Coverage of Anambra State Governorship Elections by Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS): An Assessment of Fairness and Balance

State broadcast media in Nigeria have historically occupied contested positions as both public information services and partisan instruments of incumbent governments during electoral cycles, raising persistent questions about journalistic impartiality in state election coverage. This study assessed the fairness and balance of Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS) coverage of the 2021 and 2023 Anambra State governorship elections. The study was anchored on the Normative Theory of the Press, specifically the Social Responsibility Theory, which holds that media institutions have an obligation to provide fair, accurate, and pluralistic coverage of political events to serve democratic processes. A content analysis design was adopted, with a population comprising all election-related broadcast content on ABS television news from three months prior to each election. A systematic sample of 420 broadcast items was coded for party and candidate prominence, tone, airtime allocation, source diversity, and endorsement language. Findings revealed consistent disproportionate coverage favouring the incumbent party and its candidate, with opposition parties receiving significantly reduced airtime and predominantly negative framing across both election cycles. Civil society monitoring voices and independent electoral commentators were largely absent from ABS coverage. Balance scores fell significantly below the minimum threshold recommended by National Broadcasting Commission guidelines. The study concluded that ABS failed to fulfil its public service broadcasting mandate during the assessed elections, undermining electoral information equity. It was recommended that the National Broadcasting Commission enforce electoral coverage fairness guidelines with verifiable sanctions and that ABS adopt a transparent electoral coverage policy developed in consultation with independent stakeholders.
Keywords: election coverage, ABS, fairness, state broadcasting, Anambra elections