University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE COVERAGE OF GHANA AND NIGERIA IN THE PUNCH AND DAILY GRAPHIC NEWSPAPERS BY DEBORAH SENA ABABIO (10877436) THIS DISSERTATION IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF MA COMMUNICATION STUDIES DEGREE. SEPTEMBER, 2022 i University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ABSTRACT Researchers have been examining the importance and scope of international communication since communication technologies permitted messages to cross national borders. This style of forming minds to appreciate issues positively or negatively has been known as framing in media circles. "The Hopeless Continent," represented what many view to be a disproportionate amount of negative coverage of Africa (Ikon, 2016). Literature is therefore limited on the framing of Ghana by Nigeria and vice versa generally as well as on issues of diplomacy, child abuse and immigration in the print media. Thus, the extent to which the print media in both countries frame these topics as it relates to both countries is the focus of this study. Using content analysis, the study’s objectives was to examine how Nigerian and Ghanaian media cover issues of child abuse, how diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Ghana are framed by the media of both countries and find out how the Ghanaian and Nigerian media frame issues of immigration. Findings from the study revealed that news reports in both countries were framed negatively making each country look bad in the eyes of each other’s citizens, which confirms the negative stereotypes found by Serwornoo (2021) in his study on the negative representation of Africa in the Western media. This study therefore recommends among other things, that future studies should aim at investigating the coverage of both nations through other forms of media by generating data from various sources such as radio, television and the internet to widen the scope of findings. iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh DEDICATION This work is dedicated to the Almighty God and to my lovely parents, friends and all who encouraged me and supported me in one way or the other. iv University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This journey wouldn't have been possible without the efforts of some key personalities in my life. First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Dr. Sarah Akrofi-Quarcoo who showed me the pathway to being a scholar. Your consistent guidance, corrections, tolerance and encouragement have been the fundamental building block for this thesis. Many thanks to Dr. Emeka. Your input to this study made it, among other things, more interesting, richer, and far more worthy. It's great having you around. I am finally grateful to Mr. Akomprah for your patience and thoughtful insights. v University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENT DECLARATION ........................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .............................................................................................................. v TABLE OF CONTENT ................................................................................................................... i LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... iii CHAPTER ONE ............................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background of Study ........................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem Statement ............................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Research Objectives ............................................................................................................. 7 1.4 Research Questions .............................................................................................................. 8 1.5 Significance of the study ...................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Scope of the study ................................................................................................................ 8 CHAPTER TWO .......................................................................................................................... 10 LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................ 10 2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 10 2.2 Review of Related Literature. ................................................................................................. 10 2.3 Theoretical Framework ...................................................................................................... 16 2.3.1 Framing theory ........................................................................................................... 16 2.3.2 Framing as a process ........................................................................................................ 19 2.4 Agenda Setting ................................................................................................................... 20 2.4.1 How agenda setting is used in this study .................................................................... 22 CHAPTER THREE ...................................................................................................................... 24 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 24 3.1 Research Design................................................................................................................. 24 3.1.1 Qualitative Paradigm .................................................................................................. 24 3.1.2 Strengths of Qualitative Paradigm .............................................................................. 25 3.2 Population .......................................................................................................................... 25 3.3 Sampling/Sample size ........................................................................................................ 26 3.4 Data Collection Technique ................................................................................................ 26 i University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 3.5 Data Analysis ..................................................................................................................... 27 3.5.1 Content Analysis......................................................................................................... 27 CHAPTER FOUR ......................................................................................................................... 29 PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ............................................................. 29 4.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 29 4.2 Frequency of Coverage ...................................................................................................... 29 4.3 Tone of Coverage ............................................................................................................... 30 4.4 Type of Article ................................................................................................................... 32 4.5 Photograph ......................................................................................................................... 33 4.6 Themes/Frames .................................................................................................................. 34 4.8 DISCUSSION .................................................................................................................... 43 CHAPTER FIVE .......................................................................................................................... 51 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................................... 51 5.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 51 5.2 Summary of findings.......................................................................................................... 51 5.3 Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 52 5.4 Limitations ......................................................................................................................... 54 5.5 Recommendation ............................................................................................................... 55 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 56 ii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh LIST OF TABLES TABLE 4.1: Newspaper Coverage …………………………………………………………… 26 iii University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background of Study Since communication technology allowed messages to traverse national borders, researchers have been studying the importance and extent of international communication. The use of mass media to communicate has brought the world closer together in a more dramatic way. Despite the media's unquestionable importance in connecting the world's nations and creating international diplomacy, there is widespread worry that media companies are frequently poorly controlled by their owners (countries) in order to harm other countries' interests (Ngonso & Uchenunu, 2020). The media is an important source of information for the general public on a wide range of topics, particularly sensitive and contentious issues. Furthermore, the media can be used to portray societal views and perspectives. It has the power to shape people's ideas of societal standards by reinforcing or questioning prejudices about a group based on how that group is depicted in the media. In the media, this method of moulding minds to view issues positively or adversely is known as framing. According to framing theory, the media can impact how people see specific subjects and events by not simply generating debate about them (Ardèvol-Abreu, 2015; Cacciatore, Scheufele, & Iyengar, 2016). The goal of framing theory is to figure out how current events are presented in the media and how they influence public perception. Africa has been portrayed in a negative light. Intellectuals, African journalists, and politicians have regularly attacked Western news media coverage of Africa for both amount and quality, claiming that it is either too little or too much. Conflict, sickness, and calamity are constantly emphasized. The Economist's cover in 2000, titled "The Hopeless Continent," represented what many view to be a disproportionate amount of negative coverage of Africa (Ikon, 2016). International communication academics 1 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh have long been intrigued by how the western media portrays African topics. There is a wealth of information available about how the Western press covers Africa. According to Uchenunu and Ngonso (2020, p. 65), "it has been seen that the Western media have not changed their stances in the unfavorable reporting of emerging countries. Rather, they have increased their efforts to correct the news flow imbalance." Many people have recommended that African media compete with Western media as a result of this situation. Whiles many early studies encapsulated in the study bred on the negative framing of Africans by the western media, there have been many profound changes in the media representation of Africa. Scholars such as (Nothias 2014: Ojo 2014) observed that, in recent years, the mainstream international media tended to portray a more positive tone when it came to the coverage of Africa. Other emerging literature on Afro-pessimism also indicated a change in trajectory towards improvements in Africa media coverage in the Western press (Bruce, Franks and Paterson 2017). In the instance of media framing, both Ghana and Nigeria, the study's two target countries, have developed a pattern of opinion about each other based mostly on media sources. It will be interesting to learn how each of them views the other, given their long relationship history. In 1957 and 1960, respectively, the two countries gained independence from British colonial rule. Since the 1960s, both countries have been engaged in some type of socioeconomic competition or chilly rivalry, and both have a history of mass repatriation of migrants. The media heralded the recent cold disagreement between the leaders of both countries, which resulted in the Nigerian government closing the border for over a year and the Ghanaian government picking on Nigerian immigrants in Ghana, even going so far as to demolish the Nigerian High Commission office. The crux of this discourse is how these and other related problems, such as diplomacy, immigration, and child abuse, were covered in both countries' media, and how the public saw the framing on diplomatic ties between the twin Commonwealth countries. Nigerians are perceived by Ghanaians to be excessively loud, aggressive, and disorderly, with 2 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the belief that they can outsmart everyone, including Ghanaians. Nigerians say Ghanaians are stupid, overly servile, and always punching above our weight class. As a result, nothing bothers them more than Ghana winning a competition. Ghana and Nigeria have had a rivalry for as long as both countries have existed. The mass expulsions that have marked both countries' histories are an exemplary feature that both countries share. The Progress Party government, led by Prof. K A. Busia, issued the Aliens Compliance Order in November 1969, requiring all undocumented aliens to leave Ghana. Nigerians appeared to be the target of the exercise, and their return journeys were not pleasant (Ohene, 2020). In response, the Nigerian government announced the expulsion of all undocumented aliens in 1983, according to Ohene (2020). The majority of the foreigners were Ghanaians, thus it appeared that this was geared against them. The Nigerians, of course, would never admit it, but it felt as if the Ghanaian Aliens Compliance Order of 1969 had finally been removed. One of the human security issues that humanity faces around the world is crime. Nations have struggled to stem the tide of homicide, armed robbery, and kidnapping, as well as drug trafficking, sex trafficking, illegal gun trafficking, and a slew of other crimes. In 2011, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that 468,000 homicides occurred worldwide, with more than a third (36%) occurring in Africa, 31 percent in the Americas, 27 percent in Asia, 5% in Europe, and 1% in the tropical Pacific region. Economic instability, food insecurity, inflation, and a weak or limited rule of law are all variables that contribute to crime, according to the research. The causes of crime, however, are not limited to the aforementioned categories. More than 25% of homicides in the Americas are linked to "organized crime and criminal gang activity," although this is only true for about 5% of homicides in Asian and European countries for which data is available. Crime is a social phenomenon that affects every element of human life. As a result of her low social security level and illicit social activities, Nigeria has been labeled as one of the world's most crime- 3 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh prone countries. According to the definition of crime, it is an "Internal violation of the criminal law and committed without defense or excuse and penalty by state felony or misdemeanor through judicial proceeding" (Toppan, 2004). From a legal standpoint, Toppan defines crime as a branch of one or more principles of law for which a controlling body or force may eventually prescribe punishment. The rate of crime in Nigeria and Ghana are clearly increasing. Many criminal activities emerging from the city are mentioned in various media including the daily newspapers, television report, or radio report. This is owing to the focus on urbanization and development of cities and towns at the expense of rural areas, resulting in rural-urban migration (Dambazau, 2007). As a result, economic devaluation, poverty, unemployment, and the possibility for crime, as well as crime itself, grow. Newspapers, like other forms of media, are primarily disseminators of information, which might take the form of formal opinions, editorials, feature reports, and so on. When it comes to child rights, Ghana and Nigeria have similar stories to tell. Nigeria enacted the Child Rights Act in 2003 after much debate. Ghana, on the other hand, has seen a significant improvement in the legal protection provided to children during the last decade. The fundamental liberties of women and children are enshrined in Ghana's 4th Republic's 1992 Constitution. The Constitution mandates that laws be implemented in the best interests of children (Article 28). In 1998, Parliament passed the Children's Act, which established children's rights and protections. Despite these efforts, the promises stated in the Child Rights Convention have yet to be realized for hundreds of millions of children around the world. Newspapers are one of the most essential public discourse agenda-setters. In Nigeria, a number of newspaper headlines are grouped around local languages and printed in English. The 'Urhobo Voice,' afterwards renamed the 'Urhobo Times,' for example, is published in English and is intended to be the Urhobo ethnic group's newspaper (Fosu & Akpojivi, 2015). In Ghana, 4 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, and The Chronicle are among the most widely circulated newspapers, whilst in Nigeria, the Punch, The Guardian, and Vanguard are among the most widely circulated. Newspapers are regularly used in West Africa to set the tone for public debate on political and social issues. The publications are analyzed and discussed on the electronic media every day and at various times, but most often in the mornings. The purpose of this research is to see how African media covers African topics. This is a topic that academics are interested in. The purpose of this research is to see if Africa's coverage of itself is similar to or different from the negative stereotypes projected by Western media, with Ghana and Nigeria as the study's focal countries. 1.2 Problem Statement Many events have happened in Ghana and Nigeria over the last decade. But especially from 2018 to 2020, significant events have shaped the relationship between both countries and public opinion is largely fueled by the media. The framing of these issues and how the media has set the agenda on these happenings is a contributory factor to the way citizens of both countries view each other. There have been some issues, including that of child rights, which have occurred without a record of how the media has covered these concerns. Although both countries have a rough history concerning mass deportations, even today, Nigeria has witnessed several deportations of its citizens from Ghana from 2018 to 2020, which is a worrying trend for the diplomatic relations of both countries. With regards to child rights, Nigerian and Ghanaian children, like those in many other countries, are still in perilous situations. Many are compelled to work as children, are denied access to education and health care, and are victims of human trafficking, as well as economic, physical, and sexual exploitation. Even though children's conditions in both nations are generally poor, Ghana appears to be doing better than Nigeria. According to evidence from 5 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh several research (Oyero, 2009), the media reinforces prejudice and stereotypes against children. In the English-speaking world, there is textual abuse of children in the terminology used by journalists and authors to depict youngsters. Language usage patterns contribute to the rejection of children's rights. The purpose of this study is to see how true this is in Nigerian and Ghanaian newspapers. Many social psychologists, sociologists, social workers, and communication academics believe that media depictions of violence are a causative risk factor for hostility and violent crimes in society. This viewpoint is largely supported by Bandura's Social Learning Theory, as cited in Ugiagbe (2009), which states that people acquire specific behaviors by replicating what they observe others do. 'Modeling' is the term for this. The media's portrayal of violent crimes encourages onlookers, particularly youths, to use advanced technology aggressively. Many young people's perceptions, attitudes, emotions, and behavior have been influenced by the media. It is important to emphasize that juveniles are more subject to external influence because of their bio-physical characteristics, which cause them to crave autonomy and independence from parental dominance. They are readily influenced by cult personalities, artists, actors and actresses from the movies, and as a result, they become troublemakers, rebels, and clash with authority figures at home, school, and in the community (Iwarimie-Jaja, 2010). In many parts of the world, including Nigeria, this has resulted to an increase in violent crimes such as murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, and terrorism. This poor social behavior resulting from the media's detrimental influence on youngsters has continued to jeopardize Nigeria's socioeconomic, political, and psychological well-being. Over the years, Nigerian and Ghanaian newspapers have reported on crimes. Despite the fact that the Punch and Daily Graphic newspapers report on crimes, they continue to rise. As a result, the study will look at how the Punch and Daily Graphic newspapers frame crimes in Nigeria and Ghana. In today's culture, 6 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the mass media serves as a conduit for information and education. The purpose of this study was to see how the two newspapers chosen are performing the press's societal functions. Diplomatic relations between Ghana and Nigeria have been soured recently. The Nigerian Embassy in Ghana was attacked in June 2020, and Nigerian traders were requested to leave the country. Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo appears to be retaliating against Muhammadu Buhari and Nigeria. Studies by Ngonso & Uchenunu (2020) revealed that Nigerian media, particularly the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), skewed the framing of the Nigeria- Ghana feud of 2020 in Nigeria's favour; the framing clearly had a negative impact on economic ties between the two Commonwealth nation. Due to the media's perceived significant impact in setting agendas and the denial of the principles that drive media conduct around the world, media framing of topics is progressively dominating media debate. What the media reports on affects the public's opinions and discussions on a given issue. Several studies (Kosho, 2016; Young et al., 2008) have been done to determine the role of the media in deciding and/or shaping the public's attitudes or opinions on specific problems. As a result, the media is claimed to determine which issues are discussed and deemed most essential by the general public. Literature is therefore limited on the framing of Ghana by Nigeria and vice versa generally as well as on issues of diplomacy, child abuse and immigration in the print media. Thus, the extent to which the print media in both countries frame these topics as it relates to both countries is the focus of this study. 1.3 Research Objectives • To examine how Nigerian and Ghanaian media cover issues of child rights. • To examine how diplomatic relations between Nigeria and Ghana are framed by the media of both countries. • To find out how the Ghanaian and Nigerian media frame issues of immigration. 7 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh • To find out the framing of crime in the Nigerian and Ghanaian media. 1.4 Research Questions • How does Nigeria and Ghana cover issues of Child rights? • How does Nigerian and Ghanaian media frame issues of diplomacy in their respective media? • How does Nigerian and Ghanaian media frame issues of immigration? • How does the Nigeria and Ghana frame issues of crime in their respective media? 1.5 Significance of the study Despite Ghana and Nigeria sharing a lot of similarities, there is little or no research on how media in both countries represent each other in terms of immigration, diplomacy and child rights issues therefore this research seeks to fill this gap and add to literature. This study is relevant because it will add to literature to help institutions, bodies and individuals in immigration, diplomacy and children rights to understand how such issues are covered in both countries. 1.6 Scope of the study The scope of this study was limited to newspapers published in Nigeria and Ghana. This research was carried out using one newspaper each from Nigeria and Ghana. The Punch and Daily Graphic, two leading newspapers from Nigeria and Ghana respectively were chosen for the study. Because Nigeria, often known as the Africa giant, has the continent's greatest population and economy, and Ghana is one of the most prominent countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, they were chosen as study regions. With a circulation of 80,000 copies, The Punch was chosen as one of Nigeria's most widely distributed and read newspapers (Nwabueze & Egbra 2016). The Punch newspaper has a large readership and a strong online presence. In a 2010 survey performed across Nigeria by the Advertisers Association of Nigeria (ADVAN), The 8 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Punch was rated the best-selling national daily (Abdulkahreem, Adisa, & La'aro, 2012; Ekeng, 2010). The Daily Graphic is a state-owned newspaper that is also one of Ghana's most widely read and respected periodicals. The choice of the Daily Graphic as the data source for this study is based on the fact that “it has gained considerable clout among Ghanaians and has a sizable following” Afful (2013, p. 20), observes that in Ghana, “the Daily Graphic for instance, is synonymous to newspaper to the average Ghanaian.” Afful further observes that “the competence and quality of news delivery by the reporters and editors of Daily Graphic could inform their choice for any research work.” Thus, every day in each month, in each issue of the newspapers chosen, online copies of immigration stories as well as stories about frameworks of both countries in each newspaper were reviewed and grouped by content analysis. 9 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 2.1 Introduction This section examines relevant literature from a variety of sources in order to place the research in a theoretical context. This literature study will focus on African news coverage and will be guided by framing and agenda-setting theory. 2.2 Review of Related Literature. Alozie (2007) looked into the pattern that dominated coverage and analysis of the 1994 Rwandan genocide in Kenya's Daily Nation and Nigeria's Guardian newspapers. He discovered that, in comparison to their Western counterparts, both publications worked harder to learn more about the issue's background and ramifications. This accomplishment was credited to their "increased grasp of the fundamental issues that afflict the continent" (Alozie, 2007: 226). The literature on Africa's coverage within the continent is old and minor in comparison to the work being done in the Western press on the continent. Serwornoo's work (2021) fills this void with in-depth empirical evidence from four Ghanaian national daily newspapers. His study looked at how four national newspapers in Ghana covered the continent. Over a two-year period, the author evaluated four national newspapers, which were quantitatively examined for sources used. The ethnographic content analysis found that themes of conflict, crime, killings, crises, terrorism, and omission of progress dominate the coverage of the continent in these periodicals. The African tale was largely told through the lens of politics, and it was told in a bad light. He contends that the continent's negative proxy self-coverage indicates the elusive expansion of Afro-pessimism, given that Western global news agencies accounted for over 80% of the reportage as sources. Although the data were not directly compared to past coverage in Ghana, they clearly show that Africa's media portrayal in Ghana is as unfavourable as it is 10 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh elsewhere in the world. However, it is important to stress that the coverage of issues in the Ghanaian press is mostly produced from the perspective of Northern global news organizations, with the BBC World Service wielding a disproportionate amount of influence (Serwornoo, 2021). For example, “the BBC's single impact is facilitated by the complex colonial and postcolonial trajectories that have lingered and pushed the British foreign broadcaster as the final reference for most professional Ghanaian journalists” (Serwornoo, 2021). Umar (2012), on the other hand, looked at how news concerning African countries was reported in Nigerian newspapers, focusing on quantity, quality, and distribution. It also attempted to determine the significance of the Commonwealth factor in the reporting of international news by newspapers. The major themes and trends in the news were also examined. The findings revealed that the national newspapers' coverage of overseas news reflected Nigeria's foreign policy. When compared to other parts in the world, Africa receives the greatest attention (Umar, 2012). They also pay more attention to African countries with similar historical and political experiences to Nigeria, while ignoring Benin, Cameroun, Chad, and Niger, which are ethnographically related but politically and historically distinct. Furthermore, they provide more attention to developed countries with historical, political, economic, and social ties to Nigeria, and they place a greater emphasis on politics over other topics. Finally, they make a concerted effort to highlight positive African news. It's fascinating to see how these two countries report on Africa in such stark contrast. As a result, it will be a fascinating voyage to see how these two countries frame each other. Both writers believe that the continent is made up of both good and bad news, according to this study. 11 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The role of the media in the promotion and protection of children's rights is defined in Article 17 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNICEF 2002, p.65- 66). The media can play an important role in monitoring the execution of children's rights. Oyero (2009) investigated the attention given to the rights of children by newspapers in Nigeria and Ghana in the context of the media's role in the fulfillment of children's rights, as outlined in article 17 (seventeen) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and as mandated by the Oslo Challenge of 1999. Newspapers both owned by the government and private persons from the two countries were used in the content analysis research design. The study looked at the amount of coverage given to children's rights, the specific concerns covered, the emphasis given to the reports, journalistic genres used, and the performance of government-owned newspapers versus privately-owned newspapers, among other things. Though issues on child rights were generally not reported much by the four newspapers, Ghanaian newspapers covered child issues 56.9% more than Nigerian newspapers (43.1%), a considerable difference. The studies also revealed that government-owned publications (60%) outperformed privately- owned newspapers (40%) in reporting on children's rights. In addition, there was a lack of balance in the genres used to report on child rights, as well as a lack of public engagement with the subject. In Nigerian and Ghanaian newspapers, children were underrepresented. Children's issues, unlike political and corporate tales that generally take up a lot of room in media coverage, do not have significant commercial value. This could explain why there was such a low representation (Oyero 2009). Child rights were covered more in Ghanaian publications than in Nigerian newspapers. One might think that because Nigerian newspapers have a larger circulation (number of pages published) than Ghanaian newspapers, they would devote more space to child rights concerns, but this was not the case, as children's issues appeared to be of less importance to Nigerian media. While the coverage of child rights stories produced annually by the papers was consistent, the study discovered that child rights coverage was higher around 12 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the time the Child Rights Act was passed in both nations. This suggests a relationship between media agenda-setting and children's rights implementation. Nwankwo and Okwemba (2002) wanted to discover how the media covered children's issues in order to see if it helped or hindered the space and awareness of children's rights. This research included both qualitative and quantitative research methods. The research employed content analysis to look at how the media covers and portrays children's issues, as well as how this adds to public awareness of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. All articles from the Daily Nation, the East African Standard, and the Kenya Times were subjected to content analysis. In the chosen years, June 2000 to June 2002, there were 840 editions. The editions' preferred dates were noted, and systematic sampling was used. The 420 editions were produced using this approach of sampling the dailies. The study's unit of analysis was the article, which included features, news items, analyses and opinions, letters to the editor, and the editorial. When assessing the substance of these pieces, the frequency, source of the news, space allocated, reference to CRC, pro-active and re-active, and placement of the item were all taken into account. Children's rights issues receive a lukewarm reception in the media when compared to other topics. Children's issues are rarely as exciting as other political issues; hence they are frequently ignored by the media. As a result, the media tends to focus on children's difficulties only when they are serious. For example, 157 articles on child violence and abuse were among the 420 articles on diverse child rights. Even when they do this, they make little effort to underscore and re-emphasis the rights of the child. The media's failure to educate the public about children's rights and influence policies that harm children is demonstrated by the media's poor coverage of children's problems, as evidenced by the CRC's few cross-references. Over the years, the mass media of communication has been viewed as a powerful tool for national rebirth and development among African nations. Despite the media's power in promoting national values, culture, and government policies, how much has the Ghanaian and 13 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Nigerian media used that power to defend their countries' territorial integrity? As a result of this circumstance, many people have proposed that African media should contest with the Western media. Schramm (1976), Merill (1974), and Dennis McQuail (1980) are among the earliest proponents of this issue (Onwumechili & Ndolo, 2013). Their argument was based on the notion that Africa is underdeveloped and that it requires the use of media technology to improve the situation. These researchers expanded on their argument on the proper focus on development messages and the medium used to deliver them to African communities. Lerner stated that independent African governments should focus on mimicking the trajectories of Western nations in shifting from traditional to modern states. This suggests that the final use of the media for African development depends on the government's ability to establish an enabling environment for the media to operate freely. Coban (2016, p.4) captures the above recommendations more succinctly thus, “without understanding the media’s political functions and the influences on the nations, it is not possible to provide a comprehensive picture of their impacts on the state and international relations.” In an attempt to x-ray the link between the mass media and politics, McQuail (2010) writes: "At the level of performance, the substance of most daily media is still often dominated by politics, but not always because it is so intriguing and noteworthy for the public." While individuals certainly need to be educated and advised in the long run, they do not require the information and advice that they are given on a daily basis. The emphasis on the broadcast media and how they portray international diplomacy among nations is evident in literature. However, there is no evidence in print media to that effect. More to the point, the interplay of diplomacy between Ghana and Nigeria and its framing in newspapers is lacking in literature also. In their study, Uchenunu and Ngonso (2020) highlight a savage disagreement between the leaders of both countries, which resulted in the Nigerian government closing the border for over a year, while the Ghanaian government targeted Nigerian immigrants in Ghana, even tearing down the Nigerian High Commission. The news 14 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh was widely publicized in the media. They used a survey study approach to reveal how the conflict was framed, as well as how the public saw the framing in terms of economic links between the two Commonwealth countries. The findings found that the concerns were framed in a negative light rather than a positive light, and that the feud has had and will continue to have enormous economic consequences for inhabitants of both countries. The works of Uchenunu and Ngonso (2020) clearly demonstrates that Ghana and Nigeria have a lot of diplomatic ties from history till now. There are works that speak of media framing of events in Ghana and Nigeria such as the study by Nwabueze & Egbra (2016) on framing of climate change. The study content analysed eight newspapers from both countries (four each), and at end of the study concluded that both countries do not have enough coverage of climate change issues. This is similar to this research as this will also employ content analysis to comparatively look at how issues of immigration are framed. However, there is no known literature that highlights the way the media frames immigration issues in the print media of both countries. Therefore, this study will seek to fill this gap in the course of this study. African Studies Centre Leiden, in its article, Crime in Africa (2020), looked at crime and its effects on the African continent. It asserts that a crime is an illegal act that is punished by the state, and that the most effective weapon for combating and eliminating wrongdoing is the criminal justice system. This explains the normative assumption that the integrity of the state and its institutions must never be threatened. In many African countries, however, this has not been the case. Since attaining political independence, several African countries have been plagued by corruption. Powerful leaders and their limited interests have inhibited the creation of strong institutions and the promotion of the common good. The possibility of culprits being prosecuted is reduced due to the existence of weak institutions. This encourages a wide range 15 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of social and economic crimes to flourish. According to the African Studies Centre Leiden, certain great foreign powers tolerated corrupt African leaders for a long time, partially due to their dislike to meddle in sovereign nations' domestic affairs. In the circumstances outlined above, corruption gained legitimacy and became institutionalized. Tiny Rowland, the infamous CEO of Lonrho, Africa's largest multinational firm in the 1960s and 1970s, once asserted that African leaders “are so corrupt that that there’s not a single one of them I could not buy.” Military governments that have dominated Africa for long periods of time have likewise exacerbated corruption. General Babangida's military administration in Nigeria (1985-1992), for example, "marked a change in Nigeria's already legendary corruption, turning it into a generalized weapon of government," according to Stephen Ellis (African Affairs, 2009, pp. 171-196). Despite the fact that most African countries have adopted democracy and the checks and balances it entails, the quality of their institutions remains low. Finally, the African Studies Centre in Leiden concluded that the emergence of trustworthy leaders and the establishment of solid institutions are required. At the same time, improved international cooperation and cross- border money flow surveillance have made it more difficult for African leaders to hide the proceeds of their corrupt conduct in other nations. Africa is changing, albeit at a glacial pace. 2.3 Theoretical Framework 2.3.1 Framing theory The act of 'Framing' is one way in which the news media shapes public views of major events. In the news media, a news frame is a journalistic tool that allows journalists to tell a story in a condensed amount of space and contextualize an event (Lamidi & Saheed, 2015). Many communications researchers have utilized framing as a theory of mass communication to make sense of media coverage on a variety of topics. Goffman proposed the idea, which is 16 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh part of the media impacts school (Schuefele, 1999). It is founded on the premise that a problem can be examined from many perspectives (Chong & Druckman, 2007). Individuals' ability to grasp media contents and, as a result, participate in debates is also dependent on common frames offered by the media, according to framing theory. By contextualizing issues, these frames aid in comprehending talks or events (De Vreese, 2005). Scholars have defined framing differently, as they have many other concepts and theories. While some focus on journalists' treatment of media content, which is one aspect of this study's interest, others emphasize the impact of media content on individuals or audiences. Entman (1993), De Vreese (2005), and Iyengar (2005) are members of a school of thought that defines framing as the treatment of media content by journalists. Framing, according to Entman (1993, p. 52), is about "promoting a particular issue definition, causal interpretation, moral judgment, and/or treatment prescription for the item stated" through selection and salience. This indicates that framing occurs when journalists or media practitioners choose to include or exclude specific pieces of information (selection). “Salience can also be achieved through strategic placement or repetition of aspects of an issue or by associating them with symbols that are culturally familiar to receivers of frames” (Entman, 1993). Similarly, De Vreese (2005) defines framing as “the presentation and definition of an issue by the media.” To Iyengar (2005) also, framing simply means “changing perceptions about an issue either by stressing or de-stressing certain aspects of that issue.” Gamson and Modigliani (1989, p. 3) also define a frame as a “central organizing idea for making sense of relevant events, suggesting what is at issue.” Individual and media frames, according to Scheufele (1999), are two types of framing. Person frames are the knowledge and predispositions of an individual that serves as a guide for digesting information supplied to them. Media frames, on which this research is centered, are defined by Gitlin (1980, p. 193) as “persistent patterns of cognition, interpretation, and presentation of selection, emphasis, and exclusion, by which 17 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh symbol-handlers routinely organize discourse, whether verbal or visual.” Gamson and Modigliani (1987, p. 143) also define a media frame as “a central organizing idea which defines a controversy. The essence of media frames therefore is to simplify information for audiences by providing them with schemas for the interpretation of such information.” Due to the media's perceived significant impact in setting agendas and the denial of the principles that drive media conduct around the world, media framing of topics is progressively dominating media debate. Due to a number of intervening characteristics such as age, level of exposure to media messages, audience interest in the issue, preconceived view, and the influence of opinion leaders, media audiences interpreted and analyzed media communications differently. Media experts believe that these intervening elements have an impact on the amount to which media messages can influence audience behavior regardless of framing. Egere and Egere (2020, p.19) see media news framing as a recent concept used “widely among communication scholars in relations to media effects, politics, sociology and other disciplines.” The propagandist power of the media can be used to frame news content to suit a particular viewpoint. It could be framed figuratively or simply by exaggerating the situation to achieve a specific goal. News can be structured to encourage disaster, disharmony, victimhood, agitation, negative labeling, number games, legitimacy, and depersonalization, for example. Individual comprehension may become a factor in media consumption due to the issue of passive versus engaged audiences. The public's fear that certain internal and foreign forces are manipulating the media is another element that could influence media audience perceptions of an issue. Deductive or inductive approaches can be used to locate and analyze media frames according to (de Vreese, 2005). The inductive approach entails examining media information without pre-established frameworks. During the course of the study, frames are permitted to emerge from the media content. The inductive approach has drawn criticism for its difficulty in understanding, although being beneficial in discovering new frames. In this study, the inductive 18 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh approach, which, was used since it is appropriate for reaching the desired results. Here, the researcher does not use operationalized and already decided frames. The deductive approach is the direct opposite whereby the research entails examining media information with predetermined frameworks. Although studies employing this strategy are simple to reproduce, one drawback of this approach is that some frames may not be found in the replication while others that were unexpected may be exposed in the process (Semetko & Valkenburg, 2000). 2.3.2 Framing as a process According to De Vreese (2005), framing “is a four-stage process that includes frame building, frame-setting, level of consequence on individuals, and level of consequence on society. The first stage, referred to as frame-building, drawn from agenda-setting research, describes how frames develop and are produced”. According to Bruggemann (2014), this area of framing has been overlooked by scholars to some extent and hence requires attention. Internal and external elements, such as personal convictions and media ownership, can both contribute to frame- building. In the course of their work, journalists are influenced by several elements (Shoemaker and Reese, 1996). During the stage of building frames, journalists sometimes send frames (acting exclusively as channels for transmitting information or explanations from further sources to the public), set frames (depending on their own individual understandings of topics in the broadcast of news), or combine the two (present the frames of others and theirs but offer signals of which frame is satisfactory more). These exchanges result in writings or news content that is delivered to the public (Bruggemann, 2014). As a result, individual-level consequences refer to the outcome of media frames or their impact on people's perceptions and attitudes. The frame-setting stage, also almost like agenda-setting and in some situations referred to as second level agenda setting, is an interplay between the media’s frame and therefore the individual’s own predispositions (Scheufele, 1999). This interaction may shape beliefs and 19 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh perceptions of a problem. Again, it’s going to also lead to the adoption of certain attitudes on both the individual and societal level within the individual and societal consequences stages respectively. Thus, the results at the individual level points to the outcome of media frames or the effect that media frames wear people’s perceptions and attitudes. However, the final stage which is level of consequence of society may help in the shaping of policies or actions at the societal level. 2.4 Agenda Setting Agenda setting, which involves the transfer of object salience, is another popular topic of media research (McCombs et al., 1997). The first thorough examination of agenda planning theory is frequently given to McCombs and Shaw (1972). The agenda setting theory is predicated on the assumption that people's everyday information choices are influenced by what the media wants them to debate. Lippmann proposed an early theory of agenda setting, which was later developed by McCombs and Shaw. The agenda setting theory states that there is an influence of the news media on audiences because they have the power to decide what stories are important, how much time and space they get, and how often problems are reported. Researchers have been able to study the influence of mass media in the formation of public opinion by combining this theory with that of framing. Agenda setting study examines the extent to which the media conveys the importance of a topic to viewers. Cohen (1973, p.13), stated agenda setting theory first the first to the: the press “may not be successful much of the time in telling people what to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about”. “Despite the fact that the media does not always tell audiences what to believe, they are often told what to think about. While agenda setting refers to the themes that are being argued in the public arena, framing relates to how those issues are debated and the media's interpretations of those concerns” (Schultz et al., 2012). 20 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Print media has a substantial agenda-setting effect, according to previous studies. By covering a subject, the print media increases its relative importance, and the media influences what people believe about by covering some issues but not others. The news media, according to Moshrefzadeh et al. (2013), serves as a channel for information between policymakers and the general public, as well as providing hints on what themes should be on people's minds. They also point out that print media, as a key source of information, has the ability to alter public perceptions, especially when it comes to local issues. As a result, local news media can have an impact on how tourism is reported, bringing it to the forefront of people's minds. Issues that are prevalent in the media picture become prominent in the audience picture, according to (McCombs et al., 1997). As a result, the media influences what people believe about through repetition and consistency of coverage. As a result, information is more readily available, influencing judgments and decisions (Matthes, 2007). The effect is due to the fact that the issue has received some processing and attention, rather than how the information regarding the issue is presented (Scheufele and Tewksbury, 2007). Readers will acquire a better understanding of how and why media framing happens if Entman combines media framing and agenda shaping. “Agenda setting serves as the first function of framing as it defines the problems worthy of government attention.” (Entman, 1993.p.165). Folarin (2015) argued that, the media sets agenda through, the quantity or frequency of reporting by the media, prominence given to the reporting, the degree of the conflict generated in the reports.and the cumulative media-specific effects over time. Furthermore, Land and Lang (1983) added that, agenda setting can be fragmented into six steps. The steps are delineated below 1. The media highlights some events to make them very noticeable. 21 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2. To gain attention, the media gives diverse kind of issues different kinds and amounts of news coverage. 3. The events in consideration are given a field of meanings within which they can be comprehended. 4. The language used by the media can affect perception of the importance of an issue. 5. Media associate high-profile activities and events with secondary symbols whose position in the political landscape is easily recognizable. 6. Agenda building accelerates when well-known and trusted people start speaking out on issues. 2.4.1 How agenda setting is used in this study The analysis of news coverage by Ghanaian and Nigerian national newspapers (Daily Graphic and The Punch) is based on a number of studies that show the power of newspaper reporting in shaping public opinion. The media agenda shapes public opinion not by stating overtly that "this topic is essential," but by allocating more space and attention to it and making it more visible. The frequency of immigration, diplomacy and child rights news published, and the level of prominence given to these stories by the newspapers determines the agenda setting of this study. The media can be utilized to influence public policy and public opinion. As a result, because how people regard the concerns above is highly influenced by their attitudes and behavior, the media, through the agenda-setting process, may greatly influence how people feel about those issues in both countries. Thus, in this study, the agenda setting theory serves as a foundation for examining how the press has been able to set the agenda for children's rights, diplomatic issues, and immigration issues in both countries by assigning relative importance to them through the frequency of reporting, the prominence given to such reports, and the 22 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh resulting conflict. This is because, in order to be development-oriented and socially accountable, the media would need to set agendas for certain concerns. Furthermore, as previously stated, the study was carried out in accordance with the concepts included in agenda- setting theory. The frequency of immigration, diplomacy, and child rights concerns, as well as their importance, people involved or quoted, and specific themes reported, were investigated, among other characteristics often addressed when analyzing the media agenda-setting process. 23 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER THREE METHODOLOGY 3.1 Research Design A research design is a framework or an action plan upon which the entire study is built; dictates the manner in which a study is conducted and provides the road map of a study in terms of the sample, data collection instruments and analysis procedure (Creswell,2014). Again, it encompasses clear objectives obtained from the research specifying the sources from which one intends to collect data and considers the constraints that will inevitably have as well as the justification on one’s choice This study used the post-positivist research paradigm, which maintains that while researching human behavior, we cannot be certain about our claims of knowledge about outcomes until we can identify or determine the reasons that influence outcomes (Phillips & Burbules, 2000) 3.1.1 Qualitative Paradigm Qualitative research comprises investigating and comprehending how individuals or groups value a social or human issue. “The research process includes data obtained in the participant's environment, data processing that progresses inductively from specific to broad topics, and the researcher's interpretations of the data. The structure of the final written report might be altered. Those who do this type of research promote an inductive research strategy, an emphasis on individual meaning, and the necessity of communicating the complexity of a situation” (Creswell, 2009). Because content analysis is one of the most practical approaches for assessing media material, it was chosen for this study. It is a research approach used to make reproducible and valid references from data to their context, according to Krippendorf (2004). Given that content analysis is the methodology for "making inferences by objectively and systematically 24 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh identifying specified characteristics of message" (Holsti, 1969, p. 14., cited in Agyekum, 2014), the researcher decided that identifying framing patterns in the coverage of immigration, child rights, and diplomatic stories in Ghanaian and Nigerian newspapers would be the most appropriate. According to Babbie (2009), content analysis is one of the most suited methodologies for investigating processes or events that occur throughout time. Because the duration of the study under consideration was two years (2018-2020), Babbie's argument influenced the type of content analysis chosen. 3.1.2 Strengths of Qualitative Paradigm Qualitative research excels in preserving the complexity and context of data while distilling and organizing it. The goal of qualitative approaches is to come up with fresh ways to look at existing data. This study therefore employs qualitative research design to seek insights from events through the analysis of words and actions by participants involved in order to understand a social phenomenon from a participant’s own perspective and environment. 3.2 Population The Punch and the Daily Graphic served as the population for this study. The population of this study was newspapers published in Nigeria and Ghana between 2018-2020. Both Newspapers are issued daily and the total publications under the period of study is 2190. Two main factors informed the choice of years of investigation and the selection of the two ubiquitous newspapers Firstly concerning the choice, the two newspapers were selected on the basis that, each one enjoys the highest circulation and readership in their respective countries (Nwabueze & Egbra, 2016). Again, the two newspapers were selected, partly because there were electronic archives available for the period under study. Practical considerations dictated the selection of the 25 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh newspapers, as a searchable archive of both newspapers were available through their online portals. Newspapers thus, were accessed from their online archives. Secondly concerning the period under study, a pre-test of publications of the two newspapers between 2018-2020 showed that, a significant coverage of the topic would allow for effective analysis as compared to other years. Again, the period between 2018 -2020 is still the immediate past era and as such data collected was expected to be current and relevant. 3.3 Sampling/Sample size The Punch and Daily Graphic newspapers selected from 2018-2020 represented the total population. The whole content of each issue of the two newspapers between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2020 were used as population for this study. This paper employed a non- probability sampling technique in which a search for the variable terms being investigated, in this case, immigration, child abuse and diplomacy was conducted. Because the newspapers had their sources online, purposive or judgmental sampling was adopted to retrieve only newspaper articles or data that are related to the focus of study. As a result, the sample contained 483 articles from 2018-2020. In agreement with the opinion of Wimmer & Dominick (2003), samples were selected based on the aim of the study, other articles from the population that were on the variable terms, were therefore discarded. Hence, the researcher thoroughly searched all the editions of the two newspapers and ensured that only the editions that contained stories on the variable terms in both newspapers were selected. 3.4 Data Collection Technique Units of analysis are the parameters that are used to collect, process, and analyze the data. The simplest but most crucial component of a content analysis is the unit of analysis (Wimmer and Dominick, 2011). In this context, stories on diplomacy, immigration and child abuse in the form of frequency of coverage, tone, placement, category of news, photograph, and theme 26 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh formed the units of analysis. To break it down, the news pieces focusing exclusively on the two African countries were the unit of analysis for this study. If an item simply referenced a country in passing, it was excluded from the coding sample. As a result, a narrative that focused specifically on an event that occurred in these countries relevant to the areas being studied was included in the analysis (for example, a deportation in Nigeria). The analysis did not include news pieces that mentioned the countries but did not focus on them (for example, a story that focused on China but mention Nigeria). Citizens' acts in their own country (for example, crime, murder, and fraud) were included for analysis since citizens' actions can influence public attitudes. An article had to meet one of two criteria in order to be considered significant to the framing of Ghana and Nigeria and so qualify for inclusion in this research. Either the story's major angle was about a topic that explicitly and principally referenced Ghana and Nigeria, or the story's main angle was about a person or people from these nations, and this perspective was sufficiently significant to the framing of Ghana and Nigeria. The headline and the remainder of the text were used to establish the story's principal angle. When it came to determining what an article's major message was, the key challenge was determining the piece's focus, which was typically done through headlines or choosing what the central message was after reading the entire article, because many different concerns are discussed in one article. 3.5 Data Analysis 3.5.1 Content Analysis Over the last few decades, many scholars have utilized content analysis to investigate a number of phenomena, including media content. Five applications for content analysis were highlighted by Wimmer and Dominick (2011). Content analysis can be used descriptively to describe communication content in order to disclose what exists. Content analysis can also be used to test hypotheses. According to Adogla-Bessa (2015), content analysis is critical for identifying 27 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh patterns that scholars and researchers can use to examine news media and its use of framing methodically. As a result, a comparison of possible news agenda-setting is conceivable. This method was chosen for this study due to its accuracy and dependability in assessing relevant media content and providing accurate and dependable results. In this study, thematic content analysis was used. In qualitative research, thematic analysis (TA) is one of the most prevalent types of analysis. According to Braun & Clarke (2012), Thematic analysis is a technique for systematically identifying, organizing, and providing insight into meaningful patterns (themes) throughout a dataset. TA enables the researcher to see and make sense of communal or shared meanings and experiences by focusing on meaning across a dataset. TA is a strategy for extracting meanings and concepts from data that involves finding, assessing, and recording patterns or themes, according to Javadi and Zarea (2016). Interview transcripts, field notes, political documents, photographs, and films are all examples of data in various formats. Thus, based on the numerous benefits this form of analysis offers, this study employed thematic analysis to detect, analyze and report data themes. 28 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FOUR PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 4.1 Introduction The technique used in this study and why it is appropriate for the various components of the study were explained in the preceding chapter. This chapter is dedicated to the presentation of the study's findings and discussion. A selection of news items from Nigeria's The Punch and Ghana's Daily Graphic were submitted to content analysis to determine the nature of their coverage from 2018 to 2020. 4.2 Frequency of Coverage An assessment of the two newspapers under review showed varied patterns of coverage regarding each nation with respect to the stories under study which are immigration, child rights, crime and diplomacy. The coverage predominantly concentrated on immigration, child rights, crime and diplomatic news. A search for stories in the Punch on Ghana returned 431 results as compared to 52 in the Daily Graphic for stories on Nigeria in the period from 2018- 2020. This sharp contrast could possibly be as a result of the importance the Punch places on stories in Ghana as well as how they perhaps perceive Ghana as another home for Nigerians, as compared to the Daily Graphic. The frequency of stories is shown on the following subjects: diplomacy, immigration, child rights and crime. Of the 483 stories, 300 were related to diplomacy, 130 were on immigration 32 on crime and 21 on child rights. Daily Graphic reported child right issues more than the Punch newspaper. Generally, however, the findings of this study shows that many of the events within the period under study were diplomatically related. The total number of stories covered by both papers as well as the frequency of stories each newspaper set agenda on is shown in tables 4.1 and 4.2 respectively. 29 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.1 Coverage of stories in Newspapers Newspaper 2018 2019 2020 Total The Punch 140 162 129 431 Daily Graphic 22 30 8 52 Total 158 188 137 483 Table 4.2 Frequency of stories in Newspapers Newspaper Immigration Child Diplomacy Crime Total rights The Punch 90 8 200 10 308 Daily 40 13 100 22 175 Graphic Total 130 21 300 32 483 4.3 Tone of Coverage The purpose of this unit of analysis was to see how the four media outlets managed their tone. After that, the tone was separated into three groups: positive, negative, and neutral. Positive stories were those that painted a particular country in a good light and showed the strength of the institutions of government, negative tone stories were those that painted a particular country in a bad light and showed the weakness of the institutions of government, and neutral tone stories were those that told stories in neither a good nor a bad light. This is shown in the following tables: 30 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.3 Tone of coverage in newspapers Newspaper Positive Negative Neutral Total The Punch 50 190 8 248 Daily Graphic 60 165 10 235 Total 110 355 18 483 Table 4.4 Tone of coverage by story in the Punch Story Positive Negative Neutral Total Immigration 13 57 3 73 Child rights 5 30 2 37 Crime 7 35 1 43 Diplomacy 25 68 2 95 Total 50 190 8 248 Table 4.5 Tone of coverage by story in the Daily Graphic Story Positive Negative Neutral Total Immigration 17 45 4 66 Child rights 10 15 1 26 Crime 5 35 2 42 Diplomacy 28 70 3 101 Total 60 165 10 235 31 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The Daily Graphic had more positive stories than the Punch, while the Punch had more negative stories. On neutral stories, the Daily Graphic held a small advantage over the Punch. The issues framed in reports about immigration were primarily negative in tone. 57 issues were framed in a more unfavorable light by the Punch than by the Daily Graphic (45). The Punch had 30 negative stories compared to 15 in the Daily Graphic. Although the Punch had 7 good stories, the Daily Graphic only had 5. These stories revealed the strength of law enforcement agencies as they made arrests in some of the cases. Studies on diplomatic news revealed that the Punch reported 68 stories negatively while the Daily Graphic reported 70 stories which were the highest showing that stories framed were largely negative. 4.4 Type of Article The editor's placement indicates how important a news event is to them. Where the items were put in the newspaper, whether it was straight news, a feature, or an editorial, gives a sense of how important African stories are to the editors. Over the three-year period from 2018 to 2020, items regarding the two African countries were heavily featured in the straight news section of the two selected newspapers, a pattern that did not differ by newspaper. The majority of articles (315) were found in the straight news area. The number of articles in the feature section was 39, while the number of items in the editorial part was 129. The individual newspapers followed a similar pattern. In The Punch, 218 stories appeared at the general news section which formed the majority. Similarly, in the Daily Graphic, 28 of stories appeared at the straight news section which was the majority. For diplomatic news, which formed the majority of the news coverage within the period of study, 136 of the stories fell under the straight news section. Thus, the two newspapers placed prominence on diplomatic issues. 32 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 4.5 Placement The prominence of a story is reflected in its placement or location in a newspaper. Readers can deduct from the placement of an issue that it is important and should be treated as such. Newspapers typically display key stories on the front page, followed by the center, back, and other interior pages. Front pages, on the other hand, are seen as more significant than the others (Okorie and Oyedepo, 2011; Shaari). By looking at the placement of stories on immigration, child rights, crime, and diplomacy, this study looked into the prominence given to these topics. The findings found that the Daily Graphic and the Punch gave relatively little importance to news about children's rights in terms of placement. The bulk (18) of the 21 stories appeared on pages other than the front, center and back pages of both newspapers. There were just three stories on the first page. Immigration and diplomacy were given special attention, with front and back page coverage in both cases. At the front and back, immigration had 100 stories out of 130, whereas diplomacy had 232 on the same pages as immigration. Crime stories were frequently featured on the front and center pages. 23 of the 32 stories appeared on the front and center pages of both newspapers. 4.5 Photograph Aside from giving the news item a sense of authenticity, images also offer it a level of significance and draw attention to it. According to Newman et al (1992), newspapers are less likely to draw attention to low-importance stories unless they are presented in an attention- getting manner. Almost all of the news pieces that were examined had images, which added a lot of clarity to the narrative being delivered. This shows that news about immigration, children's rights, crime and diplomacy get a lot of attention in both media. The summary is seen in table 4.6 below. 33 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Table 4.6 Use of Photographs in News Coverage Newspaper Immigration Child Crime Diplomacy Total Rights The Punch 50 35 60 80 225 Daily 70 46 40 75 231 Graphic Total 120 81 100 115 456 The table reveals that Daily Graphic used a lot more photographs than the Punch. Also, diplomacy used more images than the other stories showing the heat of the diplomatic rift at the time. This is how the media chose to use images to frame the stories. For instance, the images of the demolished Nigerian High Commission building was used several times in reporting that issue. This emphasized the situation at hand at the time. 4.6 Themes/Frames The primary themes of representation employed in the coverage of Ghana and Nigeria were recorded in this part through attentive engagement and analysis of news articles. The researcher did not use any existing template in establishing the topics because the search for themes was done inductively. In total, six major motifs were identified. Trade and deportation, diplomacy, child trafficking and abuse, rape and armed robbery were among the topics covered. These were the most prevalent representational motifs, both because of their frequency in the news and their rarity in the literature, either as dominant or fresh results. 34 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The first is the trade and deportation theme under immigration. Significant among the stories was the $1m tax imposition on Nigerian businesses in Ghana. On Monday, August 10, 2020, Nigerian traders in Accra and Kumasi regions of Ghana had their shops locked, by a task force comprising armed security personnel. The Ghanaian Inter-Ministerial Task Force carried out the order to close businesses until the next week, claiming that the shopkeepers had failed to meet a 14-day deadline to pay $1 million in company registration fees and taxes to the Ghana Investment Promotion Council. From that week on, it looked that the two West African countries' historic rivalry and hostility had resurfaced, with hundreds of Nigerian traders on the receiving end of the diplomatic spat. The following includes excerpts from the Punch and Daily Graphic: “Nigerian traders in Ghana have been under attack, harassment, intimidation and maltreatment from the local business group and the government institutions, dating back to 2007. We have been managing it like a chronic disease, but, this time, it has got out of hand, which is why we had to cry out. In 2018, the government of Ghana issued us with an eviction order from the markets. Our ambassador intervened and asked them where they wanted us to go. After some time, they suspended the eviction order. Since then, the local traders took it upon themselves to start closing our shops indiscriminately.” (The Punch, August 23, 2020) According to a Punch article, the Ghanaian Ministry of Trades has refuted claims of unfair treatment by Nigerian traders in the country during the implementation of the Ghana Investment Promotion Council laws. It demanded that the dealers pay the government's due taxes and other costs. However, one article cited showed the president of Ghana visiting 35 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Nigeria to hold talks with his Nigerian counterpart over a number of issues. This was cited in the Punch. The Head of Communications, Ministry of Trade, Prince Boakye Boateng, said: “It cannot be we’ve been insensitive; if that is what they’re saying, I’ll be disappointed because I’ll rather say they have rather been unfair to us as a regulatory body because we have given them more time than enough to the extent even the Ghanaians thought that the ministry was not even on their side or the ministry wasn’t ready to even enforce the law.” (The Punch, August 16, 2020) The daily graphic carried a story on the death of a Nigerian trader. The paper reported: “The President of NANTS, Ghana, Chief Chukwuemeka Nnaji, said Mrs Stella Ogonna Okpaleke, a Nigerian whose shops were locked for her failure to meet strict trading conditions put by the Ghana Government committed suicide on Sept. 22.” (Daily Graphic, October 10, 2018) The Nigerian media framed the actions of Ghanaian officials as irresponsible governance, indiscipline, damage, and exploitation of state resources. As a result, in the immediate aftermath of the attack, when news coverage needed to demonstrate sympathy with the Nigerian people and their victims, they became involved in the blame game. The negative events associated with immigration stems from happenings within this period under study. Since 2018, the Nigerian media has set the agenda on immigration by giving it prominence on the subject of the Ghana government deporting Nigerians for various reasons. One of such was the deportation from Ghana of 700 Nigerians involved in fraud, prostitution, and armed robbery. In providing a context for this story as set by the media, more negatives were recounted than the progress of the governments of both countries towards unity and this ran through other positive stories within other themes. 36 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh According to the Punch newspaper, the Ghanaian Minister of Information, Kojo Nkrumah said 700 Nigerians involved in fraud, prostitution, and armed robbery were deported from Ghana between 2018 and 2019. This is unfortunate considering the warm, friendly relations these nations have had. On a positive note, there were reports in both dailies on reconciliatory talks between both countries. NIS Public Relations Officer, Mr Sunday James said: “The meeting, which held behind closed doors, appeared to be a conciliatory meeting following the deportation of four Ghanaian nationals from Nigeria to Ghana.” (The Punch, March, 30, 2019) As regards the themes under child rights, issues on child trafficking and abuse were covered, though not much. The Daily Graphic, for example, reported that two people, Aku Kedevi, a fishmonger, and Michael Boti, a fisherman, were sentenced to 18 and 16 years in prison, respectively, after being found guilty of trafficking nine children from various parts of the region to engage them in fishing activities on the Volta Lake in two separate cases before the Ho High Court. In another story by the same newspaper, the Anti Human Trafficking Unit of the Eastern Regional Police Command in collaboration with the Ghana Navy have rescued 16 children between the ages of five and 13 allegedly trafficked to an island at Afram Plains to embark on hazardous work, mostly fishing. This is an excerpt from DSP Tetteh: “Initial investigations indicated that the children were being used to disentangle fishing nets while fishing on the Volta Lake, which was very dangerous.” (Daily Graphic, May, 4, 2019) In a similar development, The Akwa Ibom State government of Nigeria was reported to have said that the high rate of child trafficking for undignified labour was portraying the state and 37 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh Nigeria as a whole in a bad light. The Punch also covered a tale on human trafficking in which a nurse, Ngozi Eboson, was arrested in Imo State, Nigeria, for allegedly trafficking two infants to one woman, Mrs Chinyere Ohanyere, also known as Madam Chichi. A police source who confided in the Punch’s correspondent on Monday said: “A nurse, Mrs Ngozi Eboson, has been arrested by the operatives of the Imo state police command for child trafficking. She has confessed to having bought the children from two girls, Nkechi and Chikaodi for N500k each and sold them to madam Chichi who is desperate to keep her marriage. She was arrested at new Owerri in Owerri West where she stays to carry out the illegal business. Madam Chichi claimed that she was the one who gave birth to the two babies but the arrest and confession of the nurse have brought truth to bear.” (The Punch, November, 1, 2020) These reports show that across the countries, there are regular occurrences of physical, emotional and verbal abuse and violence. This goes to show the high prevalence of child issues in both countries and the urgent need to curb them. In the period 2018-2020, majority of reports in the Punch and Daily Graphic newspapers were diplomatically related. Frames such as border closures and the pulling down of Nigeria’s High Commission building in Ghana were dominant in the coverage. The results show that articles with the primary subject of diplomatic crisis, most of which were negative frames, were responsible for majority of the articles. One such story which had been making a lot of headlines was the demolition of the building of the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana. An excerpt of it in the Punch and daily Graphic are as follows: “In a desecration of diplomatic convention, the Nigeria High Commission in Accra, Ghana, was recently invaded by some non-state actors who destroyed a set of buildings 38 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh under construction. Intriguingly, more than a dozen police personnel supervised this act of aggression. It was a well-orchestrated and brazen assault on Nigeria’s sovereignty, which understandably provoked angry reactions at home, with the House of Representatives calling on the authorities to invoke the principle of reciprocity.” (The Punch, June 21, 2020) “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration says it has sanctioned investigations into an alleged demolition of a property under construction belonging to the Nigeria High Commission in Ghana. According to the Ministry, investigations are ongoing to unravel the facts of the matter and bring the perpetrators to book." (Daily Graphic, June 21, 2020) In a related development, the dallies reported the closure of its border within the same period much to the displeasure of the Ghanaian authorities. According to the Daily Graphic, Clement Humado, a Ghanaian politician, the closure of the Nigerian border, particularly the Nigeria- Benin border, is impacting his country's trade because numerous trucks from Ghana are stranded on the Seme-Krake side of the border. These are his words as reported: “Another issue affecting Ghana’s trade with its neighbours in the sub region is the closure of the Nigeria-Benin border in September 2019. Similarly, Ghana trucks returning from Nigeria with goods cannot also cross the border. We believe Nigeria may have good reasons for taking such action, but the measures infringe on the provisions of the ECOWAS Trade Liberation Scheme. Whatever be the reason, the situation needs to be resolved as quickly as possible. Several trucks from Ghana sending goods to Nigeria have been stranded at the Seme-Krake side of the border for over two months now.” 39 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh (Daily Graphic, June 21, 2020) The Punch also carried this story. In it, they reported the Comptroller-General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (retd.), saying Nigeria’s borders remained shut due to yet-to-be-concluded border security strategies between Nigeria and neighbouring communities. He said: “We are still working with them (neighbouring countries). There are some parameters and we have reached a certain understanding by refining some of those things. We need a process and a situation where our borders are secured and all the menace experienced at our borders will no longer be. But for now, we are still conducting our partial border closure under the drill and we are expecting that not too long from now when we get responsive adherence from our own neighbours, we will see how we can work together to fortify our border. We are not only talking about Nigeria but we are also asking them to ensure that their own borders are fortified against illicit activities.” (The Punch, January 27, 2020) The only positive story was carried out in the June 22, 2020 edition of the Daily Graphic where the government of Ghana apologised to the Nigeria High Commission in Ghana following the demolition of a story building on its premises said to be at the centre of a land litigation. This is obviously a good sign for the relationship of both countries. The period under study also produced a lot of stories on crime framed by the media. Both papers together produced a total of 32 stories on crime. The events of the last few years have demonstrated that the crime wave has reached devastating proportions, necessitating policymakers' intervention. Dominant themes in this area were rape and armed robbery. Concerning rape, the Daily Graphic carried a number of stories on the subject. For example, the Daily Graphic reported that students at the St. Louis Senior High School (SHS) in Oduom in the Oforikrom municipality of the Ashanti Region were becoming increasingly fearful after 40 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh one of their classmates was raped on campus on Saturday, August 22, 2020. The reported event happened around 10:30 p.m. in the evening according to the publication. An excerpt is capture below: “Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mr Godwin Ahianyo, the Ashanti Regional Police Public Relations Officer, who confirmed the event to the Daily Graphic, believes the perpetrator may have scaled the school's fence wall to conduct the crime. He stated that the victim, who had been traumatized by the incident, had been taken to the hospital for treatment and has since been released.” (Daily Graphic, August 22, 2020) Similarly, A 24-year-old man, Abdulai Karim, was arrested by the Bono Regional Police Command for allegedly robbing and raping his victims. He was arrested on Sunday, February 23, 2020. Abdulai Karim, according to the Police Command, has been robbing and rapping female victims since 2019. In total, he is accused of raping 11 women. The Bono Regional Police Commander, DCOP Owusu Boateng, said at a media briefing in Kumasi thus: “The suspect has been attacking and robbing and raping female victims in and around Sunyani since the year 2019. The suspect will usually attack the victims at gunpoint” (Daily Graphic, February 23, 2020) In the Punch newspaper, carried a story on rape where a 45-year-old policewoman told a court in Ikeja about how a fellow officer, Mohammed Alidu, allegedly raped her nine-year-old daughter in a police barracks. This is an excerpt: “We live at Makinde Barracks. On June 29, 2018, I was at work when my husband, who was out of Lagos, called me to inform me that Sgt. Mohammed had defiled our daughter. I went to the Police station which is within the same compound of the 41 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh barracks, and my daughter was in the Police station. My daughter told me that when she was coming back from school, Mohammed called her but she ignored him. She said he forcefully took her to his apartment, put her on a bed, tore her underwear and defiled her.” (The Punch, November 15, 2019) For armed robbery, there were a plethora of news frames on this topic. Both papers carried intriguing news on robbery. For instance, the Daily Graphic reported a story where one Corporal Seidu of the Akuse District Police Command, along with Seth Kponyo Dodzi, a security officer, and five others, attacked and stole a filling station for GH37,851 at Okwenya in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region in March 2018. They also injured security personnel at the station with machete cuts that required them to be hospitalized for several weeks. After the 37-year-old Lance Corporal was found guilty, the presiding judge, Ms Mercy Addai Kotei, sentenced him to two charges of conspiracy to commit robbery and robbery. As a result, Lance Corporal Seidu was sentenced to 20 years in prison on both counts, which would run concurrently. The paper reported. This is an excerpt from the Eastern Regional Police Crime Officer who led the investigations, Superintendent David Gyabah: “We have to do our job no matter how difficult it is. The law has to take its course so we pursued our investigations within the law. We had to work and pursue this case so people will not say we are trying to protect our own. I can say that we set out to do our job and we believe we have done our job as expected. Our men and everybody should be law-abiding to regulate our conduct.” (Daily Graphic, March 14, 2020) In another story in the Punch on robbery, dated 17th June, 2020, police charged two accused serial armed robbers with breaking into the Ikoyi residence of a Lagos judge on February 22, 42 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 2020, and stealing $1,000, N250,000, four wristwatches, a 50-inch LG television, two shirts, and two pairs of shoes. Here is an excerpt from the police: “Eze and Adewale, alongside one Monday Uvi and others still at large, invaded the judge’s home armed with a berretta pistol, a cutlass and a cudgel and dispossessed him of his belongings. Apart from the judge, the gang also in different operations robbed one Mr and Mrs Odunlami, one Montego Oil Company, one Dr Matthias Kelvin and Olukemi Kelvin and one Damilola Akinwale.” (The Punch, June 17, 2020) All these goes to prove the high prevalence of crime in Ghana and Nigeria. Efforts at curbing this by authorities are still not in sight. 4.8 DISCUSSION The goal of the study was to examine the framing of child rights, immigration, diplomacy and crime in the Punch and Daily Graphic. Ghana and Nigeria frame stories differently sometimes based on the issue under consideration and the kind of audience. The extent to which the Daily Graphic and Punch publications cover child rights reveals a significant under-reporting of children's issues. In fact, children appeared to be invisible in the content of the publications. This discovery is similar to others made in the field of children's issues. According to McManus and Dorfman's (2002) research on child care coverage in American newspapers, there was insufficient coverage. They pointed out that, despite child care being one of the fastest-growing industries in the United States, the issue was underreported. Again, Nwankwo and Okwemba's (2002) study in Kenya to determine how the media covers children's issues indicated that, in comparison to other news, children's rights issues got a lukewarm welcome in the media. Children's issues are rarely as exciting as other political issues; hence they are frequently ignored by the media. As a result, the media tends to 43 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh focus on children's issues mainly when they are shocking. His study agrees with the findings of this study. Furthermore, Ghana has been ahead of Nigeria in terms of policy formulation and passage of the Child Rights Act. Since 1997, Ghana has implemented a number of significant initiatives, including child rights legislative reform and related policies, to bring the country into compliance with international human rights standards for children. With the low level of coverage on child right issues, one wonders if the Ghanaian government's performance on child rights than the Nigerian government reflects on the press's performance. The placement of the stories in the front, centre and back pages showed that the newspapers saw them as important issues to bring to the attention of the public. Stories carried on the front pages especially could be read by passers at newspaper stands. The fact that the newspapers chose to bring immigration and diplomatic issues to the places, showed that the issue were major issues affecting both countries. This is because both newspapers reported on how Ghana deported thousands of Nigerian citizens and shut down their businesses in order to collect a $1 million fee. In the end, both countries engaged in a blame game, pointing accusing fingers at each other as the source of all the events. With respect to frequency of coverage, we found that the media reported most of the stories on diplomacy more than the other stories. 2019 triggered a huge news wave on this subject. It was observed that Nigeria had more stories covered on this subject than Ghana, and a possible explanation for this could be because they felt the issues were more against them. For instance, the demolishing of their High Commission building in Ghana would obviously invite their attention. By implication, it could be deduced that the Nigerian media increased their interest on the reportage of diplomatic issues. Another likely reason for this could be because the diplomatic feud intensified in this year. In the same vein, immigration and crime related stories received much attention in both media. This was so probably because this was the period where the issues heightened. For instance, for a long time, there was a back and forth on the treatment 44 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh of Nigerian traders in Ghana as their shops were locked up. Again, being neighbours, it is understandable why both countries would give serious attention to how their citizens are treated in another nieghbour’s country. Same could be said for crime. The findings on crime on its prevalence goes to confirm studies by the United Nations Office on Drugs, & Crime (2005) to the effect that organized crime in West Africa, or transnational organized crime conducted by West Africans elsewhere in the world, has become a major international problem in recent years. Police agencies in the European Union, North America, and elsewhere are increasingly seeing the operations of West African criminals in other parts of the world as a serious threat. Again, the findings agree with the research by Nwabueze & Oduah (1970) that a casual examination of the world's unfolding events and developments reveals that the world is rapidly devolving into crimes and crime-related offenses. Men sexually abusing women and, in reality, forcibly having carnal knowledge of girls and women without their consent is one of these crimes. In looking at the prominence given to stories, two measures can be applied, that is, where the page where the news was placed and the sue of photographs. Tankard (2011) points out, images can be exploited by the media to frame issues. The findings show that the Daily Graphic and the Punch used augmentation (the addition of visuals or photos) in stories that mentioned immigration to frame it as a significant issue. Texts with images or photos made up more than half of the stories that were published. The existence of visuals in the majority of pieces, which can readily entice readers, indicates that the media gave the subject considerable weight. The Daily Graphic, on the other hand, used images to give more importance to immigration and child rights than the Punch, but not to crime or diplomacy. It's worth noting that the majority of the images used by the two publications under investigation were pictures of enraged Nigerian individuals, legislators, and notable figures condemning store closures and treatment of Nigerians. As a result, in some situations, these pictures instantly reflected the tone of stories. 45 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh In any newspaper, the most important sections are considered to be the front, centre and back pages. When an article is published on these pages, it is easily accessible to readers since most people are believed to look at stories on these pages. This has a high chance of attracting readers’ attention. Stories were also placed mostly at the front pages. This proved that the two dailies gave prominence to these stories. Prominence, according to Entman (1993), can be obtained by strategically placing stories. The front, center, and rear pages of newspapers are seen to be the most important (Okorie and Oyedepo, 2011). The placement of stories also communicates to readers that a topic is important and deserves to be treated as such. A review of the placement of stories about immigration, crime, and diplomacy in both papers revealed that the subjects received a lot of attention. The vast bulk of the stories were found on the front pages. More than half of the pieces published were on prominent pages (front, center, and back). This finding agrees with Nwabueze (2005, p. 176) posits that “by frequently covering and giving prominence to issues in the media, the audience attaches importance to those issues more than others and by so doing, the media set agenda for public discussion.” Prominence was given to these stories perhaps due to the longstanding relationship of both countries. The coverage of these issues especially by the Punch agrees with Umar (2012) who stated that Nigerian newspapers give relatively inadequate coverage to foreign news but more coverage to Africa which is in line with the country's foreign policy and due to geographical proximity. They also give more attention to African countries that share similar historical and political experiences with Nigeria and give little attention to ethnographically related but politically and historically divergent neighboring countries of Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. Regarding the first research objective, the dominant tone in child rights issues were more negative than positive because most of the substantive pieces concerned difficulties that confronted children such as abuses and trafficking. But the findings revealed that the media of both countries framed a few child rights issues positively including efforts being made to 46 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh redress harmful or generally disadvantageous situations that some children experience. These included governments' activities to that effect such as arrests being made and the efforts of advocates and NGOs to discuss promotion of child rights and to increase advocacy on them. The negative frame is premised on the use of such words as “trafficking” and “abuse”. The intention of the newspapers in reporting them was to bring them to light and get people to work to end it. However, the positive aspect the newspapers wanted to portray was the fact that government institution were up to task in curbing the menace of the abuse. The negative framing of the stories was probable highlighted to drive home the point that children have been in constant danger in both countries and it is not getting any better. However, the positive frames may explain the point that the governments of both nations have been working to end this menace. Again, concerning the remaining objectives, the study found that most of the stories on immigration and diplomacy were framed negatively and induced panic with much focus on the increasing cases in Nigeria and Ghana, deaths, agitations and concerns about mass deportations, closure of shops belonging to Nigerians in Ghana, border closures as well as the destruction of Nigeria’s High Commission building in Ghana. Only a few stories were positive showing the ways both countries were handling the matter. Deductively, it can be said that the Nigerian media skewed the immigration and diplomatic related themes in their favour and sought to frame Ghana in a bad light. The is so because the Punch reported it more and used photographs that emphasized the negative frames. The negativity in the frames is seen in the fact that the Nigerian authorities kept blaming the Ghanaian authorities as the cause while their neighbours kept defending themselves. It is probable that the reason the Nigerian media carried the stories more than Ghana and portrayed it negatively was to draw global attention to the issues for a resolution. On the other hand, some of the stories were framed more positively in 47 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the Ghanaian media such the apology from the Ghanaian president. It can be deduced from this and others, that this was an attempt by the media in Ghana to project a positive image of itself. Two of Semetko and Valkenburg's (2000) five generic frames were used in this study: conflict and responsibility. In Ghana, there were differing opinions on whether or not store closings and mass deportations were legal. The usage of the conflict frame by the Punch mirrored these conflicts, particularly with sources expressing differing opinions on the status of Nigerian citizens in Ghana. While the Ghanaian government believed it was doing the right thing by imposing taxes, their Nigerian counterparts believed it was harassing and inhumanely treating its people. Conflict was also noted in the differing viewpoints held about the Nigerian border closure, with some saying that the closure was necessary to defend Nigerian interests while others held opposing viewpoints. In some stories, particular agents are responsible for both originating and resolving problems. This frame was frequently employed in stories to assign blame for causing, addressing, or solving the issues under investigation. Most of the stories about the deportation and closure of Nigerian shops in Ghana condemned Ghana for harassing and intimidating its nationals, as well as for not consulting enough before deporting them. They once again accused Ghana for the demolition of its high commission, while Ghana blamed Nigeria for the suffering of its traders as a result of Nigeria's border restriction. The survey also revealed that the Ghana government was mostly tasked with dealing with immigration and diplomacy concerns. Except for the subject of crime and child rights, which are shared responsibilities, the administration was required to take a position on these issues as soon as possible. The Ghanaian government has an innate right to legislate within its territory, without external intrusion, as a sovereign nation, without any contradictions. Deportation and shop closures, on the other hand, were not announced, and they were not carried out with a human face. In the first instance, the shutdown was unnecessarily abrupt and without warning. One would expect 48 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh the government of Ghana to inform a foreign population that had lived in the country for years about the impending shutdown and the regulations that would govern it. The administration, on the other hand, did not do so. All indicators point to a callous choice devoid of any humane instinct. The lesson had been learned, albeit painfully, for the Nigerian migrants in Ghana who suffered severely as a result of their expulsion and shops closing in the most flagrant and sloppy manner. The moral of the story is that there is no place like home. As a result, Nigerians in exile should internalize the lesson and take remittances very seriously. They must develop the ability to plan for the future. As some examples seen in the press, crime news were essentially negative because it focused on robbery and rape. As a result, the high number of negative framings connected with criminality was unsurprising. The majority of the reports were negative because they depicted acts of brutality and wickedness perpetrated on residents in both countries. The stories were framed in such a way that it was clear that crime was rampant in both countries. The positive framing that emerged from a few stories, on the other hand, is worth noting. Again, it showed that both countries wanted to make the public aware that crime was being tackled. According to Iyengar (1999), news articles can be framed by emphasizing or deemphasizing certain parts of an issue. As a result, stories about such concerns might be told in a variety of ways - unfavorably, positively, or neutrally. Entman's (1993) claim that framing is about choosing in order to promote specific ideas is also symptomatic of how the media produces story tone. The majority of stories published by both publications during that time period presented immigration, child rights, crime, and diplomacy in a bad light, according to this analysis. This suggests that the two newspapers chose the negative parts of the issues to display or project when determining which aspects to report or project. Again, the negativity of the story frames show how terrible the situation was within the period. Deportation and the ill treatment of Nigerian citizens in Ghana are painful experiences not to talk of the economic and 49 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh diplomatic effects of closing borders and destroying diplomatic buildings. To the extent that one shop owner committed suicide after her shop was closed down by Ghanaian authorities, reveals how negative the frames are to drive home the point that Nigeria was the affected party here and obviously did not like the whole situation. Findings on tone of coverage, confirms the negative stereotypes found by Serwornoo (2021) in his study on the negative representation of Africa in the Western media. Drawing from the agenda setting theory, it could be said that the more the media demonstrate preventive measures to the public, the more they will see that as important. However, concentrating more on negative reporting may destabilize the public and create more chaos. This will increase confusion and public anxiety leading to adoption of practices. The argument of this study is that, following the negative portrayal of Africa in the Western media, there was the need to assess whether or not there was a similar pattern in the way Africa reports itself. This study has clearly established that there is a similar pattern in the way Ghana and Nigeria frame each other on issues of child rights, immigration, diplomacy and crime. 50 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh CHAPTER FIVE CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 INTRODUCTION This study sought to find out how Ghana and Nigeria frame each other on some major issues including diplomacy, immigration and child rights. The object of the study was to examine how Nigerian and Ghanaian media cover issues of child abuse, to examine how Nigerian and Ghanaian media cover diplomatic issues, and find out how the Ghanaian and Nigerian media cover issues regarding immigration. This chapter concludes the study and proposes some recommendations. 5.2 Summary of findings • In Nigerian and Ghanaian newspapers, children were underrepresented. Unlike the diplomatic and immigration topics that typically occupy the front pages of newspapers, child issues have little financial appeal. This may explain the poor representation. Child rights were covered more in Ghanaian publications than in Nigerian newspapers. One would think that because Nigerian newspapers have a higher volume (number of stories published) than Ghanaian newspapers, they would devote more space to child rights concerns, but this was not the case, as children's issues appeared to be of less importance to Nigerian media. • The dominant themes that came up from the study were, diplomacy, child abuse and trafficking and deportation. This shows that there was tension between both countries within the period of study. • Much of immigration was covered and framed by the media of both countries. Ghana deported more than 700 Nigerians which was framed negatively by the Nigerian media. 51 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh • Diplomacy received the highest attention with the coverage of two major issues within the period of study, that is the feud created between Ghana and Nigeria as a result of Nigeria’s border closure and Ghana’s pulling down of Nigeria’s high commission in Ghana. Despite these, there have been steps to heal wounds as both countries engaged in reconciliatory talks. The media balanced both negative and positive aspects in the framing by reporting both. • There was high incidence of rape and armed robbery framing in the two newspapers. The study revealed that these were the dominant themes as far as crime is concerned. Also, the Punch covered more crime stories slightly more than the Daily Graphic. 5.3 Conclusion This study had as its goal, examine how the Punch and Daily Graphic newspapers frames issues on immigration, child rights, crime and diplomacy. The findings have shown how the print media frames these issues. Relying on evidence from the Punch and Daily Graphic, the two leading newspapers in both countries, it was clear that there were a lot of negative framing of issues concerning both countries within the period this study sought to investigate, which is, from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2020. It has also revealed the level of prominence given to the stories under review. During the study period, the two newspapers published a total of 300 stories about diplomatic matters. The Punch provided the greatest number of articles. A look at the distribution of coverage for each paper reveals that each country received different amounts of attention. The findings show that the two publications placed a greater emphasis on diplomatic matters than on other concerns. Diplomatic stories received disproportionately high coverage in The Punch. Examining the length of stories in terms of words provides a new dimension to describing the extent to which diplomatic themes are covered. 52 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh The researcher also wanted to know how often both newspapers covered children's rights and how much publicity they got. The study found that coverage of children's issues was insufficient to broaden readers' comprehension of the subject. When it came to the types of child rights covered by both papers, it was discovered that the majority of the stories focused on child trafficking and abuse and were mostly found in the editorial section, indicating that there was no balance in the coverage and that there was little public engagement on the issue. Furthermore, the study discovered that children were rarely news sources in stories, therefore they were unable to express their views on the subject of child labor. Although the study found that child trafficking and abuse receives little publicity in the Daily Graphic and Punch, it does highlight a serious societal issue that requires immediate response. It also emphasizes the various types of child rights issues in which children are harmed and exploited economically. This research should help to shape new perspectives and draw more attention to child rights issues. The findings indicated the closure of Nigerian shops in Ghana due to a $1 million charge, as well as the widespread deportation of Nigerian nationals from Ghana for a variety of offenses. From the previous explanation, it is obvious that the Ghanaian expulsion of Nigerians was mostly driven by a need for fiscal discipline through the execution of tax and criminal laws in a period when the country faced economic troubles. Though the deportation and store closures had some xenophobic overtones in its design and execution, Ghanaians of all stripes applauded the decree for its nationalist and welfarist connotations. It was an audacious move toward the country's economic progress and security discipline. Apart from that, the deportation asserted the authority to define citizenship and to describe non-citizens' and citizens' rights, benefits, and responsibilities. According to the research on the diplomatic stories that sparked the themes of the Nigerian border closure and the demolition of the Nigerian high commission building in Ghana, there is 53 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh clear evidence that: Nigerian media skewed the framing of the Nigeria-Ghana feud of 2020 in Nigeria's favor; the framing clearly had a negative impact on economic ties between the two Commonwealth nations; both nations recorded low economic growth; and citizens of both nations expressed concern about the closure of the Nigerian border; and citizens of Crime concerns received some attention because they were frequently featured on the front pages of newspapers in order to draw the public's attention to them. Although the issues raised were unfavorable, there were only a few positive tales about arrests, which was encouraging and demonstrated the security services' activeness. Overall, this research demonstrated that the issues were given a lot of attention. Despite the bad aspects, there is often greater potential to portray both countries in a positive perspective. 5.4 Limitations • One of the study's major limitations was the small amount of data (number of stories published on critical issues) collected through content analysis of the sampled editions of the two newspapers within the stipulated timeframes. As a result, they were insufficient to enable a thorough examination of the issues in order to draw more solid conclusions about the findings and how they could be applied to the entire research universe. • The massive gap in newspaper space between the Daily Graphic (40 stories) and the Punch (411 stories) made it impossible to make meaningful comparisons. • Ghana has a diverse media landscape, including print, radio, television, and the internet; but, due to time constraints, the study was limited solely to the print media. Future research should investigate generating data from various sources to widen the scope of findings. 54 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh 5.5 Recommendation Based on the limitations and findings of the study, the following recommendations are made for future research in the subject: • Future research should examine broadening the scope of the study and the number of editions sampled. This will ensure that sufficient data is collected for proper analysis. • Future research on this problem should include newspapers with almost identical amounts of coverage, as this would make comparison and analysis easier. • Lastly, future studies should aim at investigating the coverage of both nations through other forms of media by generating data from various sources such as radio, television and the internet to widen the scope of findings. 55 University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh REFERENCES Adeyanju, C. G. (2018). The mass media and violent conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa. 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