ACMJ Article

This study examined newspaper coverage of human killings for money rituals in Nigeria, a content analysis of Vanguard and The Punch newspapers from January 2021 to December 2023. The study was anchored on framing theory, which gives insight into the pattern at which the media, being a creator of messages, structures and puts forward ideas or messages intended for the public on a matter of importance. Meanwhile, the research used content analysis as its design with a code guide and code sheet as instruments for data collection. A sample of 318 editions of both newspapers was selected from 2,160 editions, making the study population. Data were analysed using SPSS and interpreted in a simple frequency and percentage distribution table. Findings revealed that most Nigerian newspapers reported stories about human killings for money rituals in straight news rather than features, editorials, or commentary/opinions that could help in analysing the issue deeply. It was also discovered that most of the stories were found in the newspapers. This study concluded that the Nigerian mass media is doing a lot in the coverage of human killings for money rituals in Nigeria. However, the print media would have to scale up its efforts in reporting this menace. It was recommended that Nigerian newspapers improve their coverage of human killings for money rituals by focusing more on the use of features, editorials, commentaries, and opinion articles, which help to give deeper perspectives for informing and educating the public about the menace of money-motivated ritual killings.

REPORTING HUMAN KILLINGS FOR MONEY RITUAL IN NIGERIA: A COMPARATIVE CONTENT ANALYSIS OF VANGUARD AND THE PUNCH NEWSPAPERS, 2024, Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 133-146. PDF