Rising Oil Pollution in Nigerian's Niger-Delta Region: What About Its Framing in the Print Media?

In: International journal of social ecology and sustainable development: IJSESD ; an official publication of the Information Resources Management Association, Band 13, Heft 1, S. 1-23

Abstract

Cases of oil pollution have become a consistent decimal over the last twenty decades in most countries. The disagreement over who is liable for the massive oil pollution seen in some oil-producing countries worldwide has magnified tensions between significant stakeholders in those countries. This paper examines the rise in oil pollution in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria and its framing by the print media through a quantitative content analysis method using news framing types developed by Semetko and Valkenburg (2000) among three Nigerian newspapers; The Daily Sun, The Guardian, and The Punch from 2014-2018. Specifically, the study findings show that The Daily Sun used more of the frames of responsibility (57.7%), economic consequences (63.3%), conflict (50.2%), and human interest (55.6%) in their oil pollution reports in the Niger-Delta. In contrast, The Guardian and The Punch used less of these frames, probably due to their laissez-faire attitude towards holding the oil companies accountable despite glaring evidence of environmental degradation.