Media Coverage of Female Politicians in The 2022 General Election in Kenya: A Case of Citizen Television and Nation Television (NTV)

Abstract

Women politicians have long been marginalized in the political space propelled by stereotypes and patriarchal roles. Despite the women scaling up leadership political rungs as a result of both merit and affirmative action, they are still under-represented in Kenya. Given that the Kenyan politics is greatly mediatized and the public relies almost exclusively on the media for political information, this study sought to analyze how media covered female politicians in the 2022 general elections in Kenya with a focus on television. The study was guided by the following objectives; To identify the dominant gender frames in Citizen TV and NTV coverage of female politicians during the 2022 general election in Kenya. To examine the prominence level of Citizen TV and NTV coverage of female politicians during the 2022 general election in Kenya and to analyze the depiction of Citizen TV and NTV coverage of female politicians during the 2022 general election in Kenya. This study was anchored on framing theory that assisted in analysis of gender frames used by the media on female politicians. The researcher employed a qualitative approach and a descriptive research design to identify and explain regularities and patterns of female coverage of female politicians by television. Purposive sampling was used and the target population for this study was Citizen TV and NTV YouTube footages on coverage of female politicians in Kenya during the 2022 General Election between 29th May-6th August. Moreover, the study employed a qualitative content analysis that not only examined meanings and patterns of texts but also allowed the researcher to investigate media coverage of female politicians in a scientific approach. The study found that female politicians were covered through gender frames lenses by television contributing to their under-representation in Kenya. They were also given more prominence in television coverage than male counterparts. The overall coverage points to a positive, negative and neutral depiction. However, the findings concluded that the media is not wholly to blame for negative portrayal as women politicians engage in selfrepresenting themselves negatively through the media. The study recommends media regulatory bodies and media houses in Kenya to ensure a gender sensitive reporting towards female politicians to achieve a balanced media coverage and promote an egalitarian society. Women politicians have long been marginalized in the political space propelled by stereotypes and patriarchal roles. Despite the women scaling up leadership political rungs as a result of both merit and affirmative action, they are still under-represented in Kenya. Given that the Kenyan politics is greatly mediatized and the public relies almost exclusively on the media for political information, this study sought to analyze how media covered female politicians in the 2022 general elections in Kenya with a focus on television. The study was guided by the following objectives; To identify the dominant gender frames in Citizen TV and NTV coverage of female politicians during the 2022 general election in Kenya. To examine the prominence level of Citizen TV and NTV coverage of female politicians during the 2022 general election in Kenya and to analyze the depiction of Citizen TV and NTV coverage of female politicians during the 2022 general election in Kenya. This study was anchored on framing theory that assisted in analysis of gender frames used by the media on female politicians. The researcher employed a qualitative approach and a descriptive research design to identify and explain regularities and patterns of female coverage of female politicians by television. Purposive sampling was used and the target population for this study was Citizen TV and NTV YouTube footages on coverage of female politicians in Kenya during the 2022 General Election between 29th May-6th August. Moreover, the study employed a qualitative content analysis that not only examined meanings and patterns of texts but also allowed the researcher to investigate media coverage of female politicians in a scientific approach. The study found that female politicians were covered through gender frames lenses by television contributing to their under-representation in Kenya. They were also given more prominence in television coverage than male counterparts. The overall coverage points to a positive, negative and neutral depiction. However, the findings concluded that the media is not wholly to blame for negative portrayal as women politicians engage in selfrepresenting themselves negatively through the media. The study recommends media regulatory bodies and media houses in Kenya to ensure a gender sensitive reporting towards female politicians to achieve a balanced media coverage and promote an egalitarian society.