THE INFLUENCE OF GEOPOLITICAL AFFILIATIONS ON NEWSPAPERS' COVERAGE OF NATIONAL ISSUES

Abstract

Many scholars have asserted that societies greatly influence the operations and functions of the media that operate within those societies. On the basis of the postulations, critical theory of mass communication holds that such media operations and functions would indeed reflect the agenda of the power elite in any society. These postulations formed the basis of this study. Five Nigerian national newspapers (The Guardian, The PUNCH, the Daily Trust, the Daily Times and the Daily Champion) were content analysed tofind out if their coverage of the decision by Nigeria's President Obasanjo to contest the 2003 presidential election was influenced by their relationships with the six geopolitical zones of the country. The study showed that the coverage by these newspapers was significantly influenced by their geopolitical affiliations.