A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF NEWS COVERAGE ON 2019 KOGI AND BAYELSA GUBERNATORIAL ELECTION IN ONLINE NEWSPAPER AND NEWS BLOGS

Abstract

The study examined a comparative study of news coverage on 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa gubernatorial election in online newspapers and news blogs. Secondary data gotten from online news sites and new blogs were used to analyze the research Furthermore, Articles description using frequency counts and simple percentages were presented. Findings of this study therefore provide perception into the study of news coverage on 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa gubernatorial election in online newspaper and news blogs. Findings show that, which aims to determine the level of prominence attached to news reported on the gubernatorial election by the selected news blog and newspapers. Findings show that articles across blogs and newspapers both show considerable high level of prominence when reporting the political issues related to Kogi and Bayelsa gubernatorial election. However, majority of the Blog news attached high level of prominence in reporting their news while Newspaper articles are characterized with moderate to high level of prominence. These findings are in line with Rachel Gibson (2013), who found that blogs have emerged as news sources of increasing significance and there have been occasions when they can be influential in setting new agendas. She also concluded that, some blogs have also emerged as reliable source of information in some specialized areas. The research adopted the use of social responsibility theory, which explains audience preference according to convenience and availability. It further provided perception as to the extent to which each of the research question and research objective through the graphical corroboration and provides an affirmation of the extent to which the variations in the dependent variable are caused by the independent variables. The study concludes that this news reported on Newspaper site have high standard news style compared to those reported on the blog. This is evident because professional journalists are those that report this news on Newspaper site.