Abstract:

Made-in-Nigeria products have been the focus of successive governments in Nigeria towards economic diversification. The need for citizens to patronize made-in-Nigeria products has often been emphasized but previous research have shown that citizens do not appear to have heed this call, because they do not have impressive perception of the products. The media have a role to play in supporting development efforts of the government. This paper considers how much coverage newspapers give to stories about made-in-Nigeria products as a way promoting economic development. Three newspapers: The Punch, Vanguard and Business Day were analyzed to determine the amount of coverage they give to such reports, the direction of the reports, how prominent the reports are and the type of stories they are covered in. Content analysis research method was adopted for the research. Findings show that the newspapers cover stories on made-in-Nigeria products, they are mostly straight news reports written in positive tone. However the reports are not given the expected prominence. The media need to pay more attention to reporting stories on made-in-Nigeria products, with a view to informing and educating the public and mobilizing them to patronize the products.