Abstract:
Like many countries, the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Ghana in March 2020 and the
attendant manifestations impacted the country drastically, leaving behind unforgettable
memories. Yet, there has not been any significant study on how the pandemic was covered at
the critical time of the outbreak and the ramifications thereof. Thus, this study investigated
media portrayals of the coronavirus pandemic in four selected Ghanaian online news portals
to understand the overall nature of media coverage of the pandemic and its impact on media
consumers’ perceptions. Six specific objectives were addressed: to investigate the core issues
the media focused on, to identify the core frames that dominated media reportage of the
pandemic, to investigate the primary sources of news, to investigate the main phases of
coverage that characterised Ghanaian media coverage of the pandemic, to understand the
core factors that accounted for the selection of frames that were engaged in reporting the
pandemic, and to understand how the media coverage influence people’s perception and
behaviour about the pandemic.
The research was underpinned by the Media Framing and Agenda Setting theories of
communication alongside a qualitative approach that collected and analysed three data sets.
First, purposive sampling was used in collecting and content analysing data from four online
Ghanaian news portals: citinewsroom.com, gna.org.gh, peacefmonline.com, and
myjoyonline.com from March 12, 2020, to March 24, 2021. Second, four health reporters from
each selected news portal were purposively sampled and interviewed to help the researcher
understand their framing choices. Finally, convenience sampling was used to select
respondents for focus group discussions and participatory workshops to understand the
perceived effects of the pandemic news coverage on Ghanaians. The data from these three
sources were analysed and the results, triangulated.
The study found that political issues constituted the major issues that dominated media
coverage of the selected Ghanaian media outlets during the pandemic, and the issues were
reported using ‘politics’ frames. It implies that most of the pandemic stories were sourced from
political elites and government officials, with less from health experts and the international
media. The results also indicate that the selected media reported issues more from social and
political perspectives. However, the four selected media were also found to report
misinformation, leading to confusion and fear among the public. Consequently, the results
provide insights into how media organisations can better report on public health emergencies,
thus contributing meaningfully to the larger goal of improving health communication during
crisis situations. The study, therefore, recommends that the media provide responsible
reportage during health crises as a crucial contribution to shaping public perception and
effectively influencing people’s response efforts in such situations.
