Media and Communication Review VOL. 5, NO. 1, MARCH, 2020 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Copyright © 2020 School of Communication Lagos State University ISSN: 2488-0014 Layout Design: O A M ediaKraft Lagos, Nigeria E: oamediakraft@gmail.com Tel: +234 701 963 0004 All correspondence to: The Editor, Media and Communication Review School of Communication, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria. Email: mcrjournal@lasu.edu.ng UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION REVIEW V o l. 5 , N o . 1 , M a rch , 2 0 2 0 Journal of the School of Communication Lagos State University, Nigeria Contents Pages A Critical Review of Corruption and Conflict of 1 Interest Issues in Joum alism Practice in Nigeria Olujimi KAYODE, Adeniyi Olalekan HASSAN and Noeem THANNY Determining Negativity in Selected 2015 Presidential 24 Election Campaigns Press Advertisements Olayinka. A. EGBOKHARE Online Newspaper Coverage of the 8th National 57 Assembly in Nigeria Hassan Biodun SULE1MAN, PhD, Khadijat Adedeji OLONA and S. Olasunkanmi AROWOLO Contextualising Hate Speech in Selected Nigerian 84 Media Tunde M. AKANNI and Jide JIMOH Assessment of Association of National Accountants of 98 Nigeria Employee Relations Channels Düring COVID- 19 Lockdown Hassan Biodun SULE1MAN Online News Readership and its Influence on the 124 Patronage of Print Newspapers Mohammed Shaibu ONAKPA and Ojonimi Godwin ALFRED x UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Determining Negativity in Selected 2015 Presidential Election Campaigns Press Advertisements Olayinka. A. EGBOKHARE Abstract This paper reviews the message content of selected adverts used during the 2015 Presidential election campaigns with a view to identifying the extent to which negative content was employed. Traditionally, political parties hold rallies and engage in public Speeches across major geo- political zones prior to elections. Campaign messages are now disseminated via the broadcast and print media along with online engagements from Twitter to Facebook. Using the Functional theory of Campaign discourse as the background, the study examined 20 purposively selected print ads from 4 (four) major Nigerian Newspapers. Using content and descriptive analysis, the researcher looked at the headline, body copy, Illustration, call to action and Sponsor of the selected advert Findings show that many of the print ads were direct criticisms and verbal attacks on the character and judgement of the contestants. Messages bothered on direct name calling and attack on personality and character of one’s opponents. Many of the adverts did not have identified Sponsors and in some instances Sponsors simply called themselves Concerned Citizens or similar appellations. Many of the messages by- passed APCON's gate-keeping and received cooperation from media houses who ran adverts that were not vetted by APCON. The paper recommends stricter penalties agaiast offeasive and inriting political advertisements. Key words: Campaigns. Negativity, Presidential Elections, Press Advertisements Olayinka. A EGBOKHARE is of the Department of Communication and Language, University of Ibadan 24 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Kiedia and Commumcation Rtvieu' (MCR) - Vol. 5. No. 1, | March, 2020 Introduction The role of the media in electoral campaigns is fundamentaL However, equally crucial is the nature of the messages placed in the media. Hence, Okigbo (1992) observes that elections are won and lost largely on the ability of the campaign managers to use communication effectively. According to Castells (1997), "it is not that the media control politics as such, rather they have come to create and constitute the space in which politics now chiefly happens for most people ...whether we like it or not, in order to engage in the political debate, we must do so through the media." Thus, the media play a pivotal role in helping candidates define or shape their images for voters. A report in the Vanguard Newspaper of March 23,2015 holds that N4.9 Billion was expended on communication for the 2015 elections. The Print media alone raked in 1.049 Billion. The biggest Spender was the sitting party at the time, that is the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party). The monumental use of the social media and the heated debates generated on those platforms make the 2015 elections campaign attention worthy. As it appears, the content of the political campaign messages is a topic that is always on the front burner for many scholars and political analysts especially in an election year. Critics agree that with the 2015 electoral campaign, the media set a fundamental agenda for what appeared to be a war of words, accusations, counter accusations, name - calling, mudslinging and smear campaign. ln fact, Mark Amaza, a blogger while writing about the 2015 elections observed that "on the negative side, is the unprecedented level of gratuitous attacks witnessed in this campaign season." The outcry about the negativity of the campaign content was so much that the then Registrar of the Advertising Practitioner Council of Nigeria (APCON), on January 21, 2015, Alhaji Garba Bello Karkarofi, issued a Press release titled Electioneering Campaign: Appeal to Mass Media Owners/Managers. In the write -up, the Registrar pointed out that "a keen observer of the electioneering campaign communication will feel worried by the 25 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Detenuining Negativity in Selected 2015 Presidential Election Qimpaigtts Press Advertisements pedestrian, combative, provocative and insensitive messages, ianguage and style of several of the campaign communication". The Registrar went on to further spell out the existing regulations which require that political advertisements do the following: • Deal with issues (campaign manifestoes, promises, etc.) • Avoid the use of foul or abusive Ianguage as well as false, distorted or unsubstantiated Claims or misrepresentations of facts: • Should not exploit or incite ethnic, religious or other sectional interests • Should clearly indicate the identity of the Sponsor of the advertisement (anonymous or unidentifiable advertisers are not allowed to place advertisement in the media) The last requirement spelled out by APCON in the Press Release stipulated that "like every other form of advertisement, political advertisements are required to be submitted for pre-exposure approval by the Advertising Standards Panel. A number of studies have been conducted on the 2015 elections in Nigeria (Alawode and Adesanya, 2016; Tejumaiye, Simon and Obia,2018). The belief of some observers is that even though the campaign thrust was generally negative, Rtd. Gen. Buhari and the APC party were more on the receiving end. Some however uphold that each of the two leading parties threw as much mud as the other. To some others, the messages were not negative because they were truthful Situation reports which voters had a right to be privy to. Inadvertently, the events on the political landscape fast suggest that it may be impossible to run electoral campaigns without a character slurring and name calling. The use of negative campaign may not be noticed in every election. It is said to be more commonly demonstrated in senatorial and presidential elections. (West 2005, 28-30). For instance, in the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, the use of negative campaign was most notable in the Presidential elections. However, there were some recorded cases of smear campaigns in Governorship elections in States like Rivers, Lagos, Abia, Port Harcourt, Oyo, Ekiti, just to mention a few. 26 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY A ledig and ComnturucuHott Revieu* (MCR) - Wo/, 5, No. 1, 1 March, 2020 This paper is an examination of selected print ads from the 2015 election campaign with the aim of drawing attention to the nature and structure of the negative information/content. The researcher studied samples of negative political advertising from the 2015 Presidential elections in Nigeria with a view to establishing the pattem of message development One explanation for the study is that "the widespread presence of negative advertising in the political market has been a serious concern to policymakers, scholars, and news commentators alike" (montana.edu/urban/ documents/JEEADraftDl_ 5RR.pdf). The fear has always been that negative advertising is "harmful to the health of a democracy"(Franz, Freedman, Goldstein and Ridout, 2008, p? ). In fact, some studies suggest that many voters have developed a sense of apathy towards political campaigns because of the negativity that permeates the air during campaign periods (Ansolabehere, Iyengar and Simon 1999). This study examines the adverts to find out their negative structure. Are they negative because they lie about the target? Or because the Claims or actions discussed are negative? Are they negative because they come from the Opposition? Or because they generate negative feelings in the receiver? What makes an ad negative? The study is driven by the following research questions: i. What is the nature of the message content of the selected political adverts? ii. To what extent are these message Contents negative in view of the axioms of negative political advertising? iii. Looking at APCON Regulations, do the selected adverts fall foul of the Standards? 27 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Determimng Negatwity in Selected 2015 Präsidentuil Election Campaigns Press Advertisements Literature review Negative political communication is an established political strategy to paint the Opponent as the undesirable other. Or like Richard Nixon was quoted to have said, "It is necessary for me to establish a winner image; therefore, I have to beat somebody" (Drew, 2007). Establishing a winner image therefore mandates that a contestant casts aspersion on the person or character of the other contestants. In fact, it becomes somewhat legitimate to question the character, the antecedents, the competence and the ideology of the other candidates. Ultimately, this Strategie weapon is designed to diminish the image and the overall profile of the opposing candidate and make him less acceptable to the electorate. While establishing the popularity of negative political campaign messages in American elections, Kaid and Johnston (1991) reported that the percentage of negative advertisements in U.S. election campaigns has increased over the years. Some twenty years later, Baumgartner reports that the 2012 presidential ad campaign was the most negative in recent memory (Fowler, 2012; Slack, 2012). By one estimate, "only 14.4% of pro-Obama and 20.4% of pro-Romney ads, which include those sponsored by the candidate, their party, or other groups, could be considered strictly positive ads. The remaining ads were either negative (58.5% for Obama and 49.2% for Romney) or contrast ads. It was specifically reported that in the 2012 presidential race, Obama spent $404 million on negative advertising alone, This represented 85% of his advertising expenditure. Similarly, Romney spent $492 million on anti-Obama ads, which amounted to 91% of his advertising costs (washingtonpostcom, 2012). In the 2017 Presidential election involving Clinton and Trump, the use of negative advertising was also hugely reported. Even though Clinton spent more money on Television advertising than Trump did ($258 million to his $92miilion and 400,000 adverts to his 120,000), the contents of the ads still show that Clinton used more of Negative ads. Sean Higgin, writing for the Washington Examiner on March 9, 2017 noted that Clinton outspent Trump in 28 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Media and Contmunuation Reztiew (MCR) - Vol. 5, No. 1, | March, 2020 the election campaign. Also, the consensus was that as far as adverting was concerned, Clinton's ads were far more negative in tone and content The majority of Clinton campaigns were negative advertising which attacked Trump as an individual, with 90% focussing on his character and personality while only 10% concentrated on policy issues. This did not mean that Trump was less negative in his campaign; apparently, he employed other means apart from advertising to throw his own darts. In fact, John Geer, a Vanderbilt University professor who specialises in political advertising, argued that "Trump's propensity to verbally attack Clinton in an incendiary way essentially made his rallies and interviews into attack ads on their owa"(Stanage, 2016)In other words, even though Trump did not use TV Ads as much as Clinton, he did not employ less of negative campaigning. The popularity of attack ads over the years is reflecdve in the number of studies devoted to them. Researchers have asked questions about whether or not they work and how they work. While some studies have shown that they may stimulate voters tum out (Goldstein and Freedman,2002), others have said negative ads decrease turnout (Ansolabehere, Behr and lyengar, 1993 ) some have said they neither increase nor decrease turnout (Clinton and Lapinsky, 2004) . Some studies Claim they always hurt the Sponsor and increase liking of target (Sufaro, 1998), others studies say they hurt their target and are more memorable (Bradley, Angelini and Sungkyoung,2007). In the Submission of Pinkleton, Um and Austin (2002:22), a major reason negative political ads are used successfully is that voters tend to weigh negative information more heavily than positive information when forming impressions of political candidates. Marketing communication is about effect and influence and result Ultimately, an electoral campaign is a marketing action used by politicians to get votes in an election. In fact, political parties and their candidates are also interested in knowing which campaign tactics work so as to know how to allocate their resources and develop better knowledge about how and why voters make the 29 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Detmnining Negaiwity in Seite ted 2015 Presidcntial Elcction Campaigns Press Adivrtisements choices they make. The Texas Ethics Commission in its 2011 brochure States that for an advert can be adjudged as political or otherwise by trying to answer these two questions: • What does it say? • Where does it appear? A political advertising message is expected to promote contestants' superior attributes or policies over those of their opponents. The message is designed to elicit specific behaviours, such as voting, and/or increased awareness of the candidate or party. Political advertising aims to ensure that the public is aware of an opponent's weaknesses whilst promoting the Sponsoring candidate's strengths and policy differences (Roddy & Garramone, 1988; Pinkleton, 1998; O'Cass, 2002; Meirick, 2002;). Candidates can control the message sent to the target audience and its format, and can associate the Sponsoring candidate with positive images and their Opponent with negative images (Roddy & Garramone 1988; Niffenegger, 1989; Christ, Thorson & Caywood, 1994). One other way of looking at the phenomenon is to view negative advertisements strictly as those that only present negative information about a competing candidate (Meirick 2002). The content is such that it casts aspersions on the personality of the Opponent, his character or past deeds, in and out of office. In a succinct view, Bradley et. al. (2007:116) describe them as ads that are "based on direct criticism of an opponent’s issue, stand, track record, or personal character, with the purpose to discredit the opponent's image and turn voters away from that candidate". This definition echoes the Submission of many researchers who have conducted studies into negative political advertising. (Newhagen and Reeves, 1991; Ansolabehere et.al. 1993; Devlin 1994; O'Sullivan and Geiger 1995). Generally, one might then affirm that negative ads are those which evoke negative responses (Devlin 1995). 30 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY SlrJuiand Cotitmunuation Reitiew (MCR) - Vol. 5, No. 1, | March, 2020 Are negative political adverts the same as attack advertising? Scholars suggest they are not exactly the same. Attack advertising contains an aggressive, one-sided assault, designed to draw attention to an opponent's weaknesses in either character or issue positions (Pfau and Kenski, 1990). Attack advertising and negative advertising are often used interchangeably, but "attack advertising also represents the most malicious form of negative advertising. Negative advertising directly assaults a targeted candidate for broken promises, a poor voting record, public misstatements, and the like". Such advertising often is referred to as "mudslinging" (Garramone, 1984). So, looking at samples from the 2015 general elections in Nigeria, were there more of 'attack advertising' or 'negative advertising' For further clarification, Johnson-Cartee and Copeland (1991) propose that there are three types of negative political ads: direct attack; direct comparison( ad features the candidate as well as the Opponent and contrasts their records, their experience and their issue positions. ) and implied comparison (ad does not make specific references to the targeted candidate and in some cases it may not feature the Sponsoring party/candidate until the very end).The ethical question again raised here is, does the blow land softer on the Opponent who is being attacked if the negative portrayal is a direct comparison as opposed to a direct attack? Since a direct comparison only juxtaposes the scorecards of the opponents against each other, is that fair game? Is it also the case that voters are likely to find some types of negative ads easier to deal with than others? Is the smudge on the candidate lighter when the negative comment borders on policies as opposed to personal weakness or failing? The thin line separating attack advertising and negative advertising depends on the volume of venom injected into the message, the nature of the information given and the motive. Howbeit, it can be argued that whether attack or negative, these advertising forms portend no good omen for their targets. Ultimately, negative ads present ugly details about a contestant, 31 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Dctermining Negalivity in Seite! cd 2015 President ml Election Campaigns Press Advertisements making disparaging comments and denting his image before the electorate with the aim of influencing voting behaviour in favour of the attacker or the Opposition party. Such portrayals always borrow from information which presents the target as weak, unfit or ill equipped for the position for which he wishes to contest. It does not matter if the attack ad is based on half-truths or outright lies, the damage would still have been done and no amount of refutations can fully restore an already dented image. If like Kaid (1999) observes, exposure to advertisements does influence public perception of candidates, then a better understanding of how negative advertising Works is necessary. Thus, at their very core, negative political advertisements involve criticism of a candidate, a policy decision, or past performance. There may be a need to distinguish between "mudslinging" and "legitimate criticism" (Kahn and Kenney, 1999). In other words, if the information given about the candidate is true, is it still negative advertising or simply rendering of facts? Does calling a politician under whose watch, huge funds are unaccounted for and awarded projects not completed, a thief and a rogue amount to negative advertising? ln an attempt to make the Classification clearer, Stevens et al. (2008) reiterate that comparative or contrast advertisements are those that offer legitimate critiques, qualifications, and other substantive materials about a candidate or pair of candidates in order to disseminate the information to the general public. The intention of these ads is not to cast a negative light on either of the candidates, but to inform the public through facts, why one individual should be voted for and not the other. These types of ads also educate the public in reference to the candidates' policy stances on issues that are important during the course of a specific election. Ads compare and contrast the candidates so that the voters can construct a more educated opinion about each individual (whether positive or negative) in reference to the policies and issues that matter to them most. In so doing, the individual voter chooses a candidate as a direct result of whether they support 32 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY MtdiaundCowmunication Reinen* (MCR) - Vol. 5, No. 1, | March, 2020 similar views. This type of advertisement is not intended to be positive or negative, but siinply reflect reality and past Professional actions of a candidate. An exception to this type of ad is if it uses innuendo on top of facts to affect the voters' choice of candidate. Innuendo may take the form of inciting photographs, verbiage, or colour, and may subsequently make the ad negative. Negative campaigning directly criticizes some aspect of a political candidate's stance or behaviour, and is usually sponsored by an Opponent, an opponent's political party, and/or supporting group. Negative campaigning can also be broken down into two categories: negative issue or negative image. Negative issue ads, as defined above, usually benefit the Sponsor, because they are more liked by the public because they use substantiated Statements; however, they add a negative "spin." 0ohnson-Cartee and Copeland, 1989) Negative image advertisements usually focus on an individual's personal characteristics, which may or may not be substantiated, and usually make judgmental Statements about an individual's past or the motivation behind past political actions (Roddy and Garramone, 1988). Without doubt, negative campaigning maybe an effective tool, depending on the Situation. In Presidential primaries, when candidates have similar positions on policies, negative issue campaigning is likely to occur specifically in this regard (Damore, 2002; Krebs and Holian, 2007; Schulman and Rivera, 2009:2-3).In addition, one other reason for the popularity of negative ads is because of the advantage that those already in office have over those who are running for that office. Incumbent candidates generally have an advantage in terms of media coverage, so Challengers may have to use their ads to contrast their stand on issue and policies with those of incumbents (Kaid and Johnston, 2001). Furthermore, Lau and Pomper (2001) identified negative political messages during several U.S. Senate campaigns as either person based or issue based. Further in their study, they found no 33 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Determining Negalanty in Selected 2015 Presidenttal Election Campaigns Press Advertisements evidence that these two types of attacks differentially affected voter turnout In contrast, significant effects were found on the perception of political sources as they discovered that the effect of the campaign depended more on the credibility of the information source and less on the nature of the attack. (Carraro and Castelli, 2010:619). No wonder some negative campaigns focus on political scandals as their thematic content to make an argument against the opposing candidate (Garramone et al. 1990; Kaid and Bystrom 1999; Tedesco 2002). Theoretical Framework This study in hinged on the Functional theory of Political Campaign Discourse (Benoit, 2007). This theory is most relevant because it focuses on the nature of campaign messages. It explains that candidates seek to appear preferable to other candidates in Order to win elections. The theory is based on six axioms which have been tested in several political election studies. The first axiom holds that voting is a comparative act. This is understandable as one candidate must be perceived as preferable to his Opponent Secondly, the theory holds that candidates must distinguish themselves from their opponents as one cannot be preferable if the contenders are indistinguishable. Third, political campaigns or messages are the means for establishing a distinction. They are an avenue for voters to acquire information about the candidates. Furthermore, the fourth axiom holds that candidates establish preferability through acclaiming, attacking and defending. It is understandable that if one candidate is to be preferred, then comparisons may be unavoidable. Acclaims are said to be positive Statements that identify the qualities, accomplishments or desirable attributes of a candidate. Attacks are criticisms and they identify the weaknesses or limitations of an Opponent or his political party. Defences are refutation of attacks from opponents. The fifth axiom holds that campaign discourse occur on two topics: Policy and Character. Policy may be seen as dealing with issues: education, employment, security, national defence, 34 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Media and Commumcation Review (MCR) - Vol. 5, No. 1, | March, 2020 economic decisions and other related matters. Policy can also be presented from three angles: past deeds (accomplishments and failures), future plans (specific campaign promises) and general goals (campaign objectives). The last and the sixth of the Functional theory axioms States that the last aim of every political campaign which is for a winner to emerge. The theory however holds that a candidate must win a majority or plurality of the votes cast The functional theory strongly reflects in this present study especially along the dimensions of the peculiarities of political campaign messages. One major challenge is that the theory appears to emphasise the candidate over the political party whereas in many instances, the image and the assessment of the candidate is woven into that of the party it represents. Also, in a country like Nigeria where ethnicity, religion and 'stomach infrastructure' feature in the voters' decision making, will the actions of the candidate in relations to these factors be classified as policy or character? Methodology The paper examines 20 purposively selected print ads from the 2015 Presidential campaign. Samples were drawn only from the campaign of APC and PDP as they were the most vocal contestants in the race. A pre-test was carried out using a group of seven selected and trained coders who are students of advertising from the Department of Communication of Language Arts, both at the Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels. From a pool of adverts that ran between January to March in major Nigerian Newspapers- The Punch, The Nation, The Guardian and the Nigerian Tribüne. All four newspapers met the inclusion criteria of being widely circulated and popularly read especially in the locality in which the study was carried out. The categorisation yardsticks include the following: the tone-use of innuendo, message focus (issue or character), direct attack or name calling, negative image, Casting aspersion (personality, character or oneself), defending past deed seif -acclaim. Each of 35 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Determining Negativity in Selected 2015 Presidential Elcctian Campaigns Press Advertisements the selected adverts was analysed using the major components of the press ad-Headline, Subhead, Body copy, Illustration and Call to Action and Sponsor as basis. The purpose and the nature of the message was examined along these content categorization yardsticks: the tone-use of innuendo, message focus (issue or character), direct attack or name calling, negative image, casting aspersion (personality, character or past deed) acclaiming, distinguishing a candidate or trying to make a contestant to appear preferable. 36 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Results TABLE A- APC PRINT ADS WITH ANTI- GEJ (GOODLUCK EBELE JONATHAN) MESSAGES S/No Headline Dody Copy Illustration Call to action Sponsor Content 1. For thosc who Increasc in National Picture of Jonathan Vote APC, Vote Defcndcrs of Negative tone and care to know, the debt, depletcd looking pensive, for Dcmocracy Illustration. 1 followlng an* cxccss crude oil against a dark CHANGE Crcating a Jonathan's true account (from $20bn background negative Image achievemcnts so to $2bn) high for GEJ. far. unemployment rate Innuendo-usc of (Monday March and poverty levd 'achievements' to 2,2015, TI IE etc. refer to Problems. NATION, PAGE 9) 2. President Allegations of A score card Vote wisely (Koalition for Negative. Jonathan's financial frauds and showing the change Casting aspersion scorecard- issucs rclating to grades in bold and Using refcrence Rule of Law F breech of court encirclcd to performancc Comiption A+ ordere and other in office/past dwds (Monday, January unlawful political Reference to 19,2015. THE moves Qwracter and NATION Focus on issuc Friday, January 16,2015 T llE NATION) UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Media and Communication Review (MCR) - Vol 5, No. 1, | March, 2020 3. We know what The rather Pictures of Vote wisely, Defendcr» of Casting aspersion Martin Luther confusing ad Mobutu Sese So ko, vote for change Dcmocracy Reference to King Jr., Nelson (pictures of the Robert Mugabc, Charactor, Mandela, Lee leadcrs named arc Coodluck Personality and Kwan Ycw and not in the Jonathan Blaise Past deeds Barrack Obama Illustration) says Mr Compraorc ldi Direct attack and represcni. Coodluck Jonathan, Amin Name calling (THE NATION, this is wherc you January 22, 2015) belang... and this is followed by an obecure arrow pointing at the I llu s tr a tio n . The messagc could mcan Coodluck Jonathan belongs with the leadcrs named in the headline. 4. Oh Ycs! Thcy are Reference to A picturc of CEJ in Vote CAN Use of Innuendo corrcct Still Coodluck a small box and a Mohammad u Accusation of under his watch, Jonathan's promise larger picturc of a Buhari Making promiscs, Nigeria has to build a 2nd Niger smiling Buhari. denying knowledgc bocome No.l in Bridge if voted in of them and not bruken promise*. 2011. The President fuifilling them. (TUE NATION, was later q u o te d as Thureday January saying/don't know 8.2015) the exact Statem ent l m ode in term s o f the com pletion . 5. N1S 2014 Cives data un Shot of the mass of Vote for Change JUST (Joint Direct attack RECRUITMENT unemployment job seckert at the Union for Failed promise UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Determining Segativity in Selected 2015 Presidential Election Campaigns Press Advertt: CALAMITY-Are from Minister of ill-fated N1S Service and Accusation of thcw tl'ic kind of Finance, National Recruitment Transparency Incompetcnce, jobs hds Population purpose is to promising? Commission etc. discredit the (Nigcrian target Tribüne, Fcbruary 5. 2015.) 6. Imaginc another Reports of killing at Picture of Nigerians will JUST(Joint Using fear appeal four ycars of Cwoza, Bomb bläst a 11BOK girls dad not reward Union for and reference to insecurity. in Abuja and in grey and black failurc, make Service and per forma nee in (TI IE .NATION, abduction of Chibok Ijab change poasible Transparency office, the target January 23,2015) girls. is presented ns inept and the Opponent is made to look prcferable 7. The Coodluck A catalogue of 12 Hexagonal This musi stop, Not identifiod Casting aspersion Jonathan negative boxes bcaring wc need The administration Administration developments- different figures CHANGE, Is accuscd of has bankrupt increasc in national showing statistics VOTEFOR Poor performance Nigeria debt, poverty, in support of the CHANCE With far reaching (The Punch, unemployment, claim of Consequcnces. February 3,2015) pricc of pctrol etc. bankruptey The Opponent is Presented as prcferable 8. Can you trust this Challengcs a A Silhouette of Nigerians, it's in CAN Attack on man? Statement ervdited Jonathan your hands. Personality and (TI IE NATION, to Jonathan-My Votc wisely, charactcr. Friday, january administration has votc change. Target is callcd 16,2015) reduced poirrty rate a liar, opposing in Nigeria ty 50%. party distinguishes Refers to this as onc itself. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Media and Communication Review (MCR) - Voi 5, No. 1, | March, 2020 among the chronidc of Jonathan's transformadon lies. 9. The umbrella Is Catalogucs the Darkncsa and a Vote Buhari / Sponsor not Using Innuendo, not working Problems faccd by bleak light from a Osinbajo identified the sitting party (The Punch, the country-no light small kerosene 2015 is again discrcditcd Monday, in9ccurity, coüapscd lantem and the The party Symbol, February 9,2015) educational System, APC Logo the umbrella is no health care plan, Umbrella is said to dwindllng foreign bc reserve incffcctivc or out of Order. 10. Anyonc who Thcbody copy A small picture of No call to The message is Casting aspereion docsn't take truth again challengcs the Goodluck action, just a signed by Lai on pcrsonality. scriously in small Statement crcditcd Jonathan inserted logo of APC Mohammed, Outright matters cannot bc to Coodluck aftcr the quotadon and the National Name-calling trusted in large Jonathan that his on poverty CHANGE Publicity Direct attack Lines either- govemment had reduction. Slogan Secretary All Albert Einstein rcduced poverty by Progressives (TUE NATION, 50% Congrcss(APC) Sunday, January 25,2015) UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Determining Negalivily in Selected 2015 Presidential Election Campaigns Press idvei Analyse one Table before the presentation of the second Otherwise, simply summarise youi major rrsults and transfer both tables to Appendix section. TABLE B: ANTI- BUHAR1 MESSAGES____________________________________________________________________________________ VNo HEADLINE BODY COPY ILLUSTRATIO CALL TO SPONSOR Comment* N ACTION 1 This is not politk», Questians MV raised Buhari in army This is a laradership Subtlc attark on this is all ahout about some allegations uniform challcnge to the and Personality. One integrity. conccming Buhari’* Civil Society Accountability major Argument put administration of the Organisation» to initiative forward for the choicc of (Guardian, Fcbruary ITF Fund, The copy do the right Buhari as President was 8,21115) questions Buhari's thing (suggesting his integrity. This ad claim to integrity. the need to attacks that Image using probe the past deeds. The purpose is allcKations) todiscredit Z Buyers Beware A quotatlon from A picturc of No direct call to South West This advert plays on the Buhari saying Buhari wcaring a action just a note Study Group raw emotions of the (Nigeria Tribüne Afghanistan, Pakistan, scuwl. of caution See electorate. The Fcbruary 7,2015) Syria wert fighting war» Picturcs of Boko those tvho say they Offensive reference is to and ihey conducted 1 loram terrorists want tosecurryou u hat is Boko Harem? The Heclions, what is Boko an mangled illustration lends credence Haram? Boko Haram is body strewn to how unsympathetic and only in 14 Load around thetn and unfceling such a Statement gooemments. firc from a bomb is coming from blast »eene someonc who want» to rulc a nation. Attacks the targct's Personality. 3. Nigerians Be The body copy simply With Zuma rock Votc Wisely, Ayo Fayosc, This advert was odjudged Wamcd-Nigcrians 1 says will you allow in the Coodluck Governor, the most negative of all the have set before thee history to repeat itsclf, background, Jonathan Ekiti State ads used for the 2015 lifc and dcath. enough of State burials picturcs of 2 election. It caused a lot of Therefore, choosc Military leaders controvcrsy. Dcath is a UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Media and Communication Reiucw (MCR) - Vol. 5, No. 1, | March, 2020 LIFE that both thcc and 1 Qvilian topic that is discuMcd and thy soed may President who with hushed ton es in live. Deut 30 v 19 died in officc, all Nigeria. To alludc to the (PuncK Monday, from Northern possibility that a Jnnuary 19, 2018) Nigeria contestant would die in (Muritala Office Ukc somc other of Mohamcd, Sani his tribesmen did before Abacha and him was secn as very Musa Yaradua insensitive. and a picture of The message uses a Btble Buhari with a verse and presents a question mark candidate as Life and his and his age 72 Opponent as Death. written in red. A Outright attack and ill separate picture wlsh. of Goodluck Jonathan appears at the bottom of thepage. 4. Nigeriarts have to bc The advert asks why A younger Votc Jonathan, Directorate of This advert again casts prepared to suffer for Nigerians should Buhari in votcPDP Media and aspersion on the at least five straight choosc to suffer when Military fatigue Publicity Personality of the target. years before wc can President Goodluck His image, character and stabilise this country Jonathan is alrcady anteccdents are called to security wise and providing the Solutions the focus of the elcctorate. ceonomically, when The other contestant is Buhari says SUFFER, presented as prefcrable he means SUFFER and the Sponsoring party (Sundoy Guardian, distinguishes itsclf as February 2015) being humane and capablc of handling the affairs of UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Detenuining Negatnnty in Selecled 2015 Presidenlial Election Campaigns Press Advertisements the nation without having poople su ff CT 5. Do Eider statcsmcn Threc Statement» Cartoon Votc wisely Conccmed Direct attack, the charactcr tülk like this? credited to Buhari, two sketched imagrs Nigcrians and pcrsonality of the (Wcdnesday, of them inciting Voten of Buhari target are callcd to February 11,2015) to viotcncc and the question. third promising 1 lis pronouncements are •upport for total presented as proof of his implcmcntation of disposition towards Sharia all over Nigeria. violcncc and rcligious biKotry 6. A wptuagcnarian in The copy speaks of Picture of Buhari Not really a call Alliance for Subtle attack using age as today's world African countries that pressing his for action, it is Nigeria'» a renson for not preferTing are struggling wilh long fingen to his more of a pcace and a candidato but Call to (Nigeria n Tribüne entrenched brow as if he is Statement of prugress action suggests more Friday February 6, undemocratic massaging the affirmation when it said Nigcrians will 2015) gerontocrats, quotes veins in hb head. Nigcrians will never forget and would Mandela saying he neverforget votc for a pcaceful would give over Nigcrians will consideratc progressive govemment to a votc for a leader. What do the two youngcr man and progressive, first adjcctivcs have to do »uggests Du hart should peaccful and with age? Tbc Illustration takc a back scat and act consideratc suggests that the target is as an adviseron govemment wc too old to copc with the national issucs instead will never go rigor» of the office hc i» of sceking to be elected back. clamouring for as President UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Media and Coinmumciition Review (MCR) - Vol. 5. No. 1, | March. 2020 7. Who 1s fooling who? -Chichidodo says it A picturc of No call to action Southwest Usc of Innuendo and a I will stamp out hates exereta but feeds Buhari with a Study Croup cafcchy proverb makc this corruptlon in on maggots- scowl on his face. attack advert look like a Nigeria-Pa Heis subtle negative ad. Muhammadu Buhari surrounded by No outright accusations. (Punch, Tucsday Bola Tlnubu, thc proverb, thc Fcbruary 10,2015) Kotimi Amacchi. illustrations arc meant to Atiku Abubakar, be interpreted by Bukola Saraki disccrning readers. This Dartjuma Goje. advert is meant to Undcmcath their dtscrcdit and again put a picturcs, wads of nall through thc targets Naira notes arc Claim of integrity and his displaycd cainpaign promise to wipe out corruption. 8. Vcrdict from thc Opinions about Picturc of Buhari Votc Wiscly. Concemed This advert appears likc an Economist Magazine Buhari's rulc as a witha scowl on This call was Nigeria™ ordinary score card cxcept Military Head of state: his face preccded by thc that it uses a crcdible (TheNigcrian nasty, brutish and question Should a source to make very Tribüne, Fcbruary 9, short banned free fo rm et d ictator damaging submissions 2015) specch, detained with such a rew rd about Buhari's antcecdent thousands, used secret be offered another as a Military Head of State. tribunals etc. chance? Of courte Therc was some ruimc- no! calling- Former Dictator, brutish ...Thc advert disparages thc target and presents his Opponent a» a better choice UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Detennining Negathnty in Selected 2015 Presidential Uection Campaigns Press Advertisements 9. Imaginc ihis white A Statement rclcascd by Picturc of a Votc Goodluck New Nigeria Attack ad usc» indirect lic. APC on Focebook smiling Buhari Ebclc Jonathan, Croup na me calling to cast saying the Buhari was Votc PDP aspersion on the Friday February 20, going to visit the Personality and charactcr 2015. Nigerian Chibok communlty of the target Again the Tribüne aftcr a succcssful rally purposc is to diacredit and in Borno State. The APC to makethe Dircctor of Media and Opponent/Sponsor appear Publicity later prcfcrable. ocknowledgcd that the visit did not tato place. The copy ends with the linc imaginc this white lie from the incorruptible Buhari. 10 This is all about The copy calls on Picturc of Buhari CSOs please Directorate of This advert in a subtle way integrity Duhari to shcnv his in army Uniform wake up to your Media and calls to question the (February 8,2015 certificate and prove hi» rcsponsibility Publicity, PDP integrity of Buhari. The Sunday Punch) dotractor» wrong. The PrealdentUl contcntion is about the copy further says the Campaign controversy surruunding issuc is not about not Organisation hi» certificate. Falsehood is having a certificate but allcged and the Aspirant is Iving about it and that asked to prove his lying under oath i» a integrity. criminal act. UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Media and Canmunication Rtrvtcu' (MCR) - Vol.5, No. 1, | March, 2020 Dctermining Negativity in Selected 2015 Presidential Election Campaigns Press Aduertisements Discussion A total of 20 press advert are presented in Tables A and B under the headings Anti -GEJ (Goodluck Ebele Jonathan) ads and Anti Buhari Ads. Drawing from literature and the Functional theory of Campaign Discourse, all the selected adverts contain negative elements and they were purposively selected. The adverts are examined using the major elements of print ads namely the headlines, body copy, illustration, call to action and identified Sponsor. The major feature of the headlines is that they clearly draw attention to the motive behind the ads. Like most negative ads, they were intended to discredit the target and present the Sponsor as the preferred candidate. Without doubt, the aim was to discredit the candidate who is the focus of the attack with the aim of influencing voting behaviour. The headlines are mostly direct criticism and all of them present only negative information: “President Jonathan's scorecard- Rule of Law F, Corruption A+" (Table A, No.l) His rule was nasty, brutish and mercifully short" (Table B, No.8) "Can President Goodluck Jonathan be trusted with all that he promises? Can you trust this man?" (Table A, No.8) "What kind of leader constantly incites violence with his utterance?" (Table B, No.5) Using the typology identified by Johnson-Cartee & Copeland (1991), the contents of the headlines fall under direct attack, direct comparison and implied comparison. The headlines were crafted in such a way that they could serve as stand- alone messages. In another perspective, they could also be seen as the summary of the entire message. For instance, from tables A and B we see the following messages; "Oh Yes! They are correct. Still under his watch, Nigeria has become No.l in broken promises." (Table A, No.l) 46 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY AltJin und Communication Review (MCR) - Vol. 5, No. 1, | March, 2020 "Nigerians have to be prepared to suffer for at least five straight years before we can stabilise this country security wise and economically, when Buliari says SUFFER, he means SUFFER" (Table B, No.4) "Imagine another 4 years of unemployment" (Table A, No.6) "Do you want to go backwards to 1985?" (Table B, No.6) The Goodluck Jonathan administration has bankrupt Nigeria" (Table A, No.7) "Who is fooling who? I will stamp out corruption from Nigeria. Pa Mohammadu Buhari (Table B, No.7)" The body copies of the ads served as further explanation of the Claims made in the headline. They gave additional information, statistics and quotations in support of the assertion made in the headline about the target of the attack. Negative campaigns are basically designed to scandalise and bring into disrepute the target thereby dimimshing his viability for the post to vvhich he aspires. The tone of the body copies in the ads selected for the study is clearly negative. The nature of the attacks in the selected ads is to focus on the weaknesses or the failure of the Opponent. For example, in Table A, numbers 1 and 2, we have the following allegations against the government of GEJ: increase in National debt, depleted excess crude oil account (from $20bn to $2bn) high unemployment rate and poverty level and financial fraud. The messages in the selected ads dwell less on the strengths of the Sponsors and more on the alleged faults and weaknesses of the competitor (Lau and Rovner, 2009; Nain and Walker, 2015) One interesting factor about the two contestants in this campaign was that they had both had stints in government, one as a military ruler and one as the sitting Civilian president. Therefore, both sides had records of performance in office to make reference to. Maybe Geer (2006) is correct when he says that if no one eise highlights the weaknesses of their competitor, there may be no other way to make voters aware about such faults. In essence this politics of "maximising our chance by minimising his chance" is clearly 47 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Determiumg Negativity in Selected 2015 Presidential Llection Campaigns Press Advertisements visible in all the 20 press ads presented in Tables A and B. The dominant theme is why you should not vote for them. Some researchers have found out that negative ads are beneficial (Geer and Lau, 2006) just as they have been said to sometimes have backlash or boomerang effect (Lau et. al.,1999) Henee, "while attacks may hurt the targets, they may also harm the attacker". While looking at these adverts from the point of view of the Functional theory of campaign discourse, one sees a leaning towards one of the three features of negative adverts namely which favours attacking an Opponent" s credentials. None of the ads selected for this study used self-acclaim although some of the ads in the larger pool did. For example, there were press ads extolling the achievements of Goodluck Jonathan and it is in fact some of such press ads that informed the ad series tagged Jonathan's score cards or real achievement Out of the 20 press ads used for this study, close to 95 % were direct attacks on opponent's credentials, personality, performance and character. None of the ads attacked the Opponent while defending own reputation. A further analysis of the content of the selected ads shows that they replicate the axioms of the functional theory. First, they clearly show that voting is a comparative act and this was made obvious in the content of the adverts especially their call to action. Calls were made to vote for Buhari/Osinbajo or Vote for Goodluck Jonathan, none of the press ads mentioned the name of Jonathan's proposed Vice- President. Both sides advised the electorate to vote wisely. Some of the press ads still managed to import some negativity into their call to action. For instance, "This must stop, we need change, vote for change" (Table A, No.7) "Nigerians will not re ward failure, make change possible" (Table A No.4) "Should a former dictator with such a record be given a second chance? Of course, no" (Table B, No.8) 48 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Media and Communication Review (MCR) - Vol. 5, No. 1, | March, 2020 "Nigerians will never forget Nigerians will vote for a peaceful and considerate government. We will never go back." (Table B, No.6) Again, an example from Table B, No.8 asked "should a former dictator urith such a record be given a second clumccl", while the entry in Table A, No.4 counters this call by saying "Nigerians will not reward failure". Two of the press ads in their call for action asked the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), to wake up to their responsibility (Table B, Nos. 1 and 10). This call came after the ad copies accused the target of impropriety. Secondly, both political parties distinguished themselves from their opponents and presented themselves as preferable, this follows from the second axiom of the functional theory. Thirdly, reasons wrere put forward for this distinction using mostly one of the three functions earlier mentioned: that is attack the Opponent. There was no record of the use of self-acclaim or defence of a reputation. The policy utterances covered past deeds both failure and performance. Future plans and general goals were not the focus of the ads under study. Rather, the selected ads used more of character and policy attack. It is observed that in some instances, even when attack was on policy, they still managed to link this failure to the character of the target This was more visible in the anti- Buhari ads. The major issues raised about character bothered on image, competence, integrity, honest)’ and being compassionate. Examples: "Should a former dictator with such a record be offered another chance? "How can we separate the real Buhari from the deceptive APC Buhari?" "Nigerians will never forget Nigerians will vote for a peaceful and considerate government. We will never go back. "Do Eider Statesmen speak like this?" 49 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY D etem ining Negatwity in Selected 2015 Presidential Election Campaigns Press Advertisements The policies featured include education, security, employment, national defence, economy, and provision of basic amenities. It is pertinent to note that the attacks did not focus on the candidate's weaknesses alone, they sometimes also identified the limitations of his party. (Table A, No.8) The selected ads made use of illustrations and some of the images used were in themselves negative. The anti- Buhari press ads presented in Table B seemed to favour pictures showing Buhari in army uniform. This was probably to drive home the point that was made in some of the ads about the fact that at heart Buhari was still a general and not a democratic civilian. In fact, one headline (though not used in this study) said a leopard cannot change its skin while another press ad which had a general cap as its illustration boldly acclaimed, "Generally speaking, the more some people change, the more they remain the same". One other well used illustration in the selected negative ads shows Buhari with his face upturned in an expression which could pass for a scowl or a snarl. The body language here was so aggressive and it perfectlv suited the image of a harsh dictator, lacking compassion, just like some of the messages portrayed. For the anti- Goodluck Jonathan ads, one populär image used in the selected ads to depict insecurity under the Goodluck Jonathan presidency is the picture of the Chibok girls. The girls are all adomed in dour coloured, mostly grey, Ijab (headcover). This picture resonated with many Nigerians and represented doom and gloom arising from the fears about the fate of the abducted girls. One other image that was employed to showcase the failure of the Goodluck Jonathan administration was a cross section of the mammoth crowd of unemployed youth before the stampede at the NIS Recruitment exercise in Abuja. Clearly, the selected adverts contravened the APCON Regulations which mandate that political adverts deal only with issues. The line between issue based attack and character based attack is very thin in the selected adverts as character and issues are lumped together (Table A items 1,4 and 8 and Table B, items 1 ,5 and 7)The 50 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Media and Communication Review (MCR) - Vol. 5. No. 1, | March, 2020 adverts showed that it is difficult to discuss issues without touching on the actors involved in the issues. One other factor at play in discussing negativity of political adverts is the truthfulness of the campaign. Is it negative if it is based on facts or truth? If a candidate Claims he possesses a certificate that he cannot produce in evidence and he is said to have told a lie, is that name calling? If such Information is used as a basis for a Press ad, is the campaign negative? In other words, is it still negative advertising when you use legitimate but negative Information, for example, Table A, item 5 with the headline "Do EiderStatesmen SpeakLike This? Ifwhat happened in 2011 should agilin happen in 2015, by the grace o f God, tlie dog and the baboon would all be soaked in blood". Is it acceptable under the guideline to quote a negative utterance credited to a candidate? Furthermore, on the second niandate of avoiding foul and abusive language, both parties found ways of calling their opponents liars and rogues without using those exact invectives. Some selected adverts talked about lies and one even asked if you would believe the candidate. One of the headlines called the attention of a section of the country to the past deeds of one of the aspirants and there were a couple of references to a candidate's strong support for Sharia and this was also interpreted as an Islamisation agenda. ln contravention of APCON regulations, some of the Press ads ran without identifying their Sponsors (Table A items 7 and 9).There were two adverts in the sample that were signed by individuals, Table A item 10 was signed by Lai Mohammed and Table B item 3 was signed by Kayode Fayose, the then Ekiti State Governor. Some ads were credited to an Organisation called CAN. The full name of the group is written in such tiny fonts that one may be misled into thinking it was signed by the Christian Association of Nigeria. Some of the groups had names that suggested their affiliation; Defenders of Democracy, Coalition for Change, Joint Union for Service and Transparency (JUST), Leadership and Accountability Initiative, Concerned Nigerians, Citizen's Watch Network, Alliance for Nigeria's Peace and New Nigerian Group, among others. For the Pro Buhari ads in Table A, 70% of the 51 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Detemiining Negativity in Selected 2015 P resident io! Election Catnpaigns Press Advertisements selected ads were sponsored by these non- party groups, 20% were not signed by any Sponsor and the Party (APQ claimed responsibility for only 10% of the press ad. One other fact that emerged was that some of these ads ran without vetting by the Advertising Standards Panel (ASP). In other words, some of the media houses chose not to play their roles as gate- keepers either because of factors of ownership or vested interest or pecuniary rewards. In a Situation where political ads manage to run without pre-exposure vetting, then this is outright breech of APCON’ Regulations. One of the excuses given is that some of the media houses would rather flout this rule, pay the fine and enjoy the traction caused by the negative ads. One such advert was the Nigerians Beware advert which appeared in some selected Nigeria Newspapers on January 19, 2015. This particular advert was designated by many voters as the vilest and most insensitive advert in the entire 2015 campaign. It projected that if voted in, Buhari will most likely die in the state house like some other past Northern presidents did. Obviously, APCON was aware of this deliberate circumvention of the vetting regulation as the APCON Registrar pronounced, We are appalled that the publishers and managers of some of the national newspapers have grossly compromised their patriotic and professional ethics to the lucre of advertisement patronage by political candidates. They have brazenly abandoned their gate-keeping duties and accepted all manner of insensitive, irresponsible and spurious advertisement in contravention of the nation's advertising regulations and in disregard of several pre- emptive engagements with APCON. While it is in order to guard against negative political campaigns because of the effects they may have on the electorate, one cannot deny the need for voters to be informed about the contestants and their antecedents. In addition, one cannot incapacitate or gag media houses by telling them whose cause they may promote. They are wont to follow the principles of their owners or Sponsors as was the case not just with the privately owned papers but with 52 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY Media and Cotnntumcation Review (MCR) - Vol. 5, No. 1, | March, 2020 the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) and some of the state- owned media houses who chose to go with the ruling party. Conclusions In summary, this paper examined the message content of 20 selected press ads from the 2015 Presidential election in Nigeria. Negative ads by their nature are crafted to teil voters what is wrong with the other candidate, like Moyers (2008) observed, the bulk of negative campaigning rests on questioning the opponent's character and judgement This well-honed art of verbal attack has come to be synonymous with political campaigns the world over. The adverts presented in the study had elements of negativity in the headlines, the body copy and the illustrations and the call to action. The nature of the negative political content ranged from direct attack to direct criticism and implied criticism. The adverts only presented negative information about the opposing candidate. Clearly, the aim of the messages was to disparage the target and influence voting behaviour. Gatekeeping by media houses was a challenge as issues relating to the right of expression had to be respected while considering the need to generate funds by selling space and airtime. The selected ads focused on the past deeds and performance in government by the two contestants namely Mohammadu Buhari and Goodluck Jonathan. Messages from both parties employed name -calling as well as attack on Personality and character. Even when issues were raised, they were still lumped with the character of the target. Majority of the adverts were sponsored by support groups and even in some instances, Sponsors were not identified. This raises the question of identified Sponsor as opposed to the real sponsor(s) who was/were responsible for these adverts. The paper recommends that beyond issuing Press releases, APCON should enforce pre-exposure vetting and attach stiffer penalties to the breaking of this regulation. 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