Framing of the COVID-19 Pandemic during the Government’s Imposed lockdown by the Daily Trust and the Punch newspapers

Abstract

Abstract This study analysed the framing of the Nigerian Government’s COVID-19 Lockdown in the Daily Trust and The Punch Newspapers. The objectives of the study are to identify and determine the types, distributions, dominance and slant of the frames used by the media during the COVID-19 lockdown. The study employed a descriptive quantitative design, and the study period was from 30th March to 4th May 2020. A total of 2,007 newspaper items on COVID-19 were identified from 50 editions of the two selected national newspapers (25 editions for each newspaper) that were content-analysed. The findings reveal that The Punch newspaper had 1,009 COVID-19 stories published, while, the Daily Trust newspapers had 998 COVID-19 stories. Out of these, News had the highest number of stories. Out of 2007 newspaper reports, Preventive oriented frames appeared the most, followed by Palliative oriented frames. Findings further suggests that an overwhelming majority of media reports concerning the Covid-19 were positive and aimed at creating awareness on the dreaded virus. The study concludes that during the first lockdown in Nigeria, the print media devoted more media space in the coverage of the COVID-19 preventive measures and issues of COVID-19 palliatives. Further study is recommended on the framing of the Covid-19 in Nigeria by other newspapers.