Browsing by Subject "agenda setting"

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    Open Access
    Framing the 2017 cape Town "service delivery protests": A comparative study of mainstream and alternative media coverage
    (2019) Magwagwa, Nolizwi; Chuma, Wallace
    This study is set out to conduct a comparative analysis of mainstream and alternative media to understand how The Cape Times mainstream newspaper and GroundUp alternative online media outlet framed the 2017 “service delivery protests” in Cape Town, South Africa. Scholarly literature has demonstrated that the mainstream media marginalises the voices of certain communities and that the alternative media can fill this gap. Often, marginalised communities use protests to attract media coverage, as a way of reaching both the public and elected officials. Ultimately, numerous protest groups find it difficult to get the attention they desire, while news coverage of the social conflict is framed within a protests paradigm. The study analyses differences in the two media outlets’ coverage of social conflict, including the use of delegitimising devices such as the prominent use of official sources for quotes, while using dramatic frames that tend to ridicule protest action and portray them as violent. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used in a multimethod approach. The data was found in the SA Media news clippings database, supplemented by searches on Google and the GroundUp search engines. Coverage of the protest in GroundUp was in line with the literature, which states that the horizontal nature, bottom-up and fluid traditions of alternative media may be a more appropriate conduit for protest communications and social movement (Van De Donk et al, 2004; Dahlberg, 2007). The key finding of this study was that the mainstream Cape Times deviated from the protest paradigm, using the protesters as sources in preference to officials. This finding is a departure from the reviewed literature, which indicated that the mainstream media has a habit of following the protest paradigm when covering protests events, marginalising and dehumanising protesters and relying on official sources (Mcleod & Hertog, 1999). It also links to previous scholarship that has established a strong connection between the commercialisation of the media and the robust representation of official sources in the media.
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    Political prioritisation for performance-based financing at the county level in Kenya: 2016 to 2019
    (2021) Waithaka, Dennis Wambiri; Orgill, Marsha; Gilson, Lucy
    Background: Performance based financing was introduced to Kilifi county actors in Kenya in 2015. Kilifi was identified by the Kenyan national government as one of the 20 arid and semi-arid counties (out of 47 counties) mandated to start the implementation of the scheme and potentially inform the development of a nation-wide PBF policy. This study investigates how political and bureaucratic actors at the local level in Kilifi county have subsequently influenced the extent to which PBF has been politically prioritised at the sub-national level. Methods: The study employed a single-case study design. The Shiffman and Smith (2007) political priority setting framework with adaptations proposed by Walt and Gilson (2014) was used. Data was collected through document review (n=19) and in-depth interviews (n=8). Framework analysis was used to analyse data and generate findings. Results: Throughout the study period (2015-2018), national policy elites gave sustained attention to PBF as a priority issue for implementation, this sustained attention was however not present at the sub national level in Kilifi county and funding for PBF was not prioritised post donor funding. Key factors that contributed to this in Kilifi county included: redistribution of power from national actors to sub-national actors following devolution, this affected the national Ministry of Health's ability to lead and be an effective guiding organisation; misalignment between the globally advocated idea of ‘pay for performance' and the local pre-existing centralised and rigid approaches to public financial management; and actors at the sub national level who contested the PBF intervention design features and its framing as ‘additional funding'. As a consequence, the implementation of PBF in Kilifi was for a short time only using donor resources and did not last beyond donor timelines and funding. Conclusion: This research shows that for health reforms to gain political priority in highly devolved contexts, there is need to recognise the formal and informal institutions existing at the devolved level of governance and for adequate early involvement and leadership from sub-national bureaucratic and political actors, in health and beyond the health sector. In addition, advocacy for the health reforms should embody frames that align with the political context to increase the chances of gaining political traction. Finally, the political context including political and bureaucratic power at different levels of government are crucial features that will also influence the acceptability of reform and ultimately political prioritisation.