Somorin, on, Wednesday, successfully defended his doctoral thesis at the university capping a 5-year, 3-month academic journey as one of the pioneers of the university’s PhD programme, run by the Faculty of Social and Management Sciences, Department of Mass Communication.
In a statement he personally signed and made available to our correspondent in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, the former CPS to Governor Abiodun, explained that his thesis titled,“Assessment of Media Framing of the 2023 Presidential Election Campaign”, interrogated how Nigeria’s national newspapers shaped public understanding of the most competitive presidential election since 1999.
He disclosed that the study covered six titles - The PUNCH, ThisDay, Vanguard, Daily Trust, Daily Sun and LEADERSHIP - across the 149-day official campaign window from September 28, 2022 to February 23, 2023.
He stated further that drawing on Framing Theory, Agenda-Setting and Political Economy, he coded 2,733 campaign stories in 894 editions, subjected 72 high-profile texts to Critical Discourse Analysis, and interviewed 9 editors and media scholars, the scale which makes the study one of the most extensive content audits of a Nigerian election to date.
According to him, "the findings, I told the panel, point to what I call a social responsibility deficit. The research identified 'geospatial bifurcation' in reportage: Southern-based papers leaned into a 'moral renewal' frame around Peter Obi, while Northern-based titles foreground 'administrative capacity' around Bola Tinubu. The study also diagnosed 'Disputed Duopolism' - the Labour Party broke the APC-PDP script, yet 14 other parties remained largely 'discursively invisible'.
"More troubling, the thesis documented 1,027 ethical breaches within the campaign period. This, I described as 'ethical elasticity', a condition where professional standards were bent or ignored depending on political utility. The press functioned less as a neutral Fourth Estate and more as a Participatory Gladiator, through layout choices and language as tools of semiotic warfare".
To address the gap, Dr. Somorin, however, introduced the "IMAT-ACERBATE framework" - S = V + PB - proposed as an accountability tool for regulators and newsrooms to audit media performance during elections.
He recommended decoupling editorial boards from proprietorial influence, mandating representational pluralism, and reviewing journalism curricula to prepare reporters for the pressures of electoral politics.
The seasoned media and communications professional from Ogun State, has served in several strategic roles.
He was a London Bureau Chief for ThisDay Newspapers and Editorial Director at LEADERSHIP Newspaper in Abuja.
He also served as Special Assistant on Media to the Hon. Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Austin Opara between 2003 and 2007, and as Director General of Research & Public Communications in Niger State.
In the civil society and heritage space, he worked as Publications Manager at the Africa Leadership Forum in Ota and later as Editor-in-Chief at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta.
Academically, Dr. Somorin holds degrees in English, International Affairs and Diplomacy. He is a registered member of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, NIPR; the Association of Communication Scholars and Practitioners of Nigeria, ACSPN; and the Nigerian Union of Journalists, NUJ as well as member Guild of Editors.
Somorin who is also a regular columnist with national dailies, notably Punch Newspaper will bring his wealth of experience in the media to bear in scholarship as he begins another journey in his career path.
He submitted that the research is intended not to indict journalism, but to “recalibrate it for the sake of democratic survival.”
