News media presentation of basic education teachers during the covid-19 pandemic: a content analysis of the daily monitor and the new vision in uganda

Author

Andrew Arinaitwe

Date of Award

11-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Master of Arts in Digital Journalism (MADJ)

First Supervisor/Advisor

Nyakundi Nyamboga

Second Supervisor/Advisor

David Aduda

Department

Graduate School of Media and Communications

Abstract

The studies in Uganda on the coverage of basic education teachers in the press are very few and this research went a long way to bridge the gap and to paint a picture of the nature of the coverage of education issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objectives of this research were to examine how teacher coverage in the Daily Monitor and the New Vision related with the frames and themes, identify the teacher frames and examine the major themes published. The theoretical framework included the framing theory and the agenda setting theory. The researcher used mixed methods research approach. Key informant interviews and content analysis were employed as methods of data collection. The methods were aided by an interview guide, theme code sheet and frame code sheet as data generation tools. The researcher sampled 224 editions of both the Daily Monitor and the New Vision between April 2020 and July 2020. The sample size was attained by use of purposive sampling technique. Qualitative data was analysed thematically and covered in form of themes. Regarding Quantitative data, it was examined using the code sheets and excel sheets and the data was presented in form of pie charts and tables. The findings show that majority frames were treated as hard news and extensive in nature but with increased treatment in readers to editor letters. The lockdown, insufficient database contacts and financial capability was the main barrier for journalists covering teacher related education issues. The major frames found in teacher stories was the responsibility frame closely followed by economic consequences and personalised stories. The findings also indicate that the major themes in the teacher stories were teachers and COVID-19, welfare, and home-schooling. Bearing the economic hardships during the pandemic, the study concluded that teacher coverage was fairly covered by the press, but journalist’s remuneration and mental health must be given priority by newsrooms if improved teacher quality stories, are to get published more frequently. The research also recommended further research on why experienced education journalists are departing Uganda newsrooms, teacher coverage from 1992 to 2021 in Uganda Newspapers, study on coverage of teacher suicides before, during and after the pandemic and the coverage of teachers willing to back to teach and those not going back to educate learners.

Recommended Citation

Arinaitwe, A. (2022). News media presentation of basic education teachers during the covid-19 pandemic: a content analysis of the daily monitor and the new vision in uganda (Unpublished master's dissertation). Aga Khan University, East Africa.