An Assessment of Media Coverage of School Unrests - a Case of the Daily Nation Newspaper and the Standard Newspaper

Abstract

This study focused on media coverage of school unrests in Kenya: A case of the Nation newspaper and the Standard newspaper from July to December 2021. A descriptive content analysis was conducted on the Nation and Standard newspapers to investigate the manner in which print media covered the topic of school unrests over the specified time period. Articles and pictures were reviewed for all the stories that touched on school unrests. The quantitative data was subjected to analysis and tabulation in order to determine the frequency of occurrence, percentages, averages, medians, and mode. In a similar vein, an evaluation was conducted to examine the positioning of the narratives pertaining to the periods of civil disturbance, with the aim of determining the level of significance and visibility accorded to these pieces and accompanying visuals by each newspaper included in the analysis. Qualitative data was analyzed while the theoretical framework of this study was guided by Agenda Setting, Social learning theory and Framing theory. From the findings the study established that in terms of news, the Nation outdid the Standard by six (6) stories with the Nation standing at ten (10) articles while the Standard stood at four (4) articles. This suggests that there were more news items in the Nation than in the Standard. In addition, the Nation newspaper outdid Standard in news analysis, editorial, features, and commentaries. The survey indicated that between the Nation and the Standard, there were a total of thirty-one (31) items covered, with each paper contributing eighteen (18) and thirteen (13). This suggests that there were more stories in the Nation than in the Standard. According to the results, the majority of the articles in both publications may be found on the internal pages. Analysis of media coverage found that disturbance in educational institutions was a highly covered topic. The research found that coverage of the student protests was mostly favorable. Cases of school disturbance were documented throughout the months of July, August, September, October, and December, which correspond to the second and third semesters. According to the findings, in-depth papers should be given priority for publication. This correlates with the conclusion that news stories dominated coverage of school disturbances. Features and opinion pieces that go into great depth on a variety of topics were seldom published. It was evidence that through the school unrest period, students were communicating and therefore important that all stakeholders in the education sector re-looks at the mode of communication between students and teachers to avert such destruction. Therefore, the study suggests that newspapers devote greater attention to sparking discussion and ultimately resolving the dilemma of student discontent in schools