Examining the Representation of the North East Conflict in International Media Coverage

International media coverage of the Boko Haram insurgency and its humanitarian consequences in North East Nigeria has shaped global perceptions of the region and influenced humanitarian funding and diplomatic attention in ways that merit critical analytical examination. This study examined how the North East Nigeria conflict has been represented in selected international media coverage over a five-year period from 2019 to 2023. A comparative framing analysis was conducted on 360 news articles and video reports from CNN International, BBC World Service, Al Jazeera English, and the Guardian UK, supplemented by analysis of 80 reports from Nigerian international media outlets including Premium Times and HumAngle. Content was coded for framing type, humanitarian emphasis, actor representation, conflict causation framing, and Nigerian agency in conflict narrative. Results showed that episodic crisis framing dominated international coverage at 68.6 percent of items, with contextual historical and political analysis underrepresented. Civilian voices appeared in 31.4 percent of international items compared to 52.3 percent in Nigerian outlets. Al Jazeera demonstrated the highest frequency of contextual governance framing, while CNN showed the highest episodic humanitarian crisis framing. Government agency in conflict resolution was underrepresented relative to military and humanitarian actor frames in all four international outlets. The study provides analytical evidence on the representational imbalances in international conflict coverage of Nigeria and recommends that Nigerian media professionals invest in global English-language platform presence to moderate framing from within.

Keywords: conflict reporting, international media, North East Nigeria, media framing, Boko Haram coverage