Journalism Practice in an Era of Hostage Taking: Media Coverage of Kidnappings in Nigeria

The media are important stakeholders in every society. They need to keep vigil of the society, analyze subjects of interest, and draw the attention of the general public and the government to the implications of the issues reported. In the process, the media can recommend preventive measures with the overall aim of making the society a better place. Concerning kidnapping, the media in Nigeria have a responsibility of reporting the issue in a manner that draws public attention to it while also assisting in combating the threat. Despite this, literature on media coverage of kidnapping issues is still at the growing stage. It is against this background that this chapter examines how the Nigerian media report kidnapping stories. The general objective of the chapter is to ascertain media coverage of kidnapping in Nigeria. The specific objectives are: to determine the sources of media stories on kidnapping in Nigeria; to ascertain the category of kidnap stories most reported in the media and to ascertain the key issues about kidnapping as reported in selected media.