Public Perception of Nigerian Newspaper Coverage of Xenophobic Attacks in South Africa

Abstract

This study investigates public perception of Nigerian newspaper coverage of xenophobic attacks in South Africa with specific emphasis on portrayal of Nigerian victims, perpetrators and the South African Government. With the aid of Cochran formula, a sample size of 385 respondents was drawn from Enugu State, Nigeria. The questionnaire was used as an instrument of data collection while the reliability of the instrument was determined through a test retest approach and this yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.92. Result revealed that respondents perceived Nigerian newspaper portrayal of Nigerian victims of xenophobia as positive while the perpetrators were found to be portrayed in the negative light. Result also revealed that the South African Government was perceived to be portrayed as incompetent. Within the frame work of perception theory, the researcher argues that the perception of the respondents may have been influenced by patriotism and recommends, among others that the media should avoid the temptation of portraying the South African Government in negative light as doing so will not help matters. Keywords : newspaper, perception, portrayal, South Africa and xenophobia