Coverage of Disability Issues in Nigerian Newspapers: An Assessment

This study assesses the extent, framing, and quality of coverage given to disability issues in selected Nigerian national newspapers, examining whether media coverage supports the social inclusion of persons with disability or reinforces stigma and marginalisation. Nigeria has an estimated 25 million persons with disability, yet their representation in mainstream media remains limited and often problematic. The Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities Act of 2018 created new legal grounds for inclusion, but media practice has not demonstrably changed in response. This study applies quantitative and qualitative content analysis to 420 stories mentioning disability or persons with disability in The Punch, Vanguard, and Daily Trust from 2021 to 2023. A coding instrument assesses story frequency, placement, topic focus, source diversity (including whether PWDs are quoted), frame type (inspirational, tragic, victimisation, rights, medical, social model), and language propriety. A survey of 50 journalists assesses training in disability-inclusive journalism. Findings reveal that disability-related stories account for 1.2 percent of total news content across sampled newspapers. Inspirational and tragic frames dominate, accounting for 64 percent of disability coverage. Persons with disability are quoted as primary sources in fewer than 22 percent of stories. Medical model framing is used significantly more than social model framing, reflecting inadequate understanding of disability rights discourse. Language propriety violations are found in 31 percent of stories. Journalists report very limited training in disability-inclusive journalism. The study concludes that Nigerian newspaper coverage of disability requires fundamental improvement and recommends disability-inclusive journalism training programmes and style guide development.

Keywords: disability, media coverage, newspaper framing, Nigeria, inclusion.