Assessing Citizen Tv Framing of Male Candidates During The 2022 General Election in Kenya
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Date
2024-10
Authors
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Publisher
Daystar University, School of Communication
Abstract
Today, Kenyan media is considered largely independent and driven by efforts by managers to create a balance between the needs of stakeholders. The digital age has come with unique opportunities and challenges in regard to political communication and framing of information by the media. In addition, the Kenyan political landscape is characterised by male dominance (Makau, 2019). Numbers at elections, occupation of offices, and influence over important policies indicate that male politicians are more likely to get involved in leadership roles and prevail over their female counterparts (Kaburu, 2019). Efforts to institute gender balance have failed over the years. The media which play a major role in the political atmosphere is one factor that could influence said imbalance. Therefore, this study aimed to assess how Citizen TV framed male candidates during the 2022 elections in Kenya. The research adapted the framing theory by Erving Gofman. The research seeks to make the case that understanding frames is crucial to comprehend the coverage of male politicians as a key factor in defining their position in governance institutions and the general societal structure in Kenya.The research covered the content disseminated by the TV channel during the campaign period under four frames: gender aspects, qualifications, policy orientation, and male politicians' frame. The researcher focused on content analysis as the overall design for the study. The data analysis method is mixed. It is a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative part entailed the presentation of figures on the dominance of the frames. The researcher analysed 200 news items across Citizen Digital. Most of the content analysed in this research was from Citizen Digital at 48%. About one-half of the articles and videos were published or aired between May and July 2022, with the rest being sparsely scattered between October 2021 to April 2022 and August 2022. The process undertaken in the collection and analysis of data showed that Citizen Television gave widespread attention to male candidates during the 2022 general elections. Overall, male politicians received balanced coverage during this period. Most of the news items were objective. The journalists concentrated on their role to inform. However, there were few instances where they gave attention to the personal lives of the candidates with the mere intention of attracting the attention of the audience. Overall, the findings demonstrate objectivity in the coverage of male candidates, including instances where the journalists gave attention to gender issues. Four frames that were used in the coverage of male politicians by Citizen TV during the 2022 general election are explored in this research. The study recommended more research to help media stakeholders understand the need for objectivity in election coverage. More research is needed to compare the four frames in this study and more themes across the genders.
Description
Master of Arts in Communication
Keywords
Kenyan media
Citation
Momo, K. (2024). Assessing Citizen Tv Framing of Male Candidates During The 2022 General Election in Kenya. Daystar University, School of Communication