Abstract:
This study was motivated by a very low anti-trafficking in persons campaign activities and their increasingly isolated report by the media against the backdrop of flourishing modern day slavery. It was meant to establish the status of the campaign against human trafficking in terms of its media indices - frequency, prominence, slant, etc. Content analysis, with a coding sheet as instrument of data collection was employed as main design of the study. In-depth interview and focus group discussion guide were the instruments of data gathering, they were used to reinforce or othervise the findings of the quantitative inquiry. Out of a population of 1,146 editions of print and broadcast content, a sample of 141 was drawn from four general orientation media outfits (NTA, FRCN, The Punch and TELL) using constructed month and census sampling techniques. The study empirically established a high frequency of coverage by the media, low prominence accorded to trafficking in persons issues and overwhelming positive slant. These findings were either reinforced or rejected by the result of the interview and two separate focus groups sessions. The study recommended that NAPTIP and the media up their acts and finish the work they started. In addition to informational strategy, educational,transformational and other persuasive tactics were also suggested.
