Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Digital Journalism (MADJ)
First Supervisor/Advisor
Nancy Booker
Second Supervisor/Advisor
Dennis Galava
Department
Graduate School of Media and Communications
Abstract
The study analyzed how the Ugandan media covers climate change, focusing on the case of The New Vision and the Daily Monitor newspapers. Climate change remains one of the most global challenges of our time. Around the world, the environmental consequences of climate change are leading to more intense droughts in some regions while causing flooding in others. As mitigation efforts are being spearheaded at the international stage, the media is playing a very instrumental role in awareness creation. Despite the critical role of the mass media in shaping public opinion and driving policy, the Ugandan media suffers from the echo chamber effect as the Western media shape its climate change narratives. Themes such as framing techniques, frequency, sourcing, and tone were used to analyze how the media covers climate change stories. The study is significant as it provides insights and identifies opportunities and gaps that the media can use to mobilize and inform advocacy around climate change discourse and action. The study used agenda-setting and framing theory to analyze content and employed an explanatory sequential design approach. The findings of this study indicate the two newspapers use a framing technique that focuses on the ecological impacts of Climate Change and biodiversity loss, such as frequent and severe extreme weather events, like floods, droughts, and landslides, which are causing loss of life and property. The study findings indicate that climate change is covered only during extreme weather conditions such as flooding. Furthermore, the findings of this study indicate that climate change stories are dominated by quotes from government or official sources at 52.3 %, while scientists are cited a mere 7.2%.
Recommended Citation
Elunya, Joseph. (2025). An analysis of the Ugandan media coverage of climate change stories: a case of Daily Monitor newspaper and Vision (Unpublished thesis). Nairobi: Aga Khan University - Graduate School of Media and Communications.
