Impact of Television Webcast Framing on International Audience Perception of the Nigerian Government’s Response to Boko Haram Insurgency

The level of influence the media asserts on its audience perception of contemporary issues within the society has been a focal point in media studies. Over the past decade, the people and government of Nigeria as well as neighbouring African countries have struggled with brutal insurgencies by the Boko Haram sect which has constantly been on the international media. Adopting the content analysis research design, this study sought to determine the influence of the webcast framing of the Nigerian government’s response to these insurgencies on the international audience. A sample size of 157 videos, and 80 audience comments were sampled from the YouTube channels of Aljazeera, Channels TV, and CNN using the systematic, and purposive sampling techniques, while the coding sheet and manual were used to gather data. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings reveal that majority (69%) of the international audiences were more critical of government’s response to Boko Haram insurgency in the North-East. The study concludes that television webcast framing of government’s response to Boko Haram insurgency in 2012 - 2014 led to a critical perception of the Nigerian government by the international audience.