Communicating health crises: framing of the coronavirus pandemic by select Ghanaian news portals

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.