Nexus of conflict reporting: Analysis of Cameroon newspaper coverage of cross border conflicts

Abstract

The conflicts taking place in the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria and Gabon have raised security concerns for West and Central Africa and have consequently caused a humanitarian crisis, human rights and health concerns for the both regions. This article seeks to understand how the Cameroon print media has contributed to informing and educating citizens of Cameroon about the ongoing cross border conflicts. The Post Newspaper and Cameroon Tribune from July 2014 to December 2014 were content analyzed to examine the level of prominence, the angle and proximity of the stories covered on the said cross border conflicts. Findings reveal that the coverage of these conflicts by Cameroon Tribune and the Post Newspaper focused on the Cameroon Government’s intervention in the cross border conflict (27.0%) and on the perpetrators of the conflict (21.4%). This is indicative of more military focused and immediate action reporting than on the widespread and more englobing humanitarian cost of conflicts. Keywords: Conflic reporting, Cameroon, newspaper coverage, border conflicts