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This study assessed the pattern of news framing of the Ombatse conflict in Nasarawa State from to 2012-2015 in Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers to determine whether the newspapers mediated mayhem through the application of framing ideology. The Ombatse is an Eggon cult-like ethnic group laced with a political agenda formed to influence the structure of power in the state in response to the alleged marginalization of the Eggon people. This study employed four frames to measure the perspective of media reports on the phenomenon. The study used the census sampling technique to select specific dailies over a four-year period. News stories were the unit of analysis, and the data-gathering instrument was a coding sheet. The data established that newspapers reported the conflict predominantly in negative patterns, painting a grotesque picture of the situation, thereby creating more tension in the state, especially during the massacre of over 100 federal security personnel. The study concluded that at the time of coverage, Nigerian newspapers did not mediate through positive framing patterns; instead, they created more tension. The study recommended that, since the role of the media in conflict may either inflame or deflate passion toward the end of conflict, journalists should focus more on positive news reports, especially in a multi-ethnic, complex, and fragile country like Nigeria. Such positivity of media frames is germen in minimizing tension and resolving conflict amid mutual suspicion and fear of denomination.
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Copyright (c) 2023 Sabiu Garba, Aondover Eric Msughter
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References
Abba, A. A., Abbas, A. A., & Msughter, A. E. (2021). Comparative content analysis of press coverage of kidnapping cases in Nigeria [Análisis de contenido comparativo en la cobertura periodística de los casos de secuestro en Nigeria]. Communication & Methods, 3(1), 84–99. https://doi.org/10.35951/v3i1.94
Anyadike, D. O. (2015). Analysis of newspaper framing of the Nigerian governors’ forum election crisis of 2013. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(6 S1), 315–327. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s1p315
Aondover, E. M. (2018). A comparative content analysis of the coverage of arms deal scandal in three Nigerian newspapers. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 10(1), 28–37. https://www.jcmrjournal.org/uploads/file109.pdf
Aondover, E. M., Umar Maradun, L., & M. Yar’Adua, S. (2022). Mediatization of the net and internetization of the print media in Northern Nigeria. Unisia, 40(2), 335–356. https://doi.org/10.20885/unisia.vol40.iss2.art5
Ayuba, J. M. (2014). Ombatse: An invention of tradition and understanding communal conflicts in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Lulu.com.
Bello, F. N., & Ayodele, S. O. (2018). A perspective on conflict sensitive journalism and conflict management. In Mass communication education and practice in Nigeria (pp. 59–74). Ahmadu Bello University Press Ltd. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333448876_A_Perspective_on_Conflict_Sensitive_Journalism_and_Conflict_Management
Bengtsson, M. (2016). How to plan and perform a qualitative study using content analysis. NursingPlus Open, 2, 8–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.npls.2016.01.001
Brunken, B. (2006). Hurricane Katrina: A content analysis of media framing, attribute agenda setting, and tone of government response [Master’s thesis, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College]. https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/1502
Cosand, K. Q. (2014). Black and blue and read all over: News framing and the coverage of crime [Master’s thesis, Portland State University]. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1793
Cronkite, W. (2007, January 15). Media played role in ’70s Mideast peace process. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2007/01/15/6861044/media-played-role-in-70s-mideast-peace-process
Crowley, D. (2013). 17 Mediation theory. In P. Cobley & P. J. Schulz (Eds.), Theories and models of communication (pp. 309–326). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110240450.309
Gadarian, S. K. (2010). The politics of threat: How terrorism news shapes foreign policy attitudes. The Journal of Politics, 72(2), 469–483. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022381609990910
Galtung, J. (2010). A theory of conflict: Overcoming direct violence. Trancend University Press.
Ghanem, S. I. (2009). News as culture: A comparative study of newspaper coverage of the war in Iraq. In G. Golan, T. Johnson, & W. Wanta (Eds.), International media communication in a global age. Routledge.
Glenn, N. M., Champion, C. C., & Spence, J. C. (2012). Qualitative content analysis of online news media coverage of weight loss surgery and related reader comments. Clinical Obesity, 2(5–6), 125–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12000
Holsti, O. R. (1969). Content analysis for the social sciences and humanities. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Ibuot, U. (2019, May 20). Sensitivity, new paradigm in conflict reporting [HTML]. Vanguard News. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/05/sensitivity-new-paradigm-in-conflict-reporting/
Jimoh, J. P. (2015). Conflict-sensitive journalism and the Nigerian print media coverage of Jos crisis, 2010-2011 [Doctoral thesis, University of Ibadan]. http://ir.library.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/4062
Joseph, H. (2012, November 25). Nasarawa under the iron heel of Ombatse [HTML]. Daily Trust. https://dailytrust.com/nasarawa-under-the-iron-heel-of-ombatse/
Kurfi, M. Y., Msughter, M. E., & Mohamed, I. (2021). Digital images on social media and proliferation of fake news on COVID-19 in Kano, Nigeria. Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies, 3(1), 103–124. https://doi.org/10.46539/gmd.v3i1.111
Maikaba, B. (2015, October). Sojojinbaka as a new phenomenon in radio political advertising in the 2015 general election in Kano State. 17thAnnual Conference of the African Council for Communication Education.
Malam, M. N. (2006). Ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria: Revisiting the role of the media. FAIS Journal of Humanities, 3, 93–101.
Miller, E. A., Tyler, D. A., & Mor, V. (2013). National newspaper portrayal of nursing homes: Tone of coverage and its correlates. Medical Care, 51(1), 78–83. https://doi.org/10.1097/MLR.0b013e318270baf2
Mogekwu, M. (2011). Conflict reporting and peace journalism: In search of a new model: Lessons from the Nigerian Niger-Delta crisis. In I. S. Shaw, J. Lynch, & R. A. Hackett (Eds.), Expanding Peace Journalism (pp. 158–174). Sydney University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.4418176.13
Mohammadzadeh, H. (2016). The causes of ethnic conflict in Multi-ethnic societies. World Scientific News, 42, 156–166. https://worldscientificnews.com/the-causes-of-ethnic-conflict-in-multi-ethnic-societies/
Mojaye, E. M., & Msughter, A. E. (2022). Theoretical perspectives in world information systems: A propositional appraisal of new media-communication imperatives. The Journal of Communication and Media Research, 16(1, Special Issue 2), 100–106. https://www.jcmrjournal.org/article/theoretical-perspectives-in-world-information-systems--a-propositional-appraisal_490
Mojaye, E. M., & Ogunyombo, O. E. (2022). Online media and global communication research in Nigeria. Online Media and Global Communication, 1(3), 626–647. https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0048
Msughter, A. E., & Phillips, D. (2020). Media framing of COVID-19 pandemic: A study of Daily Trust and Vanguard newspapers in Nigeria. ASJ: International Journal of Health, Safety and Environment (IJHSE), 6(5), 588–596. http://academiascholarlyjournal.org/ijhse/publications/jun20/Aondover_and_Deborah.pdf
Ogbodo, J. N. (2018). Domestic media coverage of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria [Doctoral thesis, University of Central Lancashire]. https://www.uclan.ac.uk/research/index.php
Okoli, A. C., & Uhembe, C. A. (2014). Of cult and power: A political phenomenology of the Ombatse Cult in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science, 2(7), 13–20.
Okoro, N., & Odoemelam, C. C. (2013). Print media framing of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria: A content analytical study of the Guardian, Daily Sun, Vanguard and Thisday newspapers. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(11), 86–94. https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/RHSS/article/view/6953
Olayoku, P. A. (2019). Towards a culture of conflict sensitivity: Group cum ethnic profiling in the media reportage of Nasarawa State violent crises (2012—2013). In Towards a culture of sensitivityy in Nigeria’s conflict reportage: A case study of selected conflicts and newspapers (pp. 67–94). The Kukah Centre.
Osaghae, E. E. (2005). A history of identities, violence and stability in Nigeria. Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity, University of Oxford.
Oshita, O. O. (2013). Forward. In Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (Nigeria) (Ed.), Strategic conflict assessment (SCA) of Nigeria: Consolidated and zonal reports (Third edition). Institute For Peace and Conflict Resolution.
Otufodunrin, L. (2013, February 20). Lecture: The role of media in conflict resolution. [HTML]. Media Career Services. https://mediacareerng.org/lecture-the-role-of-media-in-conflict-resolution/
Pate, U. A. (2002). Introduction to conflict peporting in Nigeria. Frankad Publ.
Pauli, C. (2007). News media as mediators. Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution, 8(2), 717–734. https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/570
Rabiu, M. S. (2013). The world of news: Career prospects in journalism and mass communication. Stirling - Horden Publisher Ltd.
Salawu, B. (2010). Ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria: Causal analysis and proposals for new management strategies. European Journal of Social Sciences, 13(3), 345–353. https://gisf.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/0071-Salawu-2010-Nigeria-ethno-religious-conflict.pdf
Scheufele, D. A., & Tewksbury, D. (2007). Framing, agenda setting, and priming: The evolution of three media effects models. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 9–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-9916.2007.00326.x
Schmid, A. (2004). Terrorism—The definitional problem. Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, 36(2), 375. https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/jil/vol36/iss2/8
Shedrack, G. B. (2006). Conflict analysis. In G. B. Shedrack (Ed.), Introduction to peace and conflict studies in West Africa. Spectrum Books Limited.
Silke, A. (2008). Research on terrorism: A review of the impact of 9/11 and the global war on terrorism. In H. Chen, E. Reid, J. Sinai, A. Silke, & B. Ganor (Eds.), Terrorism informatics: Knowledge management and data mining for homeland security (pp. 27–50). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71613-8_2
Teng’o, D. (2008). More of the same: The flow and framing of African news on the web sites of five Western news organizations and an African news aggregator [Master’s thesis, Kent State University]. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/etd/r/1501/10?clear=10&p10_accession_num=kent1217576335
Touri, M., & Koteyko, N. (2015). Using corpus linguistic software in the extraction of news frames: Towards a dynamic process of frame analysis in journalistic texts. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 18(6), 601–616. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2014.929878
References
Abba, A. A., Abbas, A. A., & Msughter, A. E. (2021). Comparative content analysis of press coverage of kidnapping cases in Nigeria [Análisis de contenido comparativo en la cobertura periodística de los casos de secuestro en Nigeria]. Communication & Methods, 3(1), 84–99. https://doi.org/10.35951/v3i1.94
Anyadike, D. O. (2015). Analysis of newspaper framing of the Nigerian governors’ forum election crisis of 2013. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6(6 S1), 315–327. https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n6s1p315
Aondover, E. M. (2018). A comparative content analysis of the coverage of arms deal scandal in three Nigerian newspapers. Journal of Communication and Media Research, 10(1), 28–37. https://www.jcmrjournal.org/uploads/file109.pdf
Aondover, E. M., Umar Maradun, L., & M. Yar’Adua, S. (2022). Mediatization of the net and internetization of the print media in Northern Nigeria. Unisia, 40(2), 335–356. https://doi.org/10.20885/unisia.vol40.iss2.art5
Ayuba, J. M. (2014). Ombatse: An invention of tradition and understanding communal conflicts in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. Lulu.com.
Bello, F. N., & Ayodele, S. O. (2018). A perspective on conflict sensitive journalism and conflict management. In Mass communication education and practice in Nigeria (pp. 59–74). Ahmadu Bello University Press Ltd. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333448876_A_Perspective_on_Conflict_Sensitive_Journalism_and_Conflict_Management
Bengtsson, M. (2016). How to plan and perform a qualitative study using content analysis. NursingPlus Open, 2, 8–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.npls.2016.01.001
Brunken, B. (2006). Hurricane Katrina: A content analysis of media framing, attribute agenda setting, and tone of government response [Master’s thesis, Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College]. https://repository.lsu.edu/gradschool_theses/1502
Cosand, K. Q. (2014). Black and blue and read all over: News framing and the coverage of crime [Master’s thesis, Portland State University]. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/1793
Cronkite, W. (2007, January 15). Media played role in ’70s Mideast peace process. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2007/01/15/6861044/media-played-role-in-70s-mideast-peace-process
Crowley, D. (2013). 17 Mediation theory. In P. Cobley & P. J. Schulz (Eds.), Theories and models of communication (pp. 309–326). De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110240450.309
Gadarian, S. K. (2010). The politics of threat: How terrorism news shapes foreign policy attitudes. The Journal of Politics, 72(2), 469–483. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022381609990910
Galtung, J. (2010). A theory of conflict: Overcoming direct violence. Trancend University Press.
Ghanem, S. I. (2009). News as culture: A comparative study of newspaper coverage of the war in Iraq. In G. Golan, T. Johnson, & W. Wanta (Eds.), International media communication in a global age. Routledge.
Glenn, N. M., Champion, C. C., & Spence, J. C. (2012). Qualitative content analysis of online news media coverage of weight loss surgery and related reader comments. Clinical Obesity, 2(5–6), 125–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12000
Holsti, O. R. (1969). Content analysis for the social sciences and humanities. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Ibuot, U. (2019, May 20). Sensitivity, new paradigm in conflict reporting [HTML]. Vanguard News. https://www.vanguardngr.com/2019/05/sensitivity-new-paradigm-in-conflict-reporting/
Jimoh, J. P. (2015). Conflict-sensitive journalism and the Nigerian print media coverage of Jos crisis, 2010-2011 [Doctoral thesis, University of Ibadan]. http://ir.library.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/4062
Joseph, H. (2012, November 25). Nasarawa under the iron heel of Ombatse [HTML]. Daily Trust. https://dailytrust.com/nasarawa-under-the-iron-heel-of-ombatse/
Kurfi, M. Y., Msughter, M. E., & Mohamed, I. (2021). Digital images on social media and proliferation of fake news on COVID-19 in Kano, Nigeria. Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies, 3(1), 103–124. https://doi.org/10.46539/gmd.v3i1.111
Maikaba, B. (2015, October). Sojojinbaka as a new phenomenon in radio political advertising in the 2015 general election in Kano State. 17thAnnual Conference of the African Council for Communication Education.
Malam, M. N. (2006). Ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria: Revisiting the role of the media. FAIS Journal of Humanities, 3, 93–101.
Miller, E. A., Tyler, D. A., & Mor, V. (2013). National newspaper portrayal of nursing homes: Tone of coverage and its correlates. Medical Care, 51(1), 78–83. https://doi.org/10.1097/MLR.0b013e318270baf2
Mogekwu, M. (2011). Conflict reporting and peace journalism: In search of a new model: Lessons from the Nigerian Niger-Delta crisis. In I. S. Shaw, J. Lynch, & R. A. Hackett (Eds.), Expanding Peace Journalism (pp. 158–174). Sydney University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.4418176.13
Mohammadzadeh, H. (2016). The causes of ethnic conflict in Multi-ethnic societies. World Scientific News, 42, 156–166. https://worldscientificnews.com/the-causes-of-ethnic-conflict-in-multi-ethnic-societies/
Mojaye, E. M., & Msughter, A. E. (2022). Theoretical perspectives in world information systems: A propositional appraisal of new media-communication imperatives. The Journal of Communication and Media Research, 16(1, Special Issue 2), 100–106. https://www.jcmrjournal.org/article/theoretical-perspectives-in-world-information-systems--a-propositional-appraisal_490
Mojaye, E. M., & Ogunyombo, O. E. (2022). Online media and global communication research in Nigeria. Online Media and Global Communication, 1(3), 626–647. https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2022-0048
Msughter, A. E., & Phillips, D. (2020). Media framing of COVID-19 pandemic: A study of Daily Trust and Vanguard newspapers in Nigeria. ASJ: International Journal of Health, Safety and Environment (IJHSE), 6(5), 588–596. http://academiascholarlyjournal.org/ijhse/publications/jun20/Aondover_and_Deborah.pdf
Ogbodo, J. N. (2018). Domestic media coverage of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria [Doctoral thesis, University of Central Lancashire]. https://www.uclan.ac.uk/research/index.php
Okoli, A. C., & Uhembe, C. A. (2014). Of cult and power: A political phenomenology of the Ombatse Cult in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. International Journal of Liberal Arts and Social Science, 2(7), 13–20.
Okoro, N., & Odoemelam, C. C. (2013). Print media framing of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria: A content analytical study of the Guardian, Daily Sun, Vanguard and Thisday newspapers. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(11), 86–94. https://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/RHSS/article/view/6953
Olayoku, P. A. (2019). Towards a culture of conflict sensitivity: Group cum ethnic profiling in the media reportage of Nasarawa State violent crises (2012—2013). In Towards a culture of sensitivityy in Nigeria’s conflict reportage: A case study of selected conflicts and newspapers (pp. 67–94). The Kukah Centre.
Osaghae, E. E. (2005). A history of identities, violence and stability in Nigeria. Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security and Ethnicity, University of Oxford.
Oshita, O. O. (2013). Forward. In Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (Nigeria) (Ed.), Strategic conflict assessment (SCA) of Nigeria: Consolidated and zonal reports (Third edition). Institute For Peace and Conflict Resolution.
Otufodunrin, L. (2013, February 20). Lecture: The role of media in conflict resolution. [HTML]. Media Career Services. https://mediacareerng.org/lecture-the-role-of-media-in-conflict-resolution/
Pate, U. A. (2002). Introduction to conflict peporting in Nigeria. Frankad Publ.
Pauli, C. (2007). News media as mediators. Cardozo Journal of Conflict Resolution, 8(2), 717–734. https://scholarship.law.tamu.edu/facscholar/570
Rabiu, M. S. (2013). The world of news: Career prospects in journalism and mass communication. Stirling - Horden Publisher Ltd.
Salawu, B. (2010). Ethno-religious conflicts in Nigeria: Causal analysis and proposals for new management strategies. European Journal of Social Sciences, 13(3), 345–353. https://gisf.ngo/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/0071-Salawu-2010-Nigeria-ethno-religious-conflict.pdf
Scheufele, D. A., & Tewksbury, D. (2007). Framing, agenda setting, and priming: The evolution of three media effects models. Journal of Communication, 57(1), 9–20. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0021-9916.2007.00326.x
Schmid, A. (2004). Terrorism—The definitional problem. Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, 36(2), 375. https://scholarlycommons.law.case.edu/jil/vol36/iss2/8
Shedrack, G. B. (2006). Conflict analysis. In G. B. Shedrack (Ed.), Introduction to peace and conflict studies in West Africa. Spectrum Books Limited.
Silke, A. (2008). Research on terrorism: A review of the impact of 9/11 and the global war on terrorism. In H. Chen, E. Reid, J. Sinai, A. Silke, & B. Ganor (Eds.), Terrorism informatics: Knowledge management and data mining for homeland security (pp. 27–50). Springer US. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71613-8_2
Teng’o, D. (2008). More of the same: The flow and framing of African news on the web sites of five Western news organizations and an African news aggregator [Master’s thesis, Kent State University]. https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/etd/r/1501/10?clear=10&p10_accession_num=kent1217576335
Touri, M., & Koteyko, N. (2015). Using corpus linguistic software in the extraction of news frames: Towards a dynamic process of frame analysis in journalistic texts. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 18(6), 601–616. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2014.929878