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ABSTRACT
The media plays a vital role of information dissemination in the society and the issue of mental illness is no exception. Mental illness has gradually become a major issue of concern in Nigeria and the importance of this illness must reflect in the manner at which it is being reported. The Press is meant to create awareness by publishing news stories about mental illness. It is against this backdrop, this study examined press coverage of mental illness in Nigeria. The desire to carry out the research came as a result of inadequate knowledge about mental illness and poor reportage of mental illness by the media in Nigeria. Hinged on the Agenda Setting Theory, the study employed the content analysis technique to collate data for the study using two widely read newspapers; Vanguard and Punch newspapers. A sample size of 259 was gotten using the Taro Yamane's sample size formula and the purposive sampling technique was employed to select these newspapers. The study revealed that few stories on mental illness were published in both newspapers in the year 2020. Newspapers played a minor role in educating the public about mental illness. The study revealed that most stories were placed on the inside page of the newspapers and most of the stories were features. The study also revealed that most of the stories on mental illness were more positive than negative. The study recommends that newspapers should be committed to their responsibility in the reportage of health matters, this they can do by conducting interviews with health experts and also reporting on health issues through features, editorials and graphical illustrations and also, visual illustrations should be employed in reporting on health matters.
