Representation of Women in the Nigerian Press during Covid-19 Third Wave

Abstract

Women have been said to be less engaged and marginalised in the media representation across the world than their male counterparts. This research assessed the coverage and representation of women in news stories about Covid-19 Third Wave in three national dailies in Nigeria – The Punch, Leadership, and The Nation. Using content analysis research method, the three newspapers were analysed from August 1 to 31, 2021. The census sample technique was used to arrive at the sample size of 93 issues (n=93) of the three selected newspapers. Results showed that women were underrepresented as there were few female reporters as well as lesser female expert sources in Covid-19 third wave news stories.Government officials/agencies ranked higher as sources for news contents and their representatives were dominantly men with few women. The Punch newspaper was far more active than the other newspapers in reporting the Covid-19 third wave, while poor representation of women’s perspectives in Covid-19 third wave news coverage means that women have limited influence over the framing of the crisis in the news and consequently, limited influence over policymaking directions.There is need to break this male dominance by giving women more voice.

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