Advertising as a Major Tool Applied by the Government in Tackling Coronavirus a Case Study of Lagos State
CHAPTER ONE
Objectives of the study
The objectives of this study are:
- To assess the degree of visibility and sensitization of COVID-19 reportage by the newspapers
- To assess the prominence of the story format as it relates to COVID-19 reportage in Nigeria.
- To determine the number of stories reported by the six newspapers from the point of the first index case to the status attained by 31st May 2020.
- To assess generally the Nigerian media impact of reportage and coverage of COVID-19 on the citizenry.
- To evaluate the month-by-month COVID-19 reportage by the six national newspapers.
- To evaluate and assess the monthly trend of COVID-19 reportage by the six national newspapers.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
GLOBAL PANDEMIC OF NOVEL CORONA (COVID 19)
Tourism is a reason for most of the human mobility in the modern world. According to the World Tourism Organization (2020), the international tourism has indicated continues growth for the tenth consecutive year reporting 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals in 2019 and estimated 1.8 billion of international tourist arrivals by 2030 )people are forecasted to be (UN News, 2017). Reporting the COVID 19 or the Corona outbreak started from Hubei province, Wuhan City in China in November, 2019 and spread all over the world by March, 2020 has been remarkable in world history as the most challenging tragedy occurred in the world after decades may be the World War II. The major disruptions on the global economy from the transmission of this virus especially to the retail sector, food, consumer goods, healthcare delivery and a potential curtailing of travel and tourism as major drivers of the most of the countries in the world is in immeasurable and severe than expected by many. The situation should be strategically addressed with suitable proactive and reactive measures considering the current situation and to overcome future threats to ensure the socio economic wellbeing of all humans keeping space for increased travel and tourism.
However, the decisions on limiting the movements of people and commodity mainly affected to the industries like tourism, because, tourism include air transportation, sea transportation, food handling, accommodation sector, entertainment and recreation etc. Considering the impact of Covid 19 pandemic on Nigeria tourism, it can be noticed that Nigeria earns better reputation than the other countries in the world in controlling Covid 19 pandemic; arrangement of quarantine facilities and medical facilities even for foreigners while other developed countries announce nonresidents to leave the country, appliance of personal protective equipment in handling airline/sea line passengers at the respective ports, continuation of supply of basic human needs, extension of visas for foreigners securing them with available facilities etc. Hence, this situation would be favorable in flourishing Nigeria Tourism in the future even though it earns losses today.
Being a country with very less experiences on global health epidemics during the last few decades, Nigeria did not have a clear predetermined technical agenda for such a worse tragedy. However, with this limited experience, Nigeria reported to be the first country which has taken the mitigation and necessary controlling actions for COVID 19 after China. Even China has taken the action as the cases started to be reported from the country with deaths. Nigerian government started with quarantining and some specific health measures and preparedness at airport with thermal scanners before the first case found from the country. The first case of Corona infected patients (a Chinese tourist) reported from Nigeria on February, 18 of 2020 and after a short silence, the second patient was reported.
Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol for Novel Coronavirus Pneumonia
Etiological Characteristics
The novel coronaviruses belong to the β genus. They have envelopes, and the particles are round or oval, often polymorphic, with diameter being 60 to 140 nm. Their genetic characteristics are significantly different from SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. Current research shows that they share more than 85% homology with bat SARS-like coronaviruses (bat-SL-CoVZC45). When isolated and cultured in vitro, the 2019-nCoV can be found in human respiratory epithelial cells in about 96 hours, however it takes about 6 days for the virus to be found if isolated and cultured in Vero E6 and Huh-7 cell lines.
Most of the knowledge about the physical and chemical properties of coronavirus comes from the research on SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. The virus is sensitive to ultraviolet and heat. Exposure to 56°C for 30 minutes and lipid solvents such as ether, 75% ethanol, chlorine-containing disinfectant, peracetic acid, and chloroform can effectively inactivate the virus. Chlorhexidine has not been effective in inactivating the virus.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
In this chapter, we would describe how the study was carried out.
Research design
This study adopted a quantitative approach. Content analysis was used to analyze how Nigeria newspaper framed/depicted coronavirus. While questionnaire was employed to further determine how the frame patterns shape audience responses to the outbreak.
Content analysis
Content analysis is ‘‘a research technique for the objective, systematic, and quantitative description of the manifest content of communication.’’25 It is a ‘‘technique for making inferences by objectively and systematically identifying specified characteristics of messages.’’26 The use of content analysis enables us to evaluate the dominant news frames used in reporting COVID-19 in Nigeria. By being systematic, content analysis shows consistency and suppresses bias. This is to ensure replicability of the approach when another researcher applies this approach on the same subject matter.
Population of the study
A study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitute of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description (Prince Udoyen: 2019). In this study the study population constitute of The newspapers (The Sun, The Vanguard, The Guardian and The Punch) were selected because they feature high readership, and they are influential in setting the tone for reporting coronavirus pandemic in Nigeria. They are all Nigerian newspapers even though they also featured COVID-19 news about China prominently. By having high circulation rate, these newspapers are highly likely to include broader coverage of the pandemic. Moreover, the newspapers present views from both popular and elite Nigerian publics and they offer a fairly relative representation of different political, geographical and ethnic divides in the country.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION/ANALYSIS
For the analysis of data collected using coding sheet, a total of 1070 media messages on coronavirus outbreak were identified across the selected national newspapers and analyzed using SPSS version 20. The newspapers mostly reported the outbreak as news story which has 763 (71.3%) reports, followed by opinions 169 (15.8%), features 120 (11.2%) and editorials 18 (1.7%) having the least reports.
Table 1 above was used to determine the differences in how the selected newspapers reported the novel coronavirus outbreak in China and Nigeria as well as other affected countries. Result from this table reveals that the newspapers reported the outbreak frequently within the study period, with a total of 1070 reports. However, Punch 309 (28.9%) reported the outbreak more frequently than The Sun 266 (24.9%), The Guardian 258 (24.1%) and Vanguard 237 (22.1%). Result from Table 1 also indicates the geographical location of coronavirus stories as found in the selected newspapers. The newspapers played their proximity role by frequently reporting the outbreak in Nigeria 489 (45.7%) more than that of the global 325 (30.4%) and China 256 (23.9%) which has the least report, though the outbreak started there before it rapidly spread to other countries and Nigeria.
CHAPTER FIVE
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSIONS
Discussion of findings
The main aim of this study is to examine advertising as a major tool applied by the government in tackling coronavirus a case study of Lagos state with a view to ascertaining how the framing influenced audience perception and response. The frequency and focus of reports were first used to determine how the Nigerian newspapers reported the distant coronavirus outbreak in China and that of Nigeria as well as other affected countries. Findings from the study reveal that the newspapers reported the outbreak in Nigeria (45.7%) more frequently than the similar outbreak in other countries (30.4%) and China (23.9%) where the outbreak started. This suggests that Nigerian newspapers played their social responsibility and proximity roles in this health crisis by frequently reporting the events surrounding the outbreak in their immediate environment than the distant outbreak in China and other countries of the world, thus, recognizing the nearness, importance and relevance of such events to their target audience (Nigerians).
The researchers also identified, in the course of their coding, the patterns of frames adopted by the newspapers in reporting the outbreak. Ten frames of reports regarding the events surrounding the coronavirus outbreak were identified across the selected newspapers. They include: awareness, containment, fatality, conspiracy, political influence, effect, mobilization, support/aid, misinformation and stigmatization/boycott frames. Findings reveal that the newspapers predominantly adopted containment frame. The dominance of containment frame highly depicts media role in containing infectious disease outbreak through the persistent coverage, monitoring and reportage of efforts made by relevant agencies towards preventing or containing the spread of the virus, thus, corroborating the earlier observation of other scholars16 that mass media cannot cure disease but can help to educate the masses on the precautionary measures. The second dominant frame adopted by the newspapers was fatality frame. The dominance of this frame in the reports is, undoubtedly, the result of increased fear and tension arising from the reports of persistent rise in the number of confirmed cases and death toll of coronavirus disease, and the consequences it generated from members of the public – for instance, one of the suspected cases in Nigeria was said to have committed suicide possibly because of the fear of being killed sooner than later by the “deadly” or “killer” virus, which has killed thousands of people worldwide as learnt from the media reports. The Punch’s and Vanguard’s adoption of effect frame more than other two newspapers suggests their high recognition and portrayal of the effects of the outbreak not just on national, regional or global economy, but also on the health, social, political, cultural and all aspects of human development. The implication of this effect frame is that it adds to the fear, panic and tension already generated by the newspapers through fatality frame. Indeed, research has found that ‘‘widely accessed communication channels can help disseminate useful information, reduce unwarranted fear, and facilitate decision making to reduce exposure and susceptibility’’.27 We align our finding with this and further argue even though the reportage has been high across the media, it accentuated public fear. Nonetheless, the fear can be indirectly help in preventing the spread of the pandemic.
Interestingly, The Sun adopted awareness and mobilization frames more than other three newspapers, as it did not only alert the public of the novel coronavirus disease outbreak, but also stressed the symptoms, mode of transmission and encouraged people to take precautionary or proactive measures more often than other newspapers that created awareness with relatively low mobilization. The Sun also adopted political influence frame more than other newspapers.
The high adoption of this frame by the newspaper suggests its emphasis on government’s activeness – both at the national and international levels – towards containing the coronavirus outbreak. However, The Guardian adopted misinformation frame more than other newspapers. This is so given that it vividly debunked misinformation, lies, rumors, myths, etc. regarding the spread, treatment or effect of the pandemic which flooded the social media during the study period. This is a core responsibility of the mainstream media which the newspaper has portrayed through its reports, though not generally enough as compared with the increasingly high level of misinformation/ fake news about coronavirus. The adoption of support/aid frame by the newspapers is also significant as it helped to publicize or appreciate financial and material aids donated by concerned, benevolent, patriotic individuals or corporate bodies towards containing the virus. Other least adopted frames include: stigmatization/boycott frame and conspiracy frame which focused on reports of stigmatization/discrimination of coronavirus victims or relations, or boycott (such as travel restrictions) of affected communities, states or countries, and other activities that disrupted the containment efforts or took advantage of the outbreak for certain benefits respectively.
Then to ascertain how the audience perceived and responded to the framed reports on the outbreak, they were asked to rate the themes (frames) they considered most dominant in the reports. Findings from the study show that majority of the respondents (audience) rated containment and fatality frames as the most frequent or dominant themes in the newspapers. This rating depicts a significant relationship between what the media (newspapers) reported or framed and what the audience perceived from the framed reports, which, no doubt, influenced their behaviors towards containing the spread of already perceived fear-inducing, deadly virus. This finding agrees with that of Adelakun19 who found a significant relationship between the preponderant frame (containment frame) and audience rating of such frame in his study of Nigerian newspapers framing of 2014 Ebola Outbreak, though, unlike this present study, his study found totally insignificant relationship among audience rating of other remaining frames identified in the study.
Also, to determine audience response in this study, the respondents were asked whether the newspapers reports influenced their action and attitude towards the disease as regards taking precautionary measures. Majority of them responded positively while only few maintained a negative response, depicting that the media reports on the outbreak actually influenced audience perception and response to a greater extent. This finding adds to the scholarship of media framing and further affirms how framing influences audience perception and response.
Therefore, in connection with its main aim which was to examine how the Nigerian newspapers framed the novel coronavirus outbreak and the influence of these frames on the audience response, this study has spurred further debate in this area of research. It established that the media portrayal of the pandemic improved the awareness creation on the precautionary measures for containing the spread of the virus. Although fear cannot be ruled out in the reportage of this pandemic, it indirectly aided peoples’ response to the virus, making them to take necessary measures to manage the new realities.
Limitations
The reliance on content analysis and questionnaire (quantitative approach) limit our understanding of the reportage of the pandemic. Employing a mixed methods approach, involving qualitative (for instance, the use of in-depth interview or focus group discussion) and quantitative (content analysis and questionnaire) would have broadened our understanding of audience reaction to the framing of the pandemic. The reason is that in-depth interview offers participants more holistic opportunity to discuss the situation in greater details, and interviewers can ask follow-up questions that the closed nature of questionnaire cannot allow. Although the study is useful in the context it was set, the extent to which it can be generalized outside this setting is not known. Nonetheless, it has expanded scholarship of media framing in an area that only a few empirical literature exists.
Recommendation for policy making
This study has opened a new conversation for both researchers and policymakers. For policymakers and media establishments, the findings markedly differ from existing studies that tend to blame the media for creating panic in the public through sensational reportage. As our study demonstrates, rather than create fear more frequently, Nigeria newspapers adopted a pattern of coverage that helped Nigerians to take precautionary measures against the pandemic. Media organisations can sustain this tempo in covering further health crises and other related issues to keep the public duly informed. Another practical implication of this finding is that healthcare systems benefit from a responsible media coverage of the pandemic because it means that when more persons take precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the virus, cases cannot overwhelm healthcare professionals as it was the case in the US, UK, Spain and Italy where the number of coronavirus patients overwhelmed the available healthcare facilities and professionals. In a setting like Nigeria where the available healthcare facilities only prioritise the wellbeing of the elite class, taking the mediatised precautionary measures really helped to manage the onset of the pandemic in the country.
This study further recommends that:
- The Nigerian newspapers should tilt more of their reports on the outbreak towards positive direction of allaying fear/tension rather than heightening it while trying to contain the spread of the virus; this can be achieved by reporting more of news analysis/features, opinions and editorials on the outbreak.
- The newspapers should go beyond merely creating awareness to mobilizing the people to be more proactive in containing the spread of the virus.
Conclusion
Based on the above findings, this study concludes that Nigerian newspapers performed their social responsibility role effectively by frequently reporting events surrounding the outbreak, especially containment efforts and awareness creation on the outbreak. The newspapers also recognized the place of proximity in news selection by reporting more frequently the outbreak in Nigeria than that of distant outbreak of similar disease in foreign countries.
However, the newspapers generated high tension, fears and panic on the Nigerian public through frequent adoption of fatality frame in their reports. This situation, if left to continue, could even cause more deaths than the virus itself, thereby worsening the negative impacts of the pandemic on the audience. Indeed, a study by Basch et al27 found that wide access to communication channels can help disseminate relevant information, reduce unnecessary fear, and facilitate decision making to reduce exposure and susceptibility. Although the reportage has been high across the media, fatality was foregrounded thereby accentuating public fear. Nonetheless, fear can indirectly help to instill fear in the people thereby preventing the spread of the pandemic.
References
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- Anaeto, S. G., Onabajo, O. S. & Osifeso, J. B. (2008). Models and Theories of Communications, In: African Renaissance Books, Incorporated 13918 Heatberstone Drivy, (pp. 20720) Bowie, Maryland, USA.
- APA (2020). COVID-19 coverage: survey reveals poor attention to safety of Nigerian journalists. www.apanews.net. [Accessed 20 May 2020].
- Borah, P. (2015). Media Effects Theory. The International Encyclopedia of Political Communications 10.1002/9781118541555.wbiepc156
- Collinson, S., Khan, K. & Heffernan, J. M. (2015). The Effects of Media Reports on Disease Spread and Important Public Health Measurements. PLoS ONE 10(11), e0141423.
- Ebenso, B. & Out, A. (2020). Can Nigeria contain the Covid-19 outbreak using lessons learnt from recent epidemics? The Lancet https://doi.org/10.1016/ S2214-109X(20)30101-7
- Economictimes (2020). COVID pandemic ‘far from over’ not the time to take foot off the pedal: WHO.
- Economictimes www.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news. [Accessed 10 June 2020].
