This article focuses on the framing of Boko Haram, a transnational terrorist group, in legacy and social media platforms. The discussion is predicated on the understanding that in spite of its popularity as a research tool, the concept of framing is still problematic. One area of contention has been the reliability and validity of framing analysis. Drawing on Robert Entman’s seminal definition, this study investigates the viability of two innovative framing approaches and explores the intersection of the framing of Boko Haram in four Nigerian newspapers and Twitter. The authors argue that, while newspapers continue to dominate the media space, it is important to acknowledge the growing relevance of social media in shaping and influencing the opinion of their users. The study’s findings support the viability of these approaches and come to the conclusion that exploring the differences between the platforms can unearth different versions of reality.
AbubakarS (2017) Former child soldiers fighting bigger battle than Boko Haram. Daily Trust, 28January. Available at: http://hud.ac/drd (accessed 19 July 2017).
2.
AdesojiAO (2014) Between Maitatsine and Boko Haram: Islamic fundamentalism and the response of the Nigerian state. Africa Today Magazine57(4): 98–119.
3.
AkinloyeB (2017) Military must look beyond Sambisa Forest to defeat Boko Haram – Brig.-Gen. Ojo. The Punch, 1January. Available at: http://hud.ac/dob (accessed 14 September 2017).
4.
BalASCampbellCLPittLF (2012) Viewer reactions to online political spoof videos and advertisements. In: CloseA (ed.) Online Consumer Behavior: Theory and Research in Social Media, Advertising, and E-tail. New York: Routledge, 185–208.
5.
BappahHY (2016) Nigeria’s military failure against the Boko Haram insurgency. African Security Review25(2): 146–158.
6.
BenaquistoL (2008) Axial coding. In: GivenLM (2008) The Sage Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods. London: Sage, 51–52.
7.
BerryMJALinoffG (1997) Data Mining Techniques – for Marketing, Sales and Customer Support. New York: John Wiley.
8.
BiroscakBJet al. (2017) Leximancer software as a research tool for social marketers: Application to a content analysis. Social Marketing Quarterly23(3): 223–231.
9.
BroomfieldM (2016) Boko Haram ‘crushed’ by Nigerian army in final stronghold. Independent, 24December. Available at: http://hud.ac/doc (accessed 24 August 2017).
10.
BrunsASchmidtJH (2011) Produsage: A closer look at continuing developments. New Review of Hypermedia and Multimedia17(1): 3–7.
11.
BurscherBVliegenthartRVreeseCHD (2016) Frames beyond words: Applying cluster and sentiment analysis to news coverage of the nuclear power issue. Social Science Computer Review34(5): 530–545.
12.
CacciatoreMAScheufeleDAIyengarS (2016) The end of framing as we know it … and the future of media effects. Mass Communication and Society19(1): 7–23.
13.
CarrageeKMRoefsW (2004) The neglect of power in recent framing research. Journal of Communication54(2): 214–233.
14.
CopelandT (2001) Is the ‘new terrorism’ really new? An analysis of the new paradigm for terrorism. Journal of Conflict StudiesXXI(2): 7–27.
15.
CrenshawM (2008) The debate over ‘new’ vs. ‘old’ terrorism’. In: KarawanIet al. (eds) Values and Violence: Intangible Aspects of Terrorism. Dordrecht: Springer.
16.
CretchleyJet al. (2010) Conversations between carers and people with schizophrenia: A qualitative analysis using Leximancer. Qualitative Health Research20(12): 1611–1628.
17.
DattiS (2017) NEMA’s efforts in managing crisis in the Northeast. The Guardian, 6January. Available at: http://hud.ac/d4g (accessed 6 October 2017).
18.
De VreeseCH (2005) News framing: Theory and typology. Information Design Journal13(1): 51–62.
19.
EntmanRM (1993) Framing: Towards clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication43(4): 51–58.
20.
Estivill-CastroVYangJ (2004) Fast and robust general purpose clustering algorithms. Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery8(2): 127–150.
21.
EtteM (2016) Condensational symbols in British press coverage of Boko Haram. International Communication Gazette78(5): 451–468.
22.
EzeahGHEmmanuelNO (2016) Foreign media framing of Boko Haram insurgency: A critical analysis of BBC and Aljazeera online coverage. International Journal of Advanced Scientific Research and Management1(10): 30–44.
23.
FrederickEPegoraroABurchL (2016) Echo or organic: Framing the 2014 Sochi games. Online Information Review40(6): 798–813.
24.
GalilyYYarchiMTamirI (2015) From Munich to Boston, and from theater to social media: The evolutionary landscape of world sporting terror. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism38(12): 998–1007.
25.
GallieWB (1956) Essentially contested concepts. Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society56: 167–198. Available at: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/4544562.pdf (accessed 10 October 2016).
26.
GorpBV (2005) Where is the frame? Victims and intruders in the Belgian press coverage of the asylum issue. European Journal of Communication20(4): 484–507.
27.
GorpBV (2007) The constructionist approach to framing: Bringing culture back in. Journal of Communication57(1): 60–78.
28.
‘The Great Victory in Sambisa’ (2017) Daily Trust, 1January.
29.
HertogJKMcLeodDM (2001) A multiperspectival approach to framing analysis: A field guide. In: ReeseSDet al. (eds) Framing Public Life: Perspectives of Media and Our Understanding of the Social World. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
30.
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) (2016) Nigeria IDP figures analysis. Available at: http://hud.ac/dod (accessed 5 September 2016).
31.
IsakhanB (2005) From despotism to democracy: Reporting Iraq’s January 2005 election in the Australian and Middle Eastern print media. Griffith Research Online, 29November–2December. Available at: http://hud.ac/doe (accessed 28 August 2017).
32.
JibrinAMJimohI (2017) CNN and Aljazeera framing of the Boko Haram conflicts in Nigeria (January–December 2014). International Journal of Communication: 119–135.
33.
KampfZ (2014) News-media and terrorism: Changing relationship, changing definitions: Media and terrorism. Sociology Compass8(1): 1–9.
34.
LivinusH (2017) FG begins Yola inland cargo port construction. The Punch, 7January.
35.
MaherMT (2001) Framing: An emerging paradigm or a phase of agenda setting? In: ReeseSDet al. (eds) Framing Public Life: Perspectives of Media and Our Understanding of the Social World. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
36.
MargolisJ (2004) Terrorism and the new forms of war. Metaphilosophy35(3): 402–413.
37.
MartinLJ (1985) The media’s role in international terrorism. Terrorism: An International Journal8(2): 127–146.
38.
MartinW (2016) Africa’s biggest economy has crashed into recession. Business Insider, 31August. Available at: http://hud.ac/doh (accessed 5 September 2017).
39.
MatthesJ (2009) What’s in a frame? A content analysis of media framing studies in the world’s leading communication journals, 1990–2005. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly86(2): 349–367.
40.
MatthesJKohringM (2008) The content analysis of media frames: Toward improving reliability and validity. Journal of Communication58(2): 258–279.
41.
MorinA (2016) Framing terror: The strategies newspapers use to frame an act as terror or crime. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly93(4): 986–1005.
42.
NgwuCCEkweOCChiahaC (2015) Nigerian newspapers framing of the Chibok school girls abduction (a study of The Guardian, Daily Sun, The Daily Trust, and Leadership newspapers). Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences3(8): 78–93.
43.
NorrisPKernMJustM (2003) Framing terrorism. In: Norriset al. (eds) Framing Terrorism: The News Media, the Government, and the Public. New York: Routledge, 3–23.
44.
ObajeCE (2017) News frame patterns: An evaluation of newspaper coverage of Boko Haram attacks in Nigeria. Covenant Journal of Communication (CJOC)4(1): 1–25.
45.
ObajiP (2016) The Nigerian war that’s slaughtered more people than Boko Haram. The Daily Beast, 11March. Available at: http://hud.ac/dok (accessed 4 September 2016).
46.
OkoroNOdoemelamCC (2013) Print media framing of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria: A content analytical study of The Guardian, Daily Sun, Vanguard and Thisday newspapers. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences3(11): 86–94.
47.
OkpagaAChijiokeUSEmeOI (2012) Activities of Boko Haram and insecurity question in Nigeria. Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review1(9): 77–99.
48.
OsaghaeEESuberuRT (2005) A history of identities, violence, and stability in Nigeria. Centre for Research on Inequality, Human Security, and Ethnicity (CRISE), Working Paper No. 6, University of Oxford.
49.
Premium Times (2017) 85 percent of IDPs return home in Yobe – Official, 27June. Available at: http://hud.ac/dol (accessed 24 August 2017).
50.
RokackLMaimonO (2005) Clustering methods. In: MaimonORokackL (eds) Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery Handbook. New York: Springer, 321–352.
51.
Sahara Reporters (2016) US General says Boko Haram still holds territory in Nigeria, 11March. Available at: http://hud.ac/dom (accessed 24 July 2017).
52.
SaulB (2008) Defining Terrorism in International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
53.
ScheufeleDA (1999) Framing as a theory of media effects. Journal of Communication49(1): 103–122.
54.
SotiriadouPBrouwersJLeT (2014) Choosing a qualitative data analysis tool: A comparison of NVivo and Leximancer. Annals of Leisure Research17(2): 218–234.
55.
TankardJW (2001) An empirical approach to the study of media framing. In: ReeseSDet al. (eds) Framing Public Life: Perspectives of Media and Our Understanding of the Social World. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
56.
TuckerD (2001) What is new about the new terrorism and how dangerous is it?Terrorism and Political Violence14(3): 1–14.
WeimannG (2006) Terror on the Internet: The New Arena, the New Challenges. Washington, DC: United States Institute for Peace [USIP] Press.
59.
WilkinsonP (1997) The media and terrorism: A reassessment. Terrorism and Political Violence9(2): 51–64.
60.
ZhangDShoemakerPJWangX (2013) Reality and newsworthiness: Press coverage of international terrorism by China and the United States. Asian Journal of Communication23(5): 449–471.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
