Priming of the Restructuring Agenda in the Media: An Analytical Study of Select Nigerian Newspapers

Earlier media studies have demonstrated that the way the media report salient issues engage the peoples thinking and change of attitude about the issue. Since 2014 confab, there have been serious requests from right, left and center calling for the execution of the outcome of the confab till the sudden reinvigoration of the Biafran agenda among the Igbos. Finding a way out, restructuring was suggested. Since this restructuring agenda, the media have been on course to set the enabling environment for the soft landing of all inclusive method that best suit the restructuring agenda in respect of their social responsibility function to the public. Against this background, this study is interested in evaluating how the media placed the restructuring issues in their day-to-day reports as a serious national matter. The study adopted the content analysis research method while the agenda-priming and social responsibility theories of the press were used as the theoretical framework to provide support to the study. The findings demonstrated that the media paid high premium attention to the restructuring of the country; but failed to establish the angle through which the restructuring could solve the problems of insecurity, desires for secession, poverty, unemployment and terrorism which necessitate the restructuring agenda. The researchers recommended that the media should do more by providing a direction for the restructuring agenda bearing in mind the level of deprivation that caused the problem in the country.