道任何影响社会的问题。冠状病毒已成为一个跨国关注的问题。媒体在尼日利亚报道2019冠状病毒病（COVID - 19）及其在尼日利亚民众中的影响，其重要性无论怎样高估都不为过。本研究评估尼日利亚媒体如何描绘冠状病毒大流行，以及这些描绘如何塑造人们对该大流行的认知和反应。该研究采用了定量设计（报纸内容分析和问卷调查）。内容分析使用四家主要全国性报纸（《太阳报》《先锋报》《卫报》和《抨击报》），考察尼日利亚和中国媒体对冠状病毒的报道性质。研究时间段为2020年1月至2020年3月。在这四家报纸上共识别出1070篇关于冠状病毒爆发的报纸文章并进行了内容分析。研究结果表明，对该大流行的报道以直接新闻报道为主，占所有分析文章的763篇（71.3%）。其次分别是评论169篇（15.8%）、特写120篇（11.2%）和社论18篇（1.7%）。《抨击报》（309篇，28.9%）报道该疫情比《太阳报》（266篇，24.9%）、《卫报》（258篇，24.1%）和《先锋报》（237篇，22.1%）更频繁。研究进一步表明，报纸采用的框架模式有助于尼日利亚人采取预防措施。对COVID - 19的持续报道已证明在提高对安全和预防措施的认识方面是有效的，从而有助于“ flatten the curve”（此处可能有误，正确表述应是“flatten the curve”，意思是减缓疫情曲线，即控制疫情传播速度）并遏制病毒传播。然而，报纸在报道该大流行时应避免造成恐惧/恐慌。
