Information on the Number of Newspapers in Nigeria

[xena iris]

Dear All,

I would be glad for some information on the number of newspapers, tabloids and weekly magazines in Nigeria. If any member of the forum has information on this or where I can source for some estimates or figures, I would appreciate such help. Such information could be sent directly to this address or to the list.

Thank you 

X. Iris

P.S. Thank you so much, Prof. Falola, for inviting me to this group.

[Ayo Obe]

Do you mean tabloid in format?  I believe all Nigerian daily newspapers are published in tabloid format (though Next newspaper publishes in broadsheet format on Sundays).  I won't attempt an answer to your question though: firstly because I wouldn't know how to classify Nigerian newspapers by dividing tabloids from the rest - and secondly because so many papers have come into existence during the past year, what with the elections.  But I suppose you've tried Googling 'Nigerian newspapers'?

Ayo

I invite you to follow me on Twitter @naijama

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[xena iris]

Dear Ayo Obe,

Thank you for the suggestions and clarifications. The problem of classification is indeed a very daunting one. I have "googled" several terms related to my search and found just a few listed names of extant newspapers as well as some defunct ones but never anything close to an overall estimate in terms of numbers. I have been thinking that newspapers must register with some government agency in order to operate and through this agency one can get some form of list or figure of registered newspapers but each lead i get ends in some brick wall. One list suggested 64 and I know this is way too small. Getting the figures for broadcast media seems easy as The National Broadcasting Commission has specified on its website the number of radio, television stations, satellite TV outlets, etc. for scholars and interested persons to use. I will keep searching, and thanks once more for helping.

XI

[atah pine]

Dear Xena, You just have to be specific. There are thirty six states in Nigeria plus the Federal Capital Territory and in each of these states, there is a state government owned newspaper and other privately owned newspapers and a host of other News magazines and weeklies. Then you have newspapers and magazines that have national visibility and readership. For instance in Benue State where I reside, there is the state government owned newspaper called The Voice. There are other privately owned newspapers like, The Tigons, The Alternative, News Wave, etc.Papers with national readership are many, such as: The Guardian, Thisday, Daily Trust, The Punch,Leadership, Tribune, New Nigeria,etc. The last two, Tribune and New Nigeria, for instance, have ethno-regional roots. Others may not have these kind of origins, however, their editorial focus is ethnocentrically manifest in the corpus of their reportage. I have raised these issues to ignite your intellectual curiosity and also expand your investigative perspectives. You may wish to contact the apex journalism organization in Nigeria, Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ) for details. Regards. Atah Pine --- On Sat, 8/20/11, xena iris <xen...@googlemail.com> wrote:

[xena iris]

Dear Atah,

Thanks for pointing me toward the NUJ! I have ignored this angle in my search. I hope it may be fruitful in some way. From my initial investigation, the newspaper field in Nigeria is "messing", confusing and difficult to classify. Someone on Wikipedia claims (without evidence, sadly) that Nigeria has the largest newspaper market in Africa after Egypt. I am inclined to accept this statement but would need some figures to back it up but there seems to be none so far that i can access. You hinted at one possible classification: National or regional (ethnic/religious(?)); Government-owned or Private, English Language Newspapers or Indigenous language newspapers, daily newspapers or periodicals. I am still lost trying to get at some working figures for each possible category and its target audience. I hope the NUJ would be of some help in this search. Thanks once more for prodding me in this direction.

XnI

[atah pine]

Dear Xena, Indeed the NUJ will be of much assistance to you because the Union's membership is institution-based.As such, the National body  relying on the various state chapters can tell you exactly the number of newspapers in Nigeria. While saying this, I am also aware that there are a number of newspapers that are registered as news mediums.These kind of papers may not be recognized by NUJ. Regards.