Gender Perspective of Select Nigerian Newspapers Coverage of COVID-19 Responses and Political Activities

Abstract

This study examined gender perspective of Nigerian newspapers coverage of COVID-19 responses and politics associated to the responses. Agenda setting and feminist theories were used as theoretical framework. The study adopted the content analysis method. Newspaper editions that carried headline stories of COVID-19 responses and political activities were purposefully selected from 366 editions of The Punch, Vanguard, responses following the confirmation of the index case in February was normal, as the media would ordinarily set an agenda on a quite current. Also, just 103 (11.0 percent) of the COVID-19 response lead stories were sourced from women, while 379 (34%) were obtained from males: 76 (25.0 percent) of the political lead reports were derived from women, as against 208 derived from men. It is recommended that the media continue to pay attention to serious issues in the society and particularly pay special attention to such pertinent issues from a gender-balanced frame.

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COVENANT JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION (CJOC), VOL.10, NO. 1, JUNE 2023
Abstract:
This study examined gender perspective of Nigerian newspapers coverage of COVID-19 responses and politics associated to the
responses. Agenda setting and feminist theories were used as theoretical framework. The study adopted the content analysis
method. Newspaper editions that carried headline stories of COVID-19 responses and political activities were purposefully
selected from 366 editions of The Punch, Vanguard, and Daily Trust newspapers published in April, May, June, and July, 2020,
when COVID-19 response was high. This study then examined the 946 lead reports on the COVID-19 responses and the 302
lead reports on the political activities that appeared in newspapers, from a gender perspective. The findings reveal that lead
stories on COVID-19 responses were the greatest, while politics was the fifth within the study time frame. This shows that the
newspapers attached importance to COVID-19 lead stories. The decrease in the frequency of newspaper stories on COVID-19
responses following the confirmation of the index case in February was normal, as the media would ordinarily set an agenda on a
quite current. Also, just 103 (11.0 percent) of the COVID-19 response lead stories were sourced from women, while 379 (34%)
were obtained from males: 76 (25.0 percent) of the political lead reports were derived from women, as against 208 derived from
men. It is recommended that the media continue to pay attention to serious issues in the society and particularly pay special
attention to such pertinent issues from a gender-balanced frame.
Keywords: COVID-19, COVID-19 response, Politics, Women’s political participation, Gender equality, Media coverage, Media
gender representation
Toyin Adinlewa1, Ph.D., Christiana ShadeAde-Johnson2, Ph.D.
1&2Department of Mass Communication, Faculty of Social Sciences, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-
Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria
: adinlewa.toyin@yahoo.com/toyin.adinlewa@aaua.edu.ng; +2348066741605
: sunshineoasis12@gmail.com; +234-8035780487
Gender Perspective of Select Nigerian Newspapers Coverage of COVID-19 Responses and Political Activities

Toyin Adinlewa et al (CJOC), VOL.10, NO. 1, JUNE 2023
Introduction
The coronavirus pandemic the emerged in 2019 called
COVID-19 has brought much-needed respite to difficulties
concerning gender politics in Africa in general and women’s
inclusion in particular. The impacts of the epidemic are felt in
many crucial areas, including the health sector, the economy,
politics, and empowerment. Women's engagement in politics
in Africa remains dangerously low for several reasons, which
may be summed up as structural and social. From March
2020, many African nations proclaimed state of emergency in
response to the COVID-19 epidemic, which had had both
good and bad implications for women's political engagement
and inclusion in COVID-19 responses. With several elections
in Africa slated during the first and second waves of COVID-
19, institutional and social hurdles to women's involvement in
politics and inclusion in responses to COVID-19 continue to
develop. According to the International Institute for
Democracy and Electoral Assistance [International IDEA]
(2020, para. 2), "Gender-Based Violence; Political Finance;
Cultural Values and Practices; Menstrual Health; Maternal
Health; Comprehensive Sexuality Education and Adolescent
Pregnancies; Safe Abortion; HIV and AIDS; and Sexual
Diversity" are among the topics that have a close link with
women inclusion in politics. Fundamentally, the question of
inclusion has also come to the fore, with obvious gender
differences seen in the assembling of COVID-19 response
teams from different African nations, as well as in news
headlines regarding COVID-19 response operations.
During the epidemic, elected officials, including men
and women, have a unique chance to provide revolutionary
leadership in their communities. This should entail mobilising
resources to enhance community awareness of the epidemic as
well as the delivery of palliatives to lessen its effect. Despite
the COVID-19 outbreak, countries with elections during the
first and second waves were in full campaign gear. With the
threats that the pandemic has raised, as well as the potential
for political benefit, the media are expected to seize the
opportunity to advance the debate in the field of women’s
inclusion within and outside of political party lines, while also
providing reasonable coverage of their community-centered
efforts to mitigate the virus's impact.
However, in the fearful atmosphere occasioned by
the first wave of the novel virus, the media are more likely to
react to the stimulus of commodifying news, which may result
in COVID-19 news gaining priority over other news. The
media may also neglect to reflect the gender nuances within
this COVID-19 news (International IDEA, 2020). With news
of the COVID-19 response flooding the media, people with
the financial resources to supply COVID-19 relief items and
community help, which women may lack, are more likely to
be news sources at this time, especially where women are not
given fair consideration or representation in the task-force
committee in-charge of COVID-19 responses. Nigeria has a
similar scenario with two women out of the 12-member
presidential task force committee in charge of COVID-19
responses. In response to this unfairness, the media may depict
the reality and illusion of caring males at the cost of women in
its news coverage. The media may also go further to
underrepresent or fail to provide an equal playground for
women in the politics of COVID-19 and political activities
within this period.
Regardless of the gravity of the COVID-19 epidemic
and the media's commitment to keeping the public informed,
COVID-19 news must be integrated into complex topics such
as politics, gender sensitivities, economics, health, and
security. It would be fascinating to observe how much of the
COVID-19 news is gender-sensitive or sourced from women,
as well as how gender imbalance is dealt with in the electoral
news within the first wave when the election for political posts
was held. As a consequence, the research intends to reflect on
the media's coverage of COVID-19 response and electoral
activities during the first wave of the epidemic, with a focus
on raising issues on women’s inclusion—a gender-based
approach to coverage from The Punch, Daily Trust, and
Vanguard newspapers.
Statement of the problem
Gender discourse has attracted media attention as a societal
concern. As an agenda-setter, the media has boosted gender
relations discourse, particularly discourse on women's active
engagement in political processes and the consequences for
national development (Saka, Amusan & Aluko, 2017). They
have equally been fundamentally implicated in perpetuating
gender biases through imbalance reportage or under-
presentation or representation. Gender gaps are projected to
intensify during the first and second waves of the COVID-19
pandemic in terms of media coverage of COVID-19 responses
and elections within the period, given men's control of most
African political spheres and the media owned by them.
Because the media is likely to react to the impulse of
commodifying news in the confusing environment of the
COVID-19 first wave, COVID-19 and political news’ focus
may not include women’s efforts and/or fail to portray the
gender nuances, which may further perpetual imbalance and
gender inequality in media reports. With much discourse
around how the media, as the Fourth Estate of the realm, have
perpetuated gender imbalance; in this era when the trajectory
of women’s political involvement and efforts in nation-
building are taking the front burner, it is expected that the
media give serious attention to gender nuances in news
coverage. Given this backdrop, it is crucial to close-examine
the media’s coverage of COVID-19 response and electoral
activities during the COVID-19 epidemic, with a focus on The
Punch, Daily Trust, and Vanguard newspapers’ coverage.
Research questions
1. To what extent do The Punch, Daily Trust, and
Vanguard newspapers cover responses to COVID-19
and political activities in Nigeria?

Toyin Adinlewa et al (CJOC), VOL.10, NO. 1, JUNE 2023
2. What are the issues The Punch, Daily Trust, and
Vanguard newspapers cover during COVID-19
pandemic in Nigeria?
3. To what extent do The Punch, Daily Trust, and
Vanguard newspapers’ coverage bring out the gender
nuance within COVID-19 news in Nigeria?
Conceptual review
In the year 2020, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
epidemic shocked the globe and exhausted most countries'
health systems. After the World Health Organization (WHO)
proclaimed the outbreak of COVID-19, a new human
coronavirus disease, a Public Health Emergency of
International Concern (PHEIC) on January 30, 2020 (WHO,
2020), organizations, governments, and people reacted to the
call to rescue the world. Efforts to restrict the virus's spread
were intense during the first and second waves. In Nigeria, a
multi-sectoral pandemic response plan was implemented,
serving as a model for a whole-of-government response.
Furthermore, a network of existing testing facilities was
extended. Meanwhile, individuals (men and women) and
organizations—both private and public— put their support
behind delivering relief items, both consumables, and
medicals, to slow the spread of the virus and mitigate its
economic impact on the Nigerian people. In this article, all of
these initiatives by people, private and public organisations are
recognised as COVID-19 responses; media reportage of these
responses is considered COVID-19 news.
Getting involved in an academic activity, such as a
debate on women's engagement in Nigerian politics, will
result in the development of new or agreement with current
conceptual frameworks in media, gender, and politics.
Political inclusion in this context comprises a variety of
activities, the most important of which are voting in elections
and running for elected public office. This is not the same as
representation. Representation entails holding elective or
public positions in connection to other forms of representation.
Both concepts are outside the purview of this paper.
Meanwhile, in media studies, representation refers to the
coverage of other forms of representation. Because everything
in society is political, gender representation in the media has
become politically motivated as well. According to Agbalajobi
(2010), it is widely accepted that the male-dominated political
atmosphere has socially conditioned the setting in which their
female counterparts compete and, by extension how media
operate. The COVID-19 epidemic has also brought with it
gender politics in an atmosphere where women are striving to
be relevant. Individual women and men have put their support
behind delivering relief items, both consumables, and
medicals, to slow the spread of the virus and it is only fair for
the media to give them equal representation in covering such
support and kind gestures. Women's awareness and inclusion
modify values, allowing for a more free-for-women climate
(Agbalajobi, 2010). Media fair representation of women's
involvement in COVID-19 responses and electoral activities in
this study is seen and examined through how much space is
provided or how much mention is made of women by the
media, in its coverage of these issues during the first wave.
Literature review
The mass media aims to improve the well-being of the
people through its news reporting and emphasize critical
issues like coronavirus and other deadly diseases. One of the
significant roles of communication in modern society is to
educate people about the risk and prevention of the spread of
any virus (Onekutu & Ojebode, 2007, p. 83). In doing that, the
media are expected to give a robust reportage that will reflect
efforts to curb the spread of the virus from gender
perspectives. This is due to the persistence of cultural
stereotypes, the exploitation of religious and traditional
practises, paternalistic social systems in which institutional,
governmental, and hegemony are male-dominated, and the
fundamental role that women have performed as the
supporters of male elected figures (Agbalajobi, 2010). This
kind of prejudice is not just a Nigerian or African problem, but
it occurs around the world. While it has persisted for so
centuries in this region of the globe, other industrialised
countries throughout the world are making strides toward
gender equality and fairness. Women are subjected to
unjustified discrimination in a variety of ways. For example,
according to (Agbalajobi, 2010), in certain Nigerian courts
and police stations today, women who want to serve as
sureties for accused people who have been granted bail are
frequently excluded from doing so solely based on their
gender identity. Although democracy has emerged as a critical
instrument for achieving gender equality in societal settings
across the globe, the influence of the idea of democracy
remains ambiguous. Political involvement, which is a basic
condition of democracy and enables the expression of many
viewpoints and the engagement of both men and women,
cannot prosper if the female population, which accounts for
half of the global total, is excluded.
Given this, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action prioritise gender equality in the media (Minnesota
Advocates for Human Rights, 1996). The proclamation
encourages increased female expression, decision-making, and
involvement in and via the media, with an emphasis on the
non-stereotypical and fair representation of women in the
media. This seems to be because the media is an
extraordinarily effective means of information diffusion in
human civilization. Through the information they deliver, they
can change or accentuate societal values and behaviours. It
may also motivate folks to take constructive action. In other
words, as is commonly noted, knowledge is power. In this
power formula, the media plays several critical roles. They
provide informative frameworks, imitate dominant culture,
organise people on a diversity of topics and, of course,
entertain.
Women’s engagement in politics has advanced
significantly in several sectors of power today. According to
UN Women (2011, p. 13), "Dilma Rousseff became President
of Brazil in 2011, joining the six Latin American women
democratically elected to their nation's highest office since
1990." The implementation of quota rules in several nations
has had a significant role in raising the number of women
elected to parliaments in comparison to prior years (UN
Women, 2011). Another noticeable outcome of such foresight
is the upsurge in female candidacy in several nations.
According to UN Women (2011, p. 13), "Costa Rica, Bolivia,
and Ecuador have altered their statutes and constitutions to

Toyin Adinlewa et al (CJOC), VOL.10, NO. 1, JUNE 2023
demand parity on candidate lists, with men and women
alternated." Other nations, on the other hand, have not yet
passed such measures or have implemented poorly constructed
laws with a smaller number of women on candidate lists (UN
Women, 2011). Notably, the majority of industrialised
countries push for or promote female political engagement,
not just giving them a fair chance of contesting political posts,
but also creating an atmosphere of fair representation in the
media. This cannot be true of African nations, even though
women occupy key roles in various administrations. In other
words, the issue bothering fair media coverage or media
presentation is still largely problematic and seems
unachievable.
Nigeria's condition is very concerning. Nigerian
women have sought to obtain access to political posts since
the restoration of democracy in 1999 by standing for elected
seats at different levels. However, when the results of
consecutive elections since 1999 are considered, their efforts
have not resulted in a major gain. "Not only has there been
marginal gain over the years, which is not very encouraging,
but a decline in the number of elected female politicians in the
2015 general election shows a manifestation of female
political disempowerment, which is even more concerning"
(Bappayo and Kirfi, 2019, p. 71). Given this, Mwantok (2019)
submits that the national average of women's political
engagement in Nigeria has remained at 6.7 percent in elective
and appointive posts, significantly behind the global average
of 22.5 percent, the African Regional Average of 23.4 percent,
and the West African Sub-Regional Average of 15 percent.
President Buhari, for example, nominated just six women out
of 36 cabinet appointments when he took office in 2015,
representing 16.7 percent of the total. In the National
Assembly, women make up 6.5 percent of senators and 5.6
percent of House of Representatives members. Furthermore,
Mwantok (2019) wrote that no female governor has been
elected in any of the Federation's 36 states throughout
Nigeria's 20 years of unbroken democratic rule (1999–2019).
Despite this, women account for more than half of all
people. Women's roles in society have yet to be recognized,
given the critical role they play in their communities. This
might be due to a lack of media coverage of women's
activities. While the media is obliged to strive for honesty and
fairness in its reporting, there are often disparities, especially
when it comes to women and their opinions. For example,
female politicians may be underreported in the media before
and after elections. Several studies have shown this. In their
recent research on newspaper coverage of women in politics,
Bappayo and Kirfi (2019) observed that, when compared to
their male counterparts, the Nigerian media did not offer
women in politics the required coverage. To corroborate this
conclusion, Oyesomi and Oyero (2012) noted a dearth of
visibility and coverage of female political players in Nigerian
publications during the 2011 elections. Their studies revealed
that 90 percent of women's tales appeared on the front pages
of newspapers, with no articles appearing on the back pages.
Meanwhile, the media is important for social change
and can boost the number of women running for political
office by publicising women's great contributions to the social,
political, and economic well-being of Nigeria as well as
COVID-19 responses during the epidemic’s major waves.
Empirical review
Among the many explanations to be concerned about gender
politics in the media are the necessity of progressing beyond
stereotypical portrayals and the inclusion of a diverse range of
storytellers in print media, film, and broadcast media, to name
just a few of the more pressing concerns (Beard, Dunn, Huang
& Krivkovich, 2020). Women are among the most ardent
consumers of media products available on the market, making
them an important target demographic for entertainment and
media sources. Several studies have been conducted to solve
this issue by evaluating media coverage from some
viewpoints.
Apuke and Omar (2020) examined media coverage of
COVID-19 in Nigeria with attention to the frequency and
depth of coverage, story format, news sources, media tone and
themes. Four widely read newspapers were content analysed
between February 2020 and April 2020. Focus was on Daily
Sun, Vanguard, Daily Trust and Leadership. Results indicated
that the Nigerian media performed well in terms of covering
the pandemic, which in turn created awareness. However, the
coverage was not in-depth as most of the reported stories were
short and were predominantly straight news. It was also
observed that the media cited more of the Nigeria Centre for
Disease Control (NCDC) and government officials. Further
findings disclosed that most of the stories were alarming and
induced panic. Most common topics were coverage of cases in
Nigeria, death rates and concerns about Nigeria’s
preparedness. Public sensitization and education were
sparingly covered.
Television news coverage of the COVID-19
epidemic in Nigeria was analyzed by Apuke and Omar (2021)
from February 2020 to July 2020. African Independent
Television (AIT), a privately held network, and Nigerian
Television Authority (NTA), a state-run network, were the
primary points of interest. Thirty people were questioned to
provide insight into public perception of the media's portrayal
of the pandemic. The results indicate that the television
networks gave the COVID-19 concerns the attention they
deserved. However, COVID-19 was given more attention by
the private media. Therefore, it may be inferred that the
private media broadcast more COVID-19 items on its
headline, which also served as the first headline in many
instances. In addition, they aired a greater number of tales
lasting 61 seconds or longer. The results also showed that the
private media fought more about the Nigeria Centre for
Disease Control (NCDC), while the government media
mentioned more government authorities. Most of the private
media's coverage featured visual and motion video, and the
pieces had a more negative tone. The results as a whole
indicate that media ownership and politics have a significant
impact in the reporting of the COVID-19 outbreak in Nigeria.
The public's perception of the pandemic has changed as a
result; many now dismiss it as a politically motivated virus
meant to draw attention to the shortcomings of the ruling
party. Umar and Dango (2020) conducted a survey of the
role that Nigerian internet newspapers performed in educating
the people about the Coronavirus. From February 28th, 2020

Toyin Adinlewa et al (CJOC), VOL.10, NO. 1, JUNE 2023
(one day after the first instance of the pandemic was recorded
in Nigeria) to June 29th, 2020, researchers employed the
content analysis study approach. To determine whether or not
Nigerian online newspapers paid more attention to the Covid-
19 pandemic than their print counterparts, we examined the
online editions of the Vanguard, Daily Trust, and The Sun
newspapers, paying special attention to the news stories,
opinion pieces, and editorials that dealt with the disease. The
findings demonstrate that the Covid-19 epidemic was given
prominent coverage in each of the three newspapers examined.
The article suggests prioritizing public health concerns and the
breakout of a fatal disease. Reporters covering these stories
need to be prepared to do their homework before writing about
them. Chinedu-Okeke, Agbasimelo, Obi, and Onyejelem
(2021) used the Guardian, Daily Sun, Daily Trust, and This
Day Newspapers to analyze the coverage of the fight against
COVID-19 in Nigerian newspapers. McComb and Shaw's
agenda- setting theory provided the theoretical foundation for
this investigation since it describes the "ability (of the news
media) to influence the salience of topics on the public
agenda." It used content analysis to look at how frequently
COVID-19 was mentioned, how prominently, and how the
three chosen Nigerian media reported on the outbreak between
March 2020 and July 2020. According to the data, COVID-19
concerns received extensive coverage in Nigerian newspapers.
According to the research, the selected Nigerian dailies mainly
used hard news, features, and editorials to cover and report on
COVID-19. The study concludes that although Nigerian
newspapers gave a wide coverage to COVID-19 issues, they
do not give a significant prominence to COVID-19 pandemic
in the placement of news, space allocated for the news, or
frequency of report of such issues in the selected newspapers.
The front pages and headlines of The Guardian and
The Vanguard, two major newspapers in Nigeria, were
analyzed by Anyanwu, Okpevra, and Imiti (2022). These
publications were chosen with deliberate intent to compare
and contrast how the Nigerian government and general public
viewed the recent coronavirus outbreak in print and online.
Both government and public opinion were evaluated based on
how much attention was paid to the pandemic's spread. The
research period spanned four months, from the initial detection
of the virus in February 2020 through the implementation and
subsequent lifting of lockdown in June 2020. The results
demonstrate that both publications provided thorough
coverage of the pandemic. It found that despite widespread
media coverage, citizens in Nigeria were unconcerned about
Covid-19, indicating that the government was only giving the
issue lip respect.
Frequency and depth of coverage, narrative structure,
news sources, tone, and themes were all considered when
Apuke, D. O., and Omar, B. (2020) analyzed media coverage
of COVID-19 in Nigeria. Between February 2020 and April
2020, the content of four major newspapers was analyzed.
There was a concentration on the Sun, Vanguard, Trust, and
Leadership. According to the findings, Nigerian media outlets
did a good job reporting on the pandemic and raising public
awareness. The items that were reported were brief and mostly
just the news, therefore the coverage was not particularly in-
depth. It was also noted that the media made greater use of
quotes from government authorities and the Nigeria Centre for
Disease Control (NCDC). Further investigation revealed that
the majority of the tales were terrifying and caused widespread
terror. Coverage of the instances in Nigeria, fatality tolls, and
fears about Nigeria's preparation were the most often
discussed subjects. Public awareness campaigns and
educational initiatives received scant attention.
In the Canadian Center for Digital and Media
Literacy’s (2020) study, it was concluded that although the
number of women professionals has steadily increased over
the last two decades, the majority of mainstream news
coverage still relies on males as experts in the sectors of
business, politics, and economics. Female news reporters
employ sexist vocabulary when describing women in the
news, and they are more likely to be included in stories
concerning accidents, natural catastrophes, and domestic
violence than stories about their professional qualities or
knowledge. In one of the articles examined in this study, for
example, it was observed that women accounted for 37% of
the bylines in news headlines from across the world.
Furthermore, according to a 2010 study of Canadian news
sources, women made up only 29 percent of the sources cited
in print and broadcast news. Another 2019 study of female
members of the Canadian parliament found that 86% had
faced prejudice because of their gender in politics. While
many female world leaders were featured in the classroom
publication TIME for Kids, their portrayals were almost
always focused on their status as the first woman to hold a
particular position rather than their actual accomplishments, or
they were described as having stereotypically feminine
characteristics.
Gender problems in Nigerian media coverage of
maternal and child healthcare issues were the focus of
Adeniran's (2020) study. The goal of this study was to look for
developing gender problems in one year's worth of maternity
and child health (MCH) coverage in Nigerian newspapers. To
determine the prevalent gender lead in newspaper coverage of
a women-centered issue, a mix of content analysis and in-
depth interviews (IDI) is employed, as well as the underlying
factors for the dominance. The study is based on the
hypothesis of gender prejudice and journalistic standards. The
content analytic technique was used to evaluate media
coverage of maternity and child health (MCH) problems for
twelve months. Four "national" newspapers, The Punch, The
Nation, Daily Trust, and Leadership, were purposely selected
for inclusion in this study due to their extensive readership
throughout the country and in specific geographic regions.
From July 2015 to June 2016, all print editions of the selected
newspapers released during the 12-month sample period were
reviewed for eligibility by flipping through the pages looking
for MCH-related news and feature items. As part of the unit of
study, a total of 1,046 items were examined, including 300
news articles and 746 feature stories. It also examines the
viewpoints of male and female health journalists to determine
whether there are any differences in their views on MCH
media coverage. The study's results show a majority of male
journalists and voices featured in coverage of MCH issues and
related articles, but gender did not affect the overall coverage
of the subjects. By doing so, the study differs from past media
gender studies that credit women's underrepresentation in the

Toyin Adinlewa et al (CJOC), VOL.10, NO. 1, JUNE 2023
media to gender discrimination; instead, it finds that gender
imbalance is often embedded in journalistic principles that
permeate media operations.
Furthermore, Eshiet (2013) analysed the
representation of political players in Nigerian print media
based on their gender. The primary purpose of the research
was to examine how political actors are portrayed in Nigerian
print media and how this affects women's political
involvement in the nation. This study included some methods,
including content analysis and a cross-sectional survey. A
content analysis of the coverage of the corruption allegations
against two previous Speakers of the Lower House (male and
female, respectively) during the 2007–2011 administration
was conducted using two deliberately selected daily
newspapers, The Punch and the Guardian. Following the
disclosure of the corruption scheme against the female
Speaker on August 21, 2007, the content analysis covered a
period of 72 days (from August 21 to October 31, 2007);
following the disclosure of the corruption scheme against her
successor, the male Speaker, on October 20, 2008, the content
analysis covered a period of 84 days (from October 20 to
October 31, 2008). A cross-sectional survey was conducted to
analyse women's impressions of how female politicians are
depicted in the media to support the findings of the content
analysis. A structured interview schedule was used in
combination with a questionnaire to collect responses from
one hundred randomly selected female respondents in the
Lagos metropolis of Lagos State. According to the conclusions
of the content analysis, the cases were presented in a gendered
way, with the female speaker's case, among other things, being
sensationalised, exaggerated, and trivialised. The study also
indicated that the majority of respondents thought the
coverage was appropriate, believing that the media simply
conveyed the facts regarding the first female Speaker of the
House. Bappayo and Kirfi (2019) investigated newspaper
coverage of political women. The study's research design was
content analysis. To address the study's research questions,
they examined articles from political publications as well as
coverage of women in politics. For the eight-month research
period, the Daily Trust Newspaper and The Punch Newspaper
were used. The research used a simple random sample
approach, and the data-gathering instrument was a code sheet.
Only 56 of the 422 stories collected were about politics. As a
result, the data presentation and analysis revealed that, in
comparison to their male counterparts, Nigerian publications
did not provide women in politics with the desired publicity.
The research also demonstrates that mass media is important
for social change and can boost the number of women running
for political office. The researchers concluded that some
reasons have delayed women's efforts in politics and it is
obvious that women in Nigeria still have a long way to go
before reaching the political decision-pinnacle. They
recommended that women who have regularly done well in
politics should get substantial publicity in the media, as well
as a forum to teach them about their political rights.
For the 2011 Nigerian election, media coverage of
women's participation was examined by Oyesomi and Oyero,
(2012). This study used a research design based on content
analysis. Participants in the research read issues of The Punch
and The Guardian from mid-2010 to mid-2011. The sample
consisted of 288 issues of the publications under
consideration. Each newspaper was assigned sixteen (16)
issues each month. To come up with the sixteen issues, the
researchers randomly selected four papers each week and
multiplied that number by four weeks. According to the
results, Nigerian publications underreported women's
participation in politics relative to their male counterparts. A
total of 464 anecdotes were gathered over nine months, with
just 62 focused on women's involvement and 402 on men's
involvement. Moreover, half of the 62 news items were found
on the inner pages, with six (10 percent) on the front page, and
no news on women on the back page. There were nine
unfavorable tales in the data set, compared to 29 favorable
articles and 24 unfavorable ones (38 percent that were
neutral). It is critical to emphasise as shown by these studies
that the media has a considerable effect on society. They
chronicle current events, provide interpretive frameworks,
mobilise people in response to a range of problems, mimic
dominant culture and society, and entertain the audience. The
media equally have a role to play in changing perceived
inimical cultural practices by providing interpretative
frameworks that will re-create or re-enact new frames on
which such practices are regarded and amended.
Theoretical framework
Several theories have examined the media in communication
processes and their impacts on public policy. This study's
framework is based on two of them. The first is the agenda-
setting theory, which describes how the media can focus the
public's attention on the most pressing concerns. As a
consequence, the public's attention is diverted from other
concerns. The media, therefore, give individuals a window
into a world they may not be privy to. The media picks up on
and emphasises everyday public problems. Simultaneously,
they choose the actors in the news debates. Studies on politics
and elections have shown a correlation between the popular
significance of problems and media coverage of such
concerns. That is the topics that the media concentrates on
become the ones that the public recognises as worthy of
debate (McQuail, 2005). Aspects of selection (and exclusion)
of subjects and occurrences have been well addressed in
framing and priming theories. As a consequence, media
organisations are continually influenced by social, political,
and economic factors that shape their perception of reality and
how it is portrayed to the public. A gender perspective is thus
crucial to communication processes because it brings to light
the disparities that women confront due to the roles that are
socially given to them and then perpetuated through the
media. The deliberate inclusion of a gender "filter" raises
journalists' and media outlets' understanding of their role as
agents of social change in establishing more equal societies
and helps them move away from reality-based perspectives
that emphasise males while ignoring the existence and
contributions of women. This is where agenda-setting theory
becomes crucial to this study.
The second important sociological theory is the
feminist theory, which analyses the condition of men and
women in a cultural context to help women. Feminism is the

Toyin Adinlewa et al (CJOC), VOL.10, NO. 1, JUNE 2023
theoretical or philosophical elaboration of an idea. It examines
the social roles and living experiences of women to better
understand gender inequity (Crossman, 2020). Feminism is a
political, cultural, or economic movement that attempts to
empower women. However, most feminist thought focuses on
gender inequity, oppression, and promoting women's rights,
interests, and concerns within society. According to Alozie
(2003), cultural feminism works within the symbolic world of
women's culture, position, and place as formed and validated
in a particularly patriarchal society. As a consequence, the
hypothesis explains why the media are difficult to exonerate
for their harmful contributions to gender inequality. This
notion underpins research on COVID-19 responses in the
Nigerian media. Examining media coverage of gender issues
in the context of Nigerian society's male-dominated tendencies
helps achieve this. Lueck (2003) claims that this approach will
empower women and challenge pre-existing views about
women's responsibilities in society. Recently, the media's
male-centricity has been confirmed. The media directs
people's attention to important participants in the COVID-19
responses and electoral activities. Without acknowledging the
significance of gender equality in the COVID-19 pandemic
response and electoral activities, media practitioners may
perpetuate discourse that excludes women as key protagonists,
relegating them to secondary roles via less coverage.
Method
The Content Analysis Approach was used in this study to
analyse the manifest content of Nigerian media coverage on
women in political participation in Nigeria during the COVID-
19 epidemic. Oboh (2015) claims that this technique allowed
him to "calculate the number of stories the newspapers
covered on COVID-19 as well as other significant categories
of stories." The study's content analysis technique comprises
an objective, systematic, and quantitative description of the
evident content of the communication. To determine the
frequency of female sources of COVID-19 news in Nigerian
newspapers, 212 front-page editions of the newspapers that
carried headline stories of COVID-19 response activities were
purposefully selected from papers 366 editions (122 per
newspaper) of The Punch, Vanguard, and Daily Trust in April,
May, June, and July, when COVID-19 response and electoral
discussions were high. The three newspapers selected for the
research are among the most prominent in Nigeria in terms of
their spread and have their ownership spread across eastern,
western, and northern geopolitical zones to cater to regional
biases. The frequency of COVID-19 response/intervention
coverage and political activities in selected newspapers were
investigated using the following content categories: all lead
stories published by newspapers about the COVID-19
response and political activities, the sources of the COVID-19
response and political activities lead stories and stories
published about other lead issues during the COVID-19
pandemic. The article then examined the 946 lead reports on
the COVID-19 response activities and 302 lead reports on the
political activities that appeared in newspapers in April, May,
June, and July 2020 to assess the frequency and nuance of
women's political engagement in the COVID-19 response and
political news.
Inter-Coder Reliability
Trained two research assistants content analysed 10% of the
news randomly selected for the study to identify the frequency
and key concerns mentioned in the Nigerian media around
COVID-19, with an emphasis on gender nuance in the news.
Using Holsti's calculation, =2*M/(N1+N2), the inter-coder
reliability test was conducted.
M - The number of coding choices in which two coders agree.
N1 and N2 - the number of coding choices made by each
coder.
Inter-coder reliability was calculated to be 0.75, indicating
strong reliability.
Data presentation and discussion of findings
Table 1 presents a cross-tabulation of data on the frequency
distribution of Nigerian media reporting on the COVID-19
response, as well as the major issues covered in the
newspapers in April, May, June, and July 2020. The front
pages of the three newspapers included 3354 stories on the
COVID-19 response and other matters, such as government,
parliament, judiciary, politics, economy, security/crime, and
obituaries. The newspapers carried 946 (36 percent) lead
stories on COVID-19 response concerns, 573 (17 percent)
news stories on obituaries/others, 515 (15 percent) news
stories on security/crime, and 448 (13 percent) news stories on
government activities.
Table 1. Cross-tabulation frequency distribution of the
Nigerian newspapers’ reports on COVID-19 response
among other issues
Month
Newspapers
Covid-19
Governme
nt
Parliament
Judiciary
Politics
Economy
Security/
Crime
Obituar
ies/Oth
ers
Total (%)
April
Punch
116
63
3
11
20
42
52
78
385(46%)
Vanguard
120
32
-
8
17
20
32
37
266(32%)
Daily Trust
71
10
7
3
5
29
26
28
179(22%)
April
Total
307
105
10
22
42
91
110
143
830(100%)
May
Punch
124
58
11
20
38
26
77
77
431(51%)
Vanguard
107
31
4
3
22
21
21
41
250(30%)
Daily Trust
66
14
3
3
6
17
23
30
162(19%)
May
Total
297
103
18
26
66
64
121
148
843(100%)
June
Punch
50
64
10
14
55
28
82
61
364(50%)
Vanguard
52
18
2
13
22
30
31
51
219(30%)
Daily Trust
76
16
5
2
9
10
20
11
149(20%)
June
Total
178
98
17
29
86
68
133
123
732(100%)
July
Punch
92
60
23
19
35
45
81
65
420(44%)
Vanguard
53
69
14
14
60
65
52
77
404(43%)
Daily Trust
19
13
11
2
13
32
18
17
125(13%)
July
Total
164
142
48
35
108
142
151
159
949(100%)
Grand
Total
946
(36%)
448
(13%)
93
(3%)
112
(3%)
302
(9%)
365
(11%)
515
(15%)
573
(17%)
3354
(100%)
Lead stories on COVID-19 responses were the greatest within
this time frame. This is logical since, in a fearful situation, the
media are more prone to react to the impulse of selling news,
which may lead to COVID-19 news having priority over other
issues. This shows that the newspapers attached importance to
COVID-19 lead stories. Chinedu-Okeke, Agbasimelo, Obi,
and Onyejelem (2021) confirmed this when they discovered
that Nigerian newspapers gave a wide coverage to COVID-19
issues, they do not give a significant prominence to COVID-
19 pandemic in the placement of news, space allocated for the
news, or frequency of report of such issues in the selected
newspapers. Furthermore, agenda-setting theory, as
summarised by McQuail (2005), supports this finding by
explaining how the media may focus public attention on

Toyin Adinlewa et al (CJOC), VOL.10, NO. 1, JUNE 2023
certain topics that are perceived to be the most significant at
the moment. As a result, the public's attention is drawn to
some topics while ignoring others. However, there seems to be
a thread in the main articles of obituaries/others, which were
the second most throughout this timeframe. The number of
death announcements and lead stories was disturbing. This
finding is in line with Apuke and Omar (2020), Apuke and
Omar (2021), Umar and Dango (2020), Chinedu-Okeke,
Agbasimelo, Obi, and Onyejelem (2021), and Anyanwu,
Okpevra, and Imiti (2022) whose results indicated that the
Nigerian media performed well by giving COVID-19 concerns
extensively reportage. in Nigerian newspapers.
Figure 1. Newspapers summary of COVID-19 response
and other issues as published by the newspapers from
April to July 2020
As seen in Figure 1, it can be inferred that 946 (36 percent)
Nigerian newspapers paid enough attention to the COVID-19
stories throughout the research period. In comparison to other
topics covered, all of the newspapers have the most COVID-
19 stories each month.
To identify the issues covered in the newspaper’s coverage
of the COVID-19 response, the research looked at 946 news
stories from the three newspapers that covered the COVID-19
responses (Table 2). According to the data, the media covered
the most lead stories (32.5 percent) on COVID-19 response in
April. This reinforces the idea that in a fearful climate, the
media are more inclined to react to the impulse of selling
news. The number of main articles on COVID-19 response, on
the other hand, fell to 297 (31.4 percent) in May, as media
interest in the epidemic started to wane. In June and July 2020,
the number fell to 178 (18.8 percent) and 164 (17.3%) stories,
respectively. The decrease in the frequency of newspaper
stories on COVID-19 responses following the confirmation of
the index case in February was normal, as the media would
ordinarily set an agenda on a quite current and pertinent matter
while continuing to provide updates on COVID-19-related
news given its importance. In line with this, Apuke and Omar
(2020) found that most common topics were coverage of cases
in Nigeria, death rates and concerns about Nigeria’s
preparedness.
Furthermore, with news of the COVID-19COVID-19
response overwhelming the media throughout the period under
analysis, people with the economic means to give COVID-19
emergency aid and communal help, which women may
possess, are far more likely to be news sources at this time. In
this respect, Table 2 examined the COVID-19 news sources
from a gender standpoint.
Table 2. Cross Tabulation Frequency Distribution of
sources of the Nigerian Newspapers’ Reports on COVID-
19 Response
Month
Newspapers
Female
Male
Undisclosed
Others
Total (%)
April
Punch
8
57
35
16
116
Vanguard
15
64
34
7
120
Daily Trust
8
28
27
8
71
April Total
31
149
96
31
307(32.5%)
May
Punch
5
55
47
17
124
Vanguard
31
29
27
20
107
Daily Trust
3
28
26
9
66
May Total
39
112
100
46
297(31.4%)
June
Punch
2
12
28
8
50
Vanguard
1
12
34
5
52
Daily Trust
4
31
26
15
76
June Total
7
55
88
28
178(18.8%)
July
Punch
16
35
23
18
92
Vanguard
7
17
14
15
53
Daily Trust
3
11
4
1
19
July Total
27
64
41
34
164(17.3%)
Grand Total
103(11.0%)
379(40.0%)
325(34.0%)
139(15.0%)
946(100%)
According to Table 2, just 103 (11.0 percent) of the COVID-
19 response lead stories were derived from women who are
politically significant throughout the nation for four months,
while 379 (34% of the COVID-19 lead stories) were obtained
from males. When COVID-19 stories with gendered identified
sources were extricated from others as seen in Figure 2,
female-sourced news accounted for just 21.0 percent of the
entry top stories with gender nausea. However, males were
responsible for 79 percent of the lead stories. Meanwhile,
Vanguard newspaper accounted for 52 percent out of the 21.0
percent (i.e., 103 female-sourced COVID-19 stories). This
shows that Vanguard newspaper was fairer or gave more voice
to women than other newspapers. This finding reinforces the
view that, given men's hegemony in most African nations'
political spheres, gender inequities would intensify during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Bappayo and Kirfi (2019), given this
finding, revealed that, in comparison to their male
counterparts, Nigerian publications did not provide women
with the desired publicity. The research also demonstrates that
mass media are important for social change and can boost the
number of women running for political office. This is also
corroborated by Oyesomi and Oyero (2012). They found that
when compared to the coverage of their male counterparts,
Nigerian newspapers did not give women's engagement the
attention it deserved. During the nine-month research period,
464 stories were collected, with just 62 focusing on women's
participation and 402 on males.
Table 3. Cross Tabulation Frequency Distribution of
sources of the Nigerian Newspapers’ Reports on Political
activities
Month
Newspapers
Female
Male
Undisclosed
Others
Total (%)
April
Punch
5
14
-
1
20
Vanguard
7
10
-
-
17
Daily Trust
-
5
-
-
5
April Total
12
29
-
1
42(14%)
May
Punch
11
24
1
2
38
Vanguard
9
11
1
1
22
Daily Trust
1
5
-
-
6
May Total
21
40
2
3
66(22%)
June
Punch
9
41
3
2
55
Vanguard
5
17
-
-
22
Daily Trust
1
7
1
9
June Total
15
65
3
3
86(28%)
July
Punch
8
24
-
3
35
Vanguard
20
38
-
2
60
Daily Trust
-
12
1
13
July Total
28
74
-
6
108(36%)
Grand Total
76(25.0%)
208(69.0%)
5(2.0%)
13(4.0%)
302(100%)
According to Table 3, just 76 (25.0 percent) of the political
activities lead stories were derived from women who are
politically significant throughout the nation during four
months, while 208 (69.0% of the political activities lead

Toyin Adinlewa et al (CJOC), VOL.10, NO. 1, JUNE 2023
stories) were obtained from males. When political stories with
gendered identified sources were extricated from others as
seen in Figure 3, female-sourced news accounted for just 27.0
percent of the entry top stories with gender nausea. However,
males were responsible for 73 percent of the lead stories.
Meanwhile, Vanguard newspaper accounted for 54 percent
out of the 27.0 percent (i.e. 78 female-sourced political news).
This shows that Vanguard newspaper gave more voices to
women than other newspapers. This finding reinforces the
view that, given men's hegemony in most African nations'
political spheres, gender inequities would intensify during the
COVID-19 pandemic. Bappayo and Kirfi (2019), given this
finding, revealed that, in comparison to their male
counterparts, Nigerian publications did not provide women in
politics with the desired publicity. The research also
demonstrates that mass media is important for social change
and can boost the number of women running for political
office. This is also corroborated by Oyesomi and Oyero
(2012) who found that Nigerian newspapers did not give
women's engagement the attention it deserved. Also, Apuke
and Omar (2021) noted that the private media fought more
about the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), while
the government media mentioned more government
authorities. Most of the private media's coverage featured
visual and motion video, and the pieces had a more negative
tone.
Figure 2: Summary of gender-based COVID-19 news
sources of the newspapers
Figure 3: Summary of gender-based political news sources
of the newspapers
Figures 2 and 3 show how the media have reacted to the desire
to sell news by failing to adequately depict women's political
engagement or gender nuance within the COVID-19. Women
leaders have been underrepresented in the press on COVID-19
response and politics due to the large gender gap. Despite this,
women constitute roughly half of Nigeria's demographic. In
truth, the unacknowledged role of women in Nigerian society
may be attributable to a lack of media attention to women's
activities. While the media are obliged to strive for truth and
fairness in its reporting, facts reveal that there are regular
inequalities, especially when it comes to women and their
opinions.
The Canadian Center for Digital and Media Literacy (2020)
concluded, based on a review of the literature on media
coverage of women and women's issues, that despite a steady
increase in the number of women professionals over the last
20 years, most mainstream press coverage continues to rely on
men as experts in the fields of business, politics, and
economics. Furthermore, Eshiet (2013) discovered that, after
newspaper reports on the male Speaker and the female
Speaker's corruption charges, among other things, the stories
on the female Speaker were sensationalised, inflated, and
trivialised.
Conclusion and Recommendations
In a democratic society, the media have the potential to be a
very effective means of information dissemination. The
messages they convey have the potential to alter or reinforce
societal mores and behaviours, as well as galvanise individuals
to take positive action. While it is ideal for the media to aim
for truth and objectivity, in practise, there are frequently
inequalities in coverage, particularly when it comes to women
and their points of view. Though there is no doubt about how
serious the COVID-19 epidemic is and how important it is for
the media to keep the masses aware, COVID-19 news should
be interwoven with other important issues such as political
involvement with women, gender responses and economics.
Consequently, the research concludes that The Punch, Daily
Trust, and Vanguard newspapers did not significantly portray
the voices of women in their COVID-19 response and political
lead stories. And more importantly, the media presentation of
women is crucial to expanding their political engagement in
Nigeria's Fourth Republic, which is now in its twenty-four
years.
Based on the results of this research, it is recommended that
the media continue to pay attention to serious issues in the
society and particularly pay special attention to such issues
from gender perspectives.
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