REPRESENTATION OF FACE MASKS AS A PREVENTATIVE MEASURE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN NIGERIAN NEWSPAPERS

Face mask was identified as an important nonpharmaceutical intervention in halting the spread of Covid-19 across the globe. Health organizations issued advisories accordingly on the use of a face mask in public. To understand how Nigeria newspapers portray face masks in their news reports, a content analysis of four Nigerian newspapers was conducted from February 1, 2020, to September 30, 2020, to understand how face masks are framed in news reportage. News stories with face masks in the title and context of the study were descriptively analyzed. Findings revealed an under-reporting of face masks in Nigerian newspapers. Images were widely used in reporting face masks and pictures showing face masks or people wearing them made up about 50% of the total pictures used. The deductive analysis found 17 frames and five of the frames were prevalent, they include: advisory, punitive, production, donation, and crime frames. The study recommends that Nigerian newspapers include more information about the use of face masks in their reportage especially those that guide how to select, wear and care for face masks if the war against covid-19 is to be won and enable society to function as it used to before the pandemic outbreak.