Coverage of Child Right Abuse in Nigerian Newspapers

Abstract

Studying and analyzing the newspaper coverage on issues of children is sine- qua non to the overall development of Nigeria because it would serve as an insight into the conditions in which our children find themselves today and a guide for preparing them to be socially and spiritually responsible in the society. This study, therefore, analyzed the manifest media contents of two major newspapers in Nigeria namely Daily Sun and Punch (January-April 2017) with a view of ascertaining the frequency, depth, direction and prominence of coverage of reports on child rights in Nigeria. Based on the findings from the content analyzed newspapers, it was discovered that the select newspapers did not give adequate coverage on child rights abuse issues in Nigeria. Both newspapers did not give prominence to the stories reported as almost all were buried in the inside pages. The study recommends that Newspapers publishers in Nigeria should train reporters that will report daily on child right abuse so as to increase the visibility of child rights reports in the media. Also, Newspapers in Nigeria should give more prominence to child right abuse cases by placing them on the front pages of their editions and publishing periodic editorials on child rights related issues.