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ABSTRACT
This study examines the coverage of drug abuse by broadcast media in Nigeria: A study of NTA Network. The study revealed the concept and overview of drug abuse in Nigeria, as well as the causes and consequences of the practice of drug abuse. The study explained the role of the broadcast media in curtailing the abuse of drugs. It adapted the agenda-setting theory to explain the duties and responsibilities of the media in directing the public's attention to certain matters of importance. The researcher employed content analysis as the research method, coding sheets as the research instrument for data collection, and purposive sampling techniques. The research population for this study is Good Morning Nigeria and the Nationwide News. The research discovered that the broadcast media still engage in the coverage of news on drug abuse; however, the frequency analysis of these news reports is still unimpressive, as it shows that the broadcast media are not applying enough coverage to these issues and that they need to put in more efforts on the campaign against drug abuse. In addition, it was recommended that the media place more emphasis on news stories on drug usage and various problems related to illicit drugs, mostly in the first half of the news reports and headlines; people who are no longer drug addicts should be given the opportunity to share their stories in the media on how they overcame the addiction; and the government should revise current drug regulations to impose sterner penalties on offenders. Also, in order to address the issues of drug usage, the media should give anti-drug law enforcement agencies and medical professionals more airtime. These and many other recommendations were made by the researcher for this study.
