Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Digital Journalism (MADJ)
First Supervisor/Advisor
Nancy Booker
Second Supervisor/Advisor
Hesbon Owilla
Department
Graduate School of Media and Communications
Abstract
This study investigated the coverage, framing, and audience interaction with climate change stories published on Nation.Africa, a leading digital news platform in Kenya. The research was motivated by the increasing importance of climate change communication in driving public awareness and action, alongside the observed gaps in audience engagement with such content. The study aimed to analyse how Nation.Africa covered climate change stories, the framing styles used, and the nature of audience interactions with these stories during the period from August 2023 to January 2024. Guided by agenda-setting and framing theories, the study employed quantitative content analysis to evaluate 150 stories and their corresponding audience interactions on Facebook. The findings reveal that Nation.Africa primarily employed adaptation and resilience frames, with hard news dominating the coverage. Despite comprehensive reporting during high-profile events such as the Africa Climate Summit and COP28, audience engagement was low, with most stories generating minimal shares and comments. The study recommends adopting more interactive storytelling approaches, including human-interest narratives and multimedia integration, to enhance audience engagement. It highlights the need for media houses to align content framing with audience preferences and calls for further research into cross-platform comparisons and the impact of visual storytelling on public understanding of climate change.
Recommended Citation
Njeru, Lilys Wangari. (2025). The coverage, framing and audience interaction with climate change reporting: a case study of Nation.Africa’s stories (Unpublished thesis). Nairobi: Aga Khan University - Graduate School of Media and Communications.
