Ethical Issues in the Pictorial representation of the Boko Haram Insurgency by Daily Trust and Thisday Newspapers

Abstract

The Boko Haram insurgency has been reported variously by the media using diverse methods and means of communication including the use of pictures. This study examines the observance of journalism code of ethics in the use of pictures in reporting the Boko Haram insurgency by Daily Trust and Thisday newspapers for the period of one year (March 2015 to February 2016) to find out the frequency, prominence and tone of pictorial presentations as they conform to journalism ethical standards. The study uses social responsibility theory as its theoretical framework and content analysis as its research method with coding sheets as instruments for recording data in the selected newspapers. A sample size of 96 newspaper editions was selected for the study, using a composite week sampling technique. Findings revealed that pictures of Boko Haram on ‘projecting destruction of properties’ recorded the highest number of frequency in Daily Trust and Thisday newspapers with 34.2% compared to other categories like projecting death, projecting badly injured, projecting children and minors, projecting government intervention ,projecting Boko Haram terrorists and projecting distressed people. The Study further found that prominence were given to pictures that depicted the Boko Haram’s destructive activities, which is a glorification of negativity that contravenes ethical provisions. Hence, this study concludes that there are a number of violations of journalism code of ethics (for example, pictorial presentation of children and minors as victims). The study recommends that the selected newspapers should employ ethical and appropriate means of using pictures in reporting Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.