Health Communication During a Pandemic: An Analysis of Framing of COVID-19 in Nigeria’s The Guardian and Daily Trust Newspapers, April – August 2020

2024-02-22T16:17:17+00:00

COVID-19 being a pandemic that had an unprecedented impact on virtually all aspects of human endeavour globally, continues to
attract the interest of researchers who have been investigating different aspects. This study therefore analyses the framing of COVID19 in The Guardian and Daily Trust newspapers in Nigeria from April to August 2020. Data revealed that the two newspapers gave
ample coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and that death toll frames and positive frames were significantly used in conveying the
stories on the disease. The study also found that the newspapers gave prominence to the pandemic evidenced by the placement of
stories on their front pages. Additionally, the research finds that both newspapers employed various frames in the framing of
COVID-19, encompassing topics such as hand washing, social distancing, medical care, lockdown measures, and public perceptions,
aligning with the third objective of determining framing patterns. The study concludes that the front-page placement of COVID-19
stories by the two newspapers increased visibility, highlighting the significance of the pandemic to their audience and effectively
setting the agenda on the issue, with a total of 1,148 stories during the investigated period. Arising from the findings, the study
recommends, among others, that newspapers should continue to use positive frames that would enlighten people about important
health issues and downplay negative frames that would instil fear. It also recommends that important health issues should be given
prominence through placement on the front page since stories on the front pages of newspapers attract attention and tend to carry
more weight.

Fake News in Public Emergencies and Individuals’ Fact Checking Reality

2024-03-07T11:04:57+00:00

The paper examined the phenomena of fake news during public emergencies and evaluated how news
consumers discern reality in an increasing environment of misleading information during emerging
situations. To adequately probe how individuals respond to fake news, the study conducted an online
survey using the chat group BSU ACADEMICS on Telegram. The chat group is open to academic staff of
the Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria. Findings from the study showed that the public is
increasingly relying on online media as their first point of call for news, including social media, blogs, and
web pages of traditional media. News consumers encounter fake news online, and are not oblivious of its
presence, especially during emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic; news consumers resort to
crosschecking unverified information from more credible outlets; doing online background check on
suspected content and discouraging the re-sharing of fake news as it can create panic and distort genuine
information. It is increasingly becoming a reality that emergencies present themselves with the spread of
fake news that requires verifications by information consumers. Media literacy is therefore required to
ensure the crosschecking of readily available online information with other credible sources and then
discourage the spread of fake news as it can create panic and distort genuine information.

Covenant Journal of Communication

Health Communication During a Pandemic: An Analysis of Framing of COVID-19 in Nigeria’s The Guardian and Daily Trust Newspapers, April – August 2020

Fake News in Public Emergencies and Individuals’ Fact Checking Reality