A 12- MONTH ANALYSIS OF TYPES, SOURCES AND CONTENT OF FAMILY PLANNING ISSUES IN SELECTED NATIONAL NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS

Abstract

Newspapers serve as veritable means of disseminating information, including Family Planning (FP) to a variety of audience. High prevalence of maternal mortality is being linked with inadequate information on FP issues in Nigeria. However, there is dearth of research based information on FP issues reported in Nigerian newspapers. This study was therefore designed to assess the types, sources and depth of reporting of FP issues covered in selected nationally circulated Nigerian newspapers in the year 2010. Six widely circulated national newspapers (The Guardian, The Punch, Vanguard, The Daily Sun, Nigerian Tribune and ThisDay) were purposively selected. All FP-related articles including abortion, Exclusive Breast Feeding (EBF) and use of contraceptives in the selected newspapers from 1st January to 31st December, 2010 were reviewed. The procedure involved examining FP issues using a content review guide, which includes type of issue reported, placement of article (either on the front page or inside page), demographic focus, reporting tone, depth of reporting and source of information. Reporting tone was classified as positive, when it is promoting FP, negative when it is discouraging and neutral (neither promoting nor discouraging FP). Depth of reporting was measured on a 30-point scale. Articles with scores ≥ 21, 16-20 and 0-15 were classified as “adequate”, “moderate” and “inadequate” depth of reporting. Key informant interviews (KII) were conducted among 5 editors, 10 Health correspondents, and 8 reporters of the newspapers, on policies and organizational decisions that influence reporting of FP issues. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test and ANOVA were used to analyse quantitative data, while KII were analysed using the thematic approach. A total of 108 FP articles were reviewed. The proportion of FP related articles in Vanguard, The Punch, Nigerian Tribune, The Guardian, ThisDay and Daily Sun newspapers were 26.9%, 24.1%, 17.6%, 13.0%, 11.0%, and 7.4% respectively. Abortion (35.2%) was most reported; while the least were EBF (0.9%) and vasectomy (0.9%). Majority of the articles (98.1%) were placed on inside pages, and only 1.9% on the front pages. The general public (71.3%) constituted the main demographic focus, while religious leaders (0.9%) were the least. The articles that were adequate, moderate and inadequate in terms of depth of reporting were 53.3%, 25.9% and 15.7% respectively. The proportion of articles that had positive, iv negative and neutral tones were 56.5%, 29.6% and 13.9% respectively. The news reporters constituted the highest (28.0%) source of information on FP issues reported while policy makers were the lowest (0.9%) source. The decision on family planning publication was guided by the choice of the editor and the public health importance of the news. Most of the editors, reporters and correspondents were of the view that FP programme implementers should buy space in their newspapers to increase the opportunity for more featuring of their products and services. Natural and irreversible types of family were not adequately reported in the selected newspapers. Family planning programme implementers should collaborate with print journalists and advocate for more space for family planning issues with print media organizations for robust reporting.