Abstract
The escalation of ethno-religious conflicts in Nigerian cities, particularly in the northern region, is alarming. These conflicts jeopardize the unity and peaceful coexistence among diverse ethnic, religious and political groups. However, the Nigerian press, as the society's watchdog, has covered these crises, exacerbating challenges faced by the federal government in addressing them. This paper explores how Nigerian newspapers frame and report conflicts based on ethnicity, politics and religion in Jos, Plateau State Nigeria. It utilizes the framing theory as a lens to examine how these newspapers report these conflicts. Employing a quantitative approach, content analysis, the study examines the content of the Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers, focusing on frequency, story types, frame dominance, prominence, and tone. A code sheet was developed to systematically categorize the articles according to these variables, ensuring consistency and reliability in the analysis process. The code sheet used in this study categorized and analyzed content from a total of 290 editions of both newspapers. The findings of the study indicate that Daily Trust and Leadership newspapers primarily frame their coverage of ethnic, political and religious conflicts in Jos, Plateau State through a religious lens, often emphasizing negative tones of violence. These stories are commonly placed on the front pages and mostly presented in a straight news format. The study emphasizes the importance of diversifying storytelling approaches, promoting peace-oriented narratives, and ensuring easy accessibility of conflict-related stories. Implementing these recommendations can facilitate constructive reporting and contribute to peacebuilding efforts in conflict affected areas.