ASSESSMENT OF NEWSAPERS PATTERN OF REPORTAGE ON PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY ISSUE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The issue of public accountability no doubt remains an important factor in both private and public spheres of Nigerian society. It has not only generated much controversy but has been pointed out as one of the factors in Nigeria’s twisted political and economic development. As with other social values, the extent public accountability is realised in a society may depend a lot on how much the media put it in public agenda. Therefore, this study investigates how Nigerian newspapers have covered public accountability issues in the last six months of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. Situated within the agenda setting theory, the researchers adopted content analysis as their study design sample of 48 editions of The Guardian and Daily Trust (24 editions) were selected. Analysis was quantitative using simple percentages. Findings showed that Nigerian newspapers gave frequent coverage to public accountability-related issues and that they gave prominence to these issues. It was also established that the newspapers did not give depth to most of their reports on public accountability-related issues and that the papers were more reactive than pre-emptive in their coverage of such issues. The study concluded that there is still need for improvement in the press coverage of issues of public accountability, particularly by placing more importance on investigative journalism in approaching such sensitive reportage.