Collins Olufemi BABALOLA2026-01-222026-01-222025-12kate TurabianP.hDhttps://repository.lcu.edu.ng/handle/123456789/1236Effective media relations is essential in enhancing the visibility, credibility, and public influence of organisations, including religious institutions. The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) is one of the leading Christian denominations in Nigeria. Evidently, the Church engages with media through various platforms, however, to the best of my knowledge, there is no documented assessment of the scope, the depth and effectiveness of the engagement. Therefore, this study examined the stakeholders’ assessment of the media relations practices of the Church in Southwest Nigeria, through an integrated theoretical lens encompassing excellence, stakeholder and agenda-setting theories. Descriptive survey research design using a mixed-methods approach was adopted. The population included internal stakeholders such as clergy and lay church members, as well as external stakeholders who were members of the public across six dioceses from the six states that constitute Southwest Nigeria. A total sample of 799 respondents was drawn using Slovin’s formula and selected through stratified sampling, while six key internal (diocesan media officers) and six key external stakeholders (media practitioners) were selected using purposive sampling. Data were gathered using structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. Findings revealed that the Church demonstrated a high level of media engagement, characterised by proactive dissemination, accessibility, and responsiveness. However, challenges such as inconsistent media strategies across dioceses, lack of professional media training, and weak feedback systems were identified. The study concluded that improvement in the Church’s media relations requires strengthening the integration of media relations with mission goals, expansion of its digital media presence, optimisation of crisis communication, greater investment in media technology, continuous capacity-building for media officers and development of a media effectiveness framework Keywords: Media Relations, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Stakeholder Assessment, Southwest Nigeria, Word Count: 280enMedia RelationsChurch of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)Stakeholder AssessmentSouthwest NigeriaThesis