Media coverage of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Kenya and Tanzania: Content analysis of newspaper articles in East Africa

Abstract

This study uses the framing theory to analyse dimensions being conveyed in the coverage of COVID-19 in Kenya and Tanzania between February 2020 and April 2020. A quantitative analysis of the Daily Nation and Citizen newspapers showed different patterns of framing of the virus. Specifically, this analysis focuses on multiple frames used by the two newspapers with respect to the following topical categories: context, basic information, preventive information, treatment information, medical research, Social context, Economic context, Political context, personal stories and other. Although the Daily Nation published more stories than the Citizen Newspaper, only the frame personal stories were significantly higher in the Daily Nation compared to Citizen Newspapers.