The Centre for Media and Society, CEMESO with support from the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria, EU-SDGN II, has released a detailed analysis of the coverage of election-related politics by broadcast media in Nigeria.
The monitoring exercise spanned from July 2023 to June 2024 and assessed radio and television programming across the country to encourage ethical journalism and promote professional standards in political reporting.
CEMESO’s Executive Director, Dr Akin Akingbulu noted that the initiative sought to counteract the use of hate speech, misinformation, extreme rhetoric, and bias while advocating the increased representation of underreported groups, particularly women, youth, and PWDs.
Dr. Akingbulu said the monitoring focused on election-related programmes from a selection of radio and television stations, chosen based on audience reach, geographical spread, political programming, digital presence, and ownership.
He noted that a total of 4,178 broadcast items were analysed, consisting of 1,045 radio and 3,133 television broadcasts from 27 radio stations and 16 television stations.
According to the report, the majority of broadcast media content during the period under review was presented as news reports. Male voices dominated the airwaves, with women, youth, and Persons With Disabilities, PWDs receiving considerably less attention.
While the All Progressives Congress, APC, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Labour Party, LP were the most prominent political parties in the media, the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and security agencies received more coverage than all other government bodies combined.
Radio programming was largely made up of news reports (63%), followed by discussions (28%) and interviews (9%). The stations maintained journalistic balance in 78% of broadcasts, with only 0.3% featuring extreme language, which was often countered by opposing viewpoints.
Campaign activities and strategies (17.2%), election administration (15.5%), intra-party conflict (14.7%), and election petitions (14.5%) were the dominant themes. However, coverage of youth (0.9%), women (0.6%), and PWDs (0.4%) remained minimal.
Adult males were the most featured demographic, while women accounted for 25.9% of sources and 9.9% of mentions. Youth made up just 0.4% of sources and 4% of mentions, and PWDs accounted for 1% of sources and 1.1% of mentions.
In terms of political parties, the APC had the highest representation (52.2% of sources; 36.39% of mentions), followed by the PDP (23.6% of sources; 28.25% of mentions) and the LP (7.5% of sources; 17.21% of mentions).
INEC topped the list of featured government agencies with 76% of sources and 68.6% of mentions, while security agencies followed with 19% of sources and 25.9% of mentions.
Television followed a similar pattern as news reports constituted 74% of content, with discussions at 20% and interviews at 11%. Balance was maintained in 62% of the broadcasts, and only 0.1% featured extreme language.
Election petitions (18.99%), election administration (17.71%), campaign activities and strategies (15.29%), and intra-party conflict (12.73%) were the most discussed topics.
Issues affecting women (12%), youth (0.96%), and PWDs (0.32%) received minimal attention on television as well. Women accounted for 14.47% of sources and 8.6% of mentions, youth for 0.9% of sources and 6.2% of mentions, and PWDs for 0.3% of sources and 3% of mentions.
The APC remained the most visible party (38% of sources; 37.46% of mentions), followed by the PDP (31.3% of sources; 32.09% of mentions) and the LP (12.4% of sources; 15.37% of mentions).
INEC led among government agencies (67.2% of sources; 69.4% of mentions), while security agencies were also prominent (31.1% of sources; 26.6% of mentions).
Blacktalker reports that the timeframe captured post-2023 general election content, the lead-up to off-cycle elections in Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States, and the build-up to the 2024 off-cycle elections in Edo and Ondo States.