Newspaper Coverage of the Boko Haram Terror Campaign in Nigeria

Terrorism is one of the leading security challenges in Nigeria. Since 2009, the terrorist group, Boko Haram, is the major group fueling this problem by carrying out terror attacks mostly in the northeastern part of the country. The period between 2014 and 2015 marked the peak of terrorist attacks by the group. This period coincided with the general elections, which saw a transition from one civilian regime to another. Boko Haram menace was one of the pressing issues that voters wanted to be resolved. How did the media frame this problem? A content analysis of three national daily newspapers was conducted to see the newspapers' pattern of Boko Haram coverage shortly before and after the 2015 general elections. The study found a slight difference in Boko Haram's reporting before the elections and after. While most of the frames used in newspapers remained unchanged, the frames reflecting hopelessness began to feature more.