ANALYSIS OF NEWSPAPER ADVERTISEMENT PORTRAYING THE WOMANGENDER: A STUDY OF SELECTED NEWSPAPERS

Abstract This study set out to ascertain newspaper framing of gender and determine women's per-ception of media stereotyping across Nigerian newspapers. Content analysis and survey methods were adopted as the research design with code sheets and questionnaire as the instruments of data gathering. Findings of the study show that newspapers' framing of gen-der issues across Nigeria is increasingly reflecting women in more positive manner, alt-hough there still exist some level of associating women with domestic violence, victims of war and natural disaster and women as sex appeal. Other findings also indicate that wom-en, particularly, pay attention to newspaper content concerning the female gender and find some articles on women useful in helping their day-to- day living experiences across many sphere of life. Notwithstanding, the study also reveal that a significant number of female newspaper- readers find the content on women not satisfactorily enough. The study thus, recommend among other things that newspapers as social institutions should give promi-nence significantly to portraying women as successful individuals rather than the usual tuck-ing in of such reports on the inside pages. The study also recommends that journalists who cover women beats should go beyond women who are public figures and project unsung female heroes.