Blogging, civic engagement, and coverage of political conflict in Nigeria: A study of nairaland.com

Abstract

     This study was undertaken to analyze and ascertain several aspects of the coverage of issues of political conflict covered by the weblog, Nairaland, as well as gauge the level of civic engagement on the part of Nairaland users. The method used by the researchers was content analysis and four research questions were raised and answered to ascertain certain aspects of the coverage of issues of political conflict as well as the level of participation of the audience which consisted of Nairaland users. The results found that issues of political conflict were prominently placed, usually on the front page of Nairaland. It was also observed that the subject matter with the highest amount of coverage, as well as participation, was the conduct, comportment, and activities of elected political officials in Nigeria. Furthermore, the level of civic engagement was affected by the prominence given by the moderators of the Nairaland blog site to the stories that were published and this was measured by examining the number of views in relation to the prominence of the stories published. The study recommends that prominence be given to other aspects of Nigerian society as opposed to focusing inordinately on political officials. The study also suggests that inasmuch as misdemeanors, misappropriations, and questionable activities must be addressed by the media, it is equally important to acknowledge and commend the activities and events that are undertaken or embarked on to engender social change and development in Nigerian society.