The Framing of COVID-19 in Uganda’s New Vision and Daily Monitor Newspapers

Abstract

This chapter surveyed how the Daily Monitor and New Vision newspapers in Uganda framed discourse surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic was given massive media coverage in Uganda, as around the globe. It is of interest to examine the coverage and draw lessons for future reference. We considered Uganda as an interesting case due to its initial success in managing the spread of the pandemic (Sarki, Ezeh, & Stranges, 2020). This chapter aimed to analyse the coverage of the pandemic through the lens of framing theory. The chapter presents a content analysis of selected published material from their online sites in the two newspapers between 10 March and 2 June 2020. The dates start with lockdown in Uganda and end with lockdown’s partial lifting. The study revealed several interesting news frames that included a western versus national frame, preparedness frame, economic frame, religious frame and other emerging news frames like solidarity, police enforcement and self-reflection. The main conclusion is that the two major dailies actively informed the public about COVID-19 and made some attempts to cover issues around the impact of COVID-19 on society.

Citation

Maractho, E.C. and Omland, S. (2022), "The Framing of COVID-19 in Uganda’s New Vision and Daily Monitor Newspapers", Dralega, C.A. and Napakol, A. (Ed.) COVID-19 and the Media in Sub-Saharan Africa: Media Viability, Framing and Health Communication, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 115-126. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-271-620221008