INFLUENCE OF CORPORATE PUBLIC RELATIONS ON THE REPORTAGE OF CORPORATE ORGANIZATIONS BY DAILY TRUST AND VANGUARD NEWSPAPERS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

Abstract

Chapter one

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

1.1       Background to the study

1.2       An overview of Daily Trust and Vanguard newspaper

1.3       Statement of problem

1.4       Research Questions

1.5       Research Hypotheses

1.6       Aim and objectives of the study

1.7       Justification for the study

1.8       Scope of the study

1.9       Limitations to the study

1.10     Definitions of Key Terms

1.10.1  List of Acronyms and their meanings

Chapter Two

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1       Introduction

2.2       Concept of corporate public relations

2.3       Corporate public relations and news selection

2.4       Corporate public relations and news framing

2.5       Corporate public relations and information subsidy

2.6       Corporate public relations and media pluralism

2.7       Corporate public relations and reputation management

2.8       Corporate public relations and media economics

2.9       Empirical review

2.9.1    Review on relationship between corporate public relations and the press

2.9.2    Review on influence of corporate public relations on the press

2.10     Theoretical framework

2.11     Justification for the use of the theories

Chapter Three

METHODOLOGY

3.1       Research Design

3.2       Study variables

3.3       Population of the study

3.4       Sampling universe

3.5       Sampling technique and sampling size

3.6       Instrumentation

3.7       Categories and Units of analysis

3.8       Validity and reliability

3.9       Method of data presentation

Chapter Four

DATA PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS

4.1       Introduction

4.2       Data presentation, interpretation and analysis

4.3       Discussion of findings

Chapter Five

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1       Introduction

5.2       Summary of chapters

5.3       Conclusion

5.4       Recommendations

5.5       Recommendation for future research

References

ABSTRACT

Corporate public relations demand that organizations maintain cordial relationship with the media. This situation gives rise to corporate public relations providing information subsidy and attempting to influence media‟s reportorial activities, with the goal of controlling media narrative. On the other hand, the press is expected to beam its lights on each and every societal institution in order to checkmate the activities of corporate organizations. However, the press in conducting its coverage has to contend with powerful interests such as those of the corporate organizations. Therefore, understanding the way corporate organizations influence the reportorial activities of the press is of paramount importance. Two theories, second level agenda setting and political economy were used as theoretical framework to the study. This study sought to find out the influence of corporate public relations on the reportage of corporate organizations by Daily Trust and Vanguard newspapers. A content analysis of the two dailies from January 2010 to December 2012 was carried out. Further, key informant interviews, comprising of twelve informants were conducted with selected journalists from the two dailies and corporate public relations personnel. Data were collected with the aid of coding sheets and interview guides. Data collected from content analysis were computed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) while data from key informant interviews was analyzed using thematic textual analysis. Findings from this study indicated that corporate public relations do have significant influence on the way Daily Trust and Vanguard newspapers give coverage to corporate organizations. This study recommends that press/journalists should strive to observe the principles of fairness, objectivity, balance and should give all claim makers equity in terms of access as well as resist being megaphones of corporate organizations. The Nigerian Press Council and Guild of Editors should promote conducive working environment for the journalists so as to checkmate the excesses of corporate organizations over the press. Indeed, the corporate public relations practitioners should always engage the press with factual information and should observe NIPR‟s ethical code that bars them from corrupting the press.

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 Background to the Study

Corporate public relations is the strategic management of information and communication elements by corporate organizations in order to project, in synergy, the perceived responsibilities of corporate bodies. It is, according to Dolphin and Fan (2000: 2),

“the strategic management process by which an organization communicates with its various audiences to the mutual benefits of both and to its improved competitive advantage.”Corporate public relations is geared towards minimising frictions between corporate organisation and its public through mainly three approaches namely: maintaining favourable inter-organizational relationships, evaluating social trends and formulating corporate communication policies and to incorporate the drive between corporate identity and corporate reputation (Illia and Balmer, 2012).

To achieve and sustain the above mentioned three approaches employed by corporate public relations, there is need for a common sphere, a medium through which corporate public relations will reach its target audience. The media through which this can be done are the mass media which comprises both electronic and print media (to this study, Daily Trust and Vanguard newspapers are presumed to represent the print media). It is in this regard that scholars of corporate public relations have entrusted the power of framing to the press (Macnamara, 2006). The link between corporate public relations, framing and press coverage of corporations comes from the basic understanding that it is important to recognize corporate public relations work involves the construction and framing of social reality. Corporate public relations workers have been referred to pejoratively as image makers and spin doctors, names that only portray their important role in constructing social reality. Indeed, corporate public relations counseling involves defining reality for organizations by shaping organizational perspectives about the outside world (Hallahan, 1999). Also in this aspect....

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