PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF CHINESE RAILWAYS DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The relations between more economically and technologically advanced nations like China and developing countries like Nigeria have been a subject of intense discussion and debate, especially as it relates to the implications of these bilateral ties for the developing nation’s autonomy and growth. The media play a vital role in informing the people on these issues, hence shaping their perception of same. Against this backdrop, this study focused on audience perception of newspaper coverage of Chinese railways development projects in Nigeria. The study was situated within the framework of the Agenda Setting theory. Quantitative content analysis and survey research methods were adopted. A sample of 314 editions of The Guardian and This Day newspapers were selected from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021, while 395 newspaper readers were selected from newsstands in Lagos and Abuja using the multi-stage approach. A coding sheet was designed for collection of the content analysis data, while a structured question was used as the survey data collection tool. Data analysis was done quantitatively, using simple percentages and mean scores. Findings showed that the selected Nigerian newspapers gave frequent and prominent coverage to the Chinese railway development projects, and that they reported the rail projects mostly as straight news while also publishing a few features, pictorials, and comments/opinions on them. Data equally indicated that the papers were largely neutral in the slant they gave to their reports on the Chinese railway development projects, even though a significant proportion of these reports were positive towards the projects. Furthermore, the study found that there was high audience exposure to newspaper reports of the railway development projects in the selected Nigerian newspapers, and that the public perception of the coverage was largely positive in terms of the regularity, comprehensiveness, clarity, relevance, accuracy and objectivity of the reports published.  The study concluded that notwithstanding the emerging online-based alternatives sources of news which are seriously challenging the hegemony of traditional media, newspapers remain an influential source of news from where members of the public obtain information on issues of public interest such as the Chinese railway development projects in Nigeria. Among others, it was recommended that the press to adopt a more critical approach to its coverage of the Chinese railway development projects in Nigeria, and indeed other aspects of Nigeria-China relations in order to help expose possible exploitative and corrupt dimensions of such bilateral dealings, hence bringing such issues to the table of public discourse as well as directing the attention of the both parties to them.