Representation of the Niger Delta Oil Pollution Crisis in International and Nigerian Media: A Comparative Analysis

This study compares the representation of the Niger Delta oil pollution crisis in international media and Nigerian national media, examining how framing differences reflect different power relationships, journalistic traditions, and political economies. The Niger Delta's environmental devastation from decades of petroleum extraction is one of the world's most severe pollution crises, but its representation across different media systems varies significantly. This study employs comparative quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 400 news stories and features on Niger Delta oil pollution from four international outlets (BBC, Reuters, The Guardian UK, and Al Jazeera) and four Nigerian outlets (Vanguard, Punch, BusinessDay, and The Guardian Nigeria) from 2019 to 2023. Framing analysis assesses dominant frames (environmental crisis, economic development, community rights, corporate accountability, government failure), source diversity, geographic specificity, and narrative resolution strategies. Findings reveal that international outlets more frequently employ environmental justice and corporate accountability frames (54 percent of international coverage), while Nigerian outlets more frequently use economic development and government response frames (48 percent). Community voices are proportionately better represented in international coverage (28 versus 18 percent of sources) despite the subject communities being geographically proximate to Nigerian outlets. Nigerian business-focused outlets show the strongest alignment with industry-positive framing. The study contributes an original comparative framing analysis contributing to postcolonial media studies theory and recommends environmental journalism training in Nigerian newsrooms with specialisation tracks in extractive industry reporting.

Keywords: Niger Delta, oil pollution, comparative media, framing, environmental journalism.