Abstract:
This study examines how the Boko Haram Insurgency in Nigeria was covered by the broadcast
media in Kumasi, Ghana. It identifies patterns of frames that were adopted, angle of news and the
scope of coverage. The study was carried out on two radio stations in Kumasi – Luv FM and Hello
FM. The purpose was to analyze the Ghanaian media’s coverage of Boko Haram Insurgency and
the frames that were used. The content analysis method was used. Seventy- four news stories on
Boko Haram in 2014 were sampled and analysed. Findings indicate that social issues and victims
related stories on Boko Haram were the subjects prevalent in the Ghanaian media and they were
predominantly reported in a straight news format. There were also contrasting frames employed by
the Ghanaian media in reporting the Boko Haram insurgency. It was however observed that the
Ghanaian media reported less terrorism education stories. Therefore, the researchers encourage the
need for such education. It was also observed that the Ghanaian broadcast media gave prominence
to attacks of the militant group and the profile of the militant group and its leader. This is quite
glorifying to the insurgency. Therefore further recommendations were made that the broadcast
media reports the insurgency in the light of government policies to address it.
The major limitation to this study was the size of the sample used for the research. Therefore
generalization cannot be made.
