The Influence of Media Ownership and Control on Media Agenda Setting in Nigeria

Abstract: This study assessed the influence of media ownership and control on media agenda setting using Nigeria as a case. The core method of data collection in this study was in-depth interview. The sampling methods employed include the Cluster sampling and the purposive sampling since the data expected requires an in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian media landscape. The finding of this study revealed that different levels of government in Nigeria which comprises of state and federal governments, serving and retired high level public and private officials, politicians, as well as influential businessmen and women, own most of the media organizations in Nigeria. It was observed that these groups of people (the ruling elite) are the core “news makers ” whose views and opinions populate most of the views, news, opinions and information disseminated in the media in Nigeria. The findings further showed that the current media ownership pattern and the level of media control in Nigeria actually hinder the media from independently setting society’s agenda