Priming of Drug and Substance Abuse in Print Media: a Comparative Study of Nation and Standard Newspapers

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the priming of drug abuse in print media. The study sought to provide valuable information on the extent to which the print media has given prominence to drug abuse and suggest recommendations to curb the problem of drug abuse. The objectives of the study sought to assess contributions that have been put forward by print media to stop drug and substance abuse, assess the nature of media coverage in terms of number of articles, their size, article type, placement and prominence, point out weaknesses in the media coverage of the various factors associated with increase in drug abuse scourge and find out the main subject focused on in the articles. The research used content analysis and the data was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively and it involved the use of tables, bar graphs and pie charts aimed at condensing the data collected. In the study, it was found out that drug abuse has not been given prominence by the print media and this is because most of the articles published were short items and they appeared on the inside page of the newspapers. This means that only a few people read such items. Therefore, the researcher concluded that print media has not given drug abuse prominence. This calls for concerted efforts between key media stakeholders to conduct aggressive campaigns to sensitize the public on drug abuse and its effects. The government should come up with a comprehensive policy on drug abuse. The government should also ensure that teachers are trained on drug abuse so that they can give the students adequate and appropriate information on the same because media is not the only channel that can be used to curb drug abuse. More articles should be published in the newspapers and should be put in the headlines so that the public can know that drug abuse is a serious issue. The researcher suggested that more studies should be conducted on priming of drug abuse.