Media Framing and Public Perception of Infectious Disease Outbreaks: a Case of Hiv/aids and Covid-19 Pandemics in Kenya

Abstract

This study used the framing theory to research media framing and public perception of the HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 Pandemics. The objectives of our study were to investigate the media frames used by the Standard Newspaper to cover the two Pandemics, to identify the public perception of the frames used by the Standard Newspaper, and to demonstrate their effects on Kenyan society. To achieve these objectives, we purposively sampled 50 HIV/AIDS-related articles from 1984-2003 and 50 COVID-19 related articles from March 2020-December 2020. We performed content analysis on the articles, and our findings revealed seven common frames in the Standard Newspaper’s coverage of the two Pandemics. The frames included the eminence frame, the severity frame, the action frame, the assurance frame, the conflict frame, the impact frame, and the beliefs about who is at risk frame. In both coverages, the eminence frame was dominant. Our findings also revealed that the impact frame and the beliefs about who is at risk frame were least used in the HIV/AIDS Pandemic and the COVID-19 Pandemic, respectively. Concern, denial, impartiality, and discontentment were common perceptions of the seven frames. We also identified isolation, acceptance, and laxity as some of the possible effects of the frames on Kenyan society. Our study concluded that media framing affects public perception, and therefore, the media should be conscious of the frames they use during disease outbreaks.