Challenges of newspaper reportage of the Niger Delta conflict: reporter’s perspectives of the insurgency

Asian Journal of Media and Communication E-ISSN: 2579-6119, P-ISSN: 2579-6100 Volume 2, Number 2, October 2018 Challenges of newspaper reportage of the Niger Delta conflict: reporter’s perspectives of the insurgency Ofem, O.O. Department of Mass Communication Cross River University of Technology Calabar, Nigeria Abstract The paper assessed the viewpoints of reporters on the challenges of newspaper reportage of the Niger Delta conflict in Nigeria (2006-2007). The Guardian, The Vanguard and The Niger Delta Newspapers were purposively selected for the study due to both their national and local outlooks in the coverage and reportage of the conflict. In-depth interviews were conducted on two (2) correspondents each from the three (3) selected newspapers making a total of six (6), while four (4) respondents from each of the newspaper making 12 were selected for questionnaire administration. Results obtained identified ownership (41.7%) and media protective interest (33.3%) as the primary challenges faced by the media in the reportage of the Niger Delta conflict. The actions of the Ijaw Youths, militant activities (41.7%), killings (25%) and hostage taking (16.6%) considerably affected the nature of reportage during the heat days or periods of the conflict. Findings from the in-depth interviews showed that the geology (nature of terrain) of the conflict area, issue of trust from the militants and security forces exerted considerable influence on the selected newspapers failure to perform the required effective mediation and intervention role in the conflict. Keywords: Niger Delta conflict, newspapers reportage, reporters. 1. Introduction The media has contributed a great deal to the development of conflict because conflict remains attractive to the media (Owen-Ibe 2002). The role of the media in conflict has been to communicate conflict events to interested readers. Conflict parties to a large extent find the media a major source of the conflict awareness. The media also serves as a source of the conflict interaction to itself and to a larger audience of the public. The Niger Delta conflict which is the longest resource dispute in Nigeria has taken series of dimensions: from open agitation for resource control by Niger Delta activists to aggression resulting to confrontation between the activists with beneficiaries of the abundant resources of the region as well as those who tend to intervene negatively on the issues of resource control of the region. The main cause of the conflict in the Niger Delta region is crude oil. Crude oil was first discovered in Oloibiri, a small town of the region in 1958 by British Petroleum. In the Niger Delta conflict, the Ijaw Youth has become a necessary study, as a basic factor in the militarization and opposition of government and her institutions over oil exploration in the region. The media in its approach to the reportage of the conflict has impacted both positively and negatively on the Niger Delta conflict. As a medium of communication, the media has acted between and in-between disputants considering its interest in the reportage of conflict an unavoidable role which has made the media to be seen as: a mediator, intervener, facilitator and 5 Volume 2, Number 2, October 2018 conflict analyst. Bassey (2007) agreed that media impacts greatly on the Niger Delta conflict. Effective flow of media role in the communication of conflict requires ‘objectivity and truth as good qualities of journalism’ which Akinnawonu (2006) identified and according to him, “a wrong word or misconceived message is one of the most common causes of conflict escalation”. The inevitable role of communication and conflict requires the performance of a neutral third party who must act like an unbiased judge and mediator, for the effective performance of the society. The reliance on the media as a viable tool and instrument of concern for all strata of the society has been laid with series of complaint from both victims of media exploit and those that seem to applaud the existence of the media. Thus, the benefits of media existence are sometimes totally misplaced, leaving public views to the assumption that the media is basically set for itself. Parties to the Niger Delta conflict are in this regards not exempted from this negative view of the press position in conflict reportage by conflict parties. However, reasons for media interest in conflict are sometimes not investigated, thus leaving public’s assumptions of media interest as basically economic and not people oriented. On the other hand, the media seems to face series of challenges which it fails to tell the public, again the public requires relevant information on media position in conflict even if her position is privately motivated. This will at the end absolve the media from blame. However, the effective role of media in conflict has been limited by both arguments and challenges which have affected the coverage and reportage and subsequent impact on the nature of conflict. Media arguments on effective performance in the reportage of conflict is often hinged on series of challenges, some of which are created by the media itself, while others are either conflict party based or those motivated by ecological factors. The argument of Baum and Tim (2009) with other media practitioners in South Africa that media position in conflict is only to report and not to intervene; and the challenges based on linguistic choices of media houses which are meant to protect the media from blame or their economic interest are therefore media motivated challenges. Several studies like those of Ross (2009) reported some common setbacks on media effective role in conflict intervention and mediation. This study 6 therefore examined the challenges of newspaper reportage of the Niger Delta conflict using the perspective of the reporters. 2. Materials and methods The study purposively selected The Guardian, The Vanguard and The Niger Delta Newspaper for the study. These newspapers were selected due to their regional and nationality spread. They were also selected because they widely covered and reported the Niger Delta Conflict from 2006 to 2007. In-depth interview was conducted on two (2) reporters or correspondents each from the three (3) selected newspapers making a total of six (6) to enable the researcher gather data on the challenges encountered by the reporters in their intervention process to the conflict during the period under review. Also, 4 respondents from each of the newspaper were selected for questionnaire administration. In all, 12 respondents were given questionnaire. The instruments employed by this study were in-depth interviews and questionnaire. Indepth interview was personally carried out with the aid of a tape recorder and a notebook, while the questionnaire was administered to the respective respondents after the essence of the study was explained to them. The in-depth interview covered an assessment o (...truncated)