THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER’S NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF OPEN DEFECATION IN NIGERIA.

ABSTRACT

This study was intended to access the Nigerian Observer’s newspaper coverage of open defecation in Nigeria. The study objectives were to establish the frequency of publication of stories on open defecation in Nigeria, to establish how much prominence open defecation has been given in the Nigerian Observer newspaper, to ascertain the possible solutions proposed in newspaper reports on open defecation. The study was anchored on the agenda setting and development media theories. The study employed content analysis design and the coding sheet was used to collect data which were analyzed and presented in simple frequency tables and percentage. The study involved an eight months period of May to December, 2019 resulting in 96 issues of the Nigerian Observer newspaper, using the purposive sampling technique which the researcher employed. The findings of the study revealed that only 20 stories related to open defecation were covered out of the 96 issues reviewed. The findings also revealed that the selected newspaper did not often report issues that border on open defecation. The study therefore recommends that more attention be given to open defecation related stories.