Newspaper Coverage of Women in Politics: A Content Analysis Of Daily Trust and Punch Newspapers

This paper summarizes the arguments and counterarguments within the scientific discussion on the issue to ascertain how well Nigerian newspapers cover women in politics. It's also identified the pivotal role of the mass media in the promotion of women in Nigerian politics. The main purpose of the research is to find out the women who participate in politics by planning and maintaining message take campaigns for general awareness about the potential leadership qualities of women and also the empowerment and autonomy of women. Methodological tools of the research methods were simple random sampling technique was adopted and data collection for the study was code sheet which was contain the parameters, for the study period of eight months, 422 stories were gathered out of which only 56 were in politics. Therefore, the presentation and analysis of the data showed that the Nigerian newspapers did not give women in politics the desires coverage it required as compared to their male counterparts. Also, the study reveals that mass media is pivotal to social change and have the potential to increase the number of women aspirants to political offices. The result of the research can be useful as an additional literature on newspaper coverage of political issues as well as be of immense value to the media as it enlightens and educate the media professionals on how to play their fundamental role in the quest to eradicate gender discrimination of all types. The researchers conclude that Nigerian women still have a long way to go in attaining the pinnacle of political decision making and it is apparent that women's struggle to get relevant in political leadership continued of be hindered by certain factors, and recommends among others, that the media should give prominent coverage to women who have performed exceptionally well in politics and also create a platform to enlighten them about their political rights as well as the creation of political institutions, development partners and other donor agencies of facilitate women participation in politics and this can be successfully done through the mass media. It is therefore, pertinent for media professionals to play their fundamental role in the quest to eradicate gender discrimination of all types.