SECTOR 2 2.7 All media fairly represent the voices of all gender Media in Nigeria reflects a society still struggling with gender mainstreaming. Panellists said despite progress in increasing the voices of women in the media, gender biases and stereotypes continue to creep into news reporting and programming. One panellist said, ‘if women’s issues are not covered in a patronising way, they are trivialised’. Strong gender activism in the country is helping change things by supporting training for journalists and by advocating for more gender-sensitive journalism practices. In a few newsrooms, panellists said the results have been impressive. Coverage of women has increased across media types, with newspapers running dedicated columns and broadcasters airing programmes that celebrate women. Some panellists said a more gender-sensitive media will only emerge when the society changes how it represents and treats women. Despite years of progress, pockets of culture-based and religion-based discriminations against women still exist across the country. ‘What happens in the media is a reflection of the patriarchal society and sometimes media help to strengthen gender inequality,’ said one panellist. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: Score of previous years: ✓✓ ✓✓ ✓✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ 1.9 2008: n/a; 2011: 2.3; 2015: 3.2 2.8 All media fairly represent the diversity of voices of society Nigeria is a country of more than 200 million people and is vastly characterised by tensions between diverse ethnic, religious and political groupings. Rather than attempt to challenge this complex social order, panellists revealed that the Nigerian media actively reproduce the affinities, affiliations, divisions, biases and stereotypes that give Nigerian politics and culture its supercharged character. Despite claiming a national coverage, media have therefore emerged that consciously or subconsciously align with or against certain social-political currents. For example, there is a clearly identifiable section of the northern media that promotes northern interests and, in turn, sections of the southern media that promote southern interests. 29 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER NIGERIA 2019