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CONTENT ANALYSIS OF CARTOONS IN NIGERIAN DAILIES

Abstract

This work content-analyzed Cartoons in Nigerian dailies. Its central objective is hooked on the measurement of efficiency in deployment of cartoons as a tool of communication. Due to the dearth of literature in this area, this study will prove an inhalable asset to other researchers and also place media house in the right pedestal to assess how well this potent weapon has been employed. Cartoon focuses on one out of two or many news events. The even focused on automatically enjoys more prominence and becomes ‘agenda’ for public discourse (Okunna, 1999 p.42). Agenda setting theory therefore forms the theoretical framework of this study. Analyses were guided by a number of research questions centered on frequency of feature, slant, type, origination and subject-content of the cartoons. Findings on the frequency at which cartoons were featured were not wholly encouraging. The case of This Day was particularly alarming. On slant, a large percentage adopted negative parlance towards their subjects. Results on the placement showed that many Nigerian dailies hardly place their cartoons on the front and back pages. Discovery also showed that the subject contents were largely social than political and economic. All cartons were domesticated. With the above findings the strength and weaknesses of cartooning in Nigeria became glaring enough. For improvement, balanced development was recommended. Attachment of greater importance to the art of cartooning as a course in Mass Communication Department and organization of workshops by NUJ will also go a long way in sharpening the interest of many people in the art.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background to the study

The cartoon has been denoted as a screaming medium that cannot be denied attention (Nelson, 1975:11, cited in Adejuwon and Alimi, 2011). It is known to combine metaphor, humour, allusion and caricature in order to pass across salient messages. Newspaper cartoons are especially apt for propagating ideas because it easily attracts readers’ attention. It is generally believed that images leave lingering impressions on the minds of viewers, because they last longer in the mind than words read or heard. This claim perhaps accounts for why such scholars as Kress and van Leeuwen (1996), Burns and Parker (2003), and Bezemer and Jewitt (2005) have turned their attention to multimodal discourse, holding that it could be an effective pedagogic tool.

That beneath the humour, exaggeration and metaphor in a cartoon there appear to be more important messages is a widely acknowledged fact (Adejuwon and Alimi, 2011; Sani et al., 2012; and Kondowe, Ngwira, and Madula, 2014). Apart from its applicability to learning, cartoons bring much to bear on the social existence of people. They are means of projecting ideas and thoughts – and desires, even. Most will consider the cleverness of the cartoonist’s contrivance intriguing, but one need pay attention to the interplay of the different modes of communication in cartoons.

The question that one