Print Media Coverage of the First Female Chief Justice in Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to examine print media coverage of the first female Chief Justice in Kenya. It analyzed two of the major dailies in Kenya; Daily Nation and The Standard newspaper. The study aimed at establishing the patterns of coverage, the issues and the effect of priming or not of the issue. A tool was developed and used to establish on content to obtain data from a four months reports on this issue focusing on the type of stories, story placement, size of story, source and nature of story. The study used the priming and agenda setting theories as theoretical framework. This study found that both The Standard newspaper and Daily Nation newspaper does did not give priority to the issues of appointment of first female CJ in Kenya. This is because, most of the articles published on this issue were straight news and were in the inside pages. They were also written by reporters or writers and did not come out of a seminar or other events which could be categorized as reactive. Additionally, both newspapers did not effectively play their role of setting the agenda in most ways that one would think. The study recommended that stakeholder consultations between the media and various sectors could help better offer better coverage on this salient issue. At the same time, the print media could also publish more stories in analytical nature and those focusing on gender as issue in perspective as a way of educating the public on this important issue instead of straight news only. Editors of The Daily Nation and The Standard and other media outlets could as well set the standards for the gender agenda and ensure its promoted aggressively following the agenda setting and priming theories of the media function.