PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF EBOLA EPIDEMIC OUTBREAK
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PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF EBOLA EPIDEMIC OUTBREAK
Chapter one
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
According to Ndolo (2006:39), Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, once said, “If I had to choose between a government without newspapers and a government without newspapers, I would choose the latter.” This quote highlights the importance of newspapers as a source of enlightenment for the people.
The preceding sentence clearly emphasises the universal value put on newspapers as a melting pot for a variety of helpful messages. Newspapers serve several vital purposes in Nigerian society.
According to Esimokha (2011:10-11), newspapers serve the public by keeping readers informed, amusing readers, alerting authorities about the public’s demands, educating readers, and making readers’ lives more pleasant.
According to Agbanu (2013:79), newspapers deliver up-to-date news.It gives readers up-to-date information and keeps them informed about what is going on around them.
While Chowdhury (2014) contends that the media’s duty is to closely monitor society and continuously alert the general public about threatening activities that are expected to occur in the future in order to minimise potential loss.
Newspapers serve as a source of current information, a reflection of society, and a watchdog. According to Uwom (2012), referenced by Agbana and Usman (2014:131), the mass media plays a crucial role in raising awareness of health issues among the general public.
The media is an important source of health-related information and can influence how we think about and debate health issues.” Media coverage can affect individual health decisions, aid to prevent illness, and contribute to changes in public policy and perception (Stryker, Moriarty, & Jenson, 2008).
According to Ukonu (2013), ever since modern civilisation bestowed the newspaper institution upon humanity, it has been acutely aware of its holy obligation in society.
The journal has been hailed as the conscience of modern civilisation. It coordinates social communication and serves as a vital check on other national organisations; few other entities can match the newspaper’s social importance. Meanwhile, one of the fundamental ideas of social responsibility theory is that the press must serve the public interest.
Thus, newspapers must have a social conscience, be committed to public welfare and service, and be responsive to societal challenges. Furthermore, the press must be accountable “to their audiences, to whom they owe correct news reportage, analysis, and editorialising” (Owens-Ibie, 1994).
As a result, accepting the noble profession of journalism entails accepting the vocation to contribute to the advancement of society and being concerned about the well-being of society and the welfare of its citizens.
However, despite the travails of the Nigerian print media industry in the twenty-first century, occasioned by high cost of printing materials, low purchasing power of the average Nigerian, paucity of funds, proliferation of FM stations, emergence of social media and online newspaper and magazines;
newspaper appears not to have lost its alluring appeal as it is widely consulted by Nigerians for comprehensive, credible, accurate, and authoritative information at the times of national These persistent characteristics of newspapers stem from their intrinsic strengths of resources and space dedicated to issues
allowing them to bring depth and breadth to stories. Okoye (2006) suggests that offering readers with more informational, analytical, and detailed stories can help people lead meaningful lives.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Critics of the Nigerian press believe that their news coverage is significantly biassed towards politics and other matters including the actions of the government and its agencies. However, the epidemic of Ebola virus disease in the country appeared to temporarily contradict the pattern.
Therefore, the objective of the study is to assess the level of coverage and the direction or slant of news presentation by the Nigerian press on the epidemic of the Ebola virus in the country between June and December of 2014.
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