Peer-reviewed article
Gender Issues in Nigerian Newspapers Coverage of Maternal and Child Healthcare Issues
Raheemat Adeniran ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5This study analyzes how Nigerian newspapers cover maternal and child healthcare topics, focusing on the gender of journalists and sources quoted. It found that men dominate both the reporting and the voices cited in these stories, despite the topic being closely tied to women's experiences. The researchers attribute this imbalance more to general journalistic practices than to deliberate gender bias. The study is based on content analysis of newspaper articles and interviews with journalists over one year.
Key points
- Nigeria has among the highest rates of maternal and child mortality globally
- Male journalists and male sources dominated coverage of maternal and child healthcare issues
- Gender had minimal influence on the overall framing of the coverage
- The imbalance is attributed to journalistic norms rather than deliberate gender bias
- Male and female health journalists showed few differences in their views on MCH coverage
Limitations
The study focuses on media representation and journalism practices rather than on health outcomes or interventions for children, so it does not provide direct evidence about child well-being.
Abstract
This study examines emergent gender issues in the analysis of newspaper coverage of maternal and child healthcare (MCH) in Nigeria over a one-year period. MCH is a major challenge in Nigeria as the country is among the highest contributors to maternal and child mortalities globally. Even though this pattern has wider implication to society at large, it may be regarded as being more relevant to women. Premised on gender bias and journalistic norms hypotheses, the study combines content analysis and in-depth interviews (IDI) to determine the dominant gender leading in the newspaper coverage of such a womencentred issue, and underlying reasons for the dominance. The study thus examines the dominant gender of journalists, and other voices projected in the newspaper reports on the issues. It also compares views of male and female health journalists for possible differences of opinion regarding media coverage of MCH. The study finds male dominance amongst journalists and voices quoted in the coverage of MCH issues and related stories, though there was minimal influence of gender in the overall coverage of issues. The study thus deviates from the media gender studies attributing underrepresentation of women in the media to gender bias; noting that gender imbalance is often rooted in journalistic norms pervading media operations.