Framing Theory and the Representation of Ethnic Minorities in Nigerian National Newspapers

This study applies framing theory to examine the representation of ethnic minority communities in Nigerian national newspapers, contributing empirical evidence on media representations of minority groups in Africa's most ethnically diverse nation. Nigeria's over 250 ethnic groups are represented with highly variable frequency and framing quality in national newspapers, and systematic evidence on these patterns is limited. This study employs quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 1,200 news stories in The Punch, Vanguard, Daily Trust, and Guardian Nigeria from 2020 to 2023 that mention or feature ethnic minority communities from the South South, Middle Belt, and minority northern groups. A validated coding instrument assesses frame types (conflict, victimisation, culture, development, criminality), source diversity, narrative agency of minority community members, and geographic specificity. Reliability is established through double coding with Cohen's Kappa of 0.80. Findings reveal that conflict and victimisation frames dominate coverage of ethnic minority communities, accounting for 52 percent of analysed stories. Direct voice of minority community members appears in fewer than 18 percent of stories. Coverage is geographically clustered, with oil-producing minority communities receiving disproportionate coverage relative to other minorities. Ethnicity as a framing element is invoked more frequently in crime stories than in development or governance stories. Framing differences across newspapers reflect ownership and market location differences. The study contributes an original framing analysis framework for ethnic minority representation in Nigerian media and recommends diversity-sensitive journalism training using the findings as case material.

Keywords: framing theory, ethnic minorities, Nigerian newspapers, media representation, content analysis.