The Print Media Portrayal Of Women Politicians In Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to assess the impact of print media portrayal of women politicians in Kenya. The main objective was to explore how the media portrays female politicians in Kenya with a specific reference to Hon. Martha Karua’s 2013 presidential campaign. The research examined how Martha Karua was covered by the print media during her presidential bid and the effects of negative portrayal of women politicians in Kenya. The study was guided by the Agenda Setting Theory which suggests that the media does not tell us what to think but what to think about. It aims to show how the power of agenda setting in media has implications of negative influences when journalists try to redefine the reality by presenting some news events as more important than others. Cross sectional data was collected through content analysis of the two major daily newspapers in Kenya and key informant interviews of female politicians who vied and sailed through and those that vied and failed. The newspapers under study were the Daily Nation and Standard Newspaper. The content analysis indicated that Hon. Martha Karua was positively covered despite the fact that she did not clinch the presidential seat. The key informant interviews revealed the latter as most of the respondents felt that female politicians were not given adequate coverage stating that the media would only cover them being depicted negatively. The study recommends training of female politicians on how to handle the media and journalists on gender coverage issues involving female politicians. Further studies to be conducted to gauge the manner of reporting and coverage of female politicians in future elections.