Media Framing; Public Perception; Journalism & Mass Media; Media framing of the KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape Health Departments
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2025
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University of Cape Town
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The media plays an essential role in representing and framing events and institutions. Its role cannot be downplayed, especially in framing health institutions and the public healthcare system. How the media frames an institution may impact its reputation and, to an extent, how the public views it. Therefore, this study investigated how selected daily newspapers in South Africa framed the health departments of KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape provinces. This study did not examine how these institutions were framed during the COVID-19 pandemic, as there was a high concentration of news coverage about the pandemic and varying challenges within the newsrooms. However, this investigation was concerned with the media framing of these institutions after the end of the pandemic. Using content analysis, this study examined fifty articles from the Daily Dispatch, The Herald, The Mercury, and Isolezwe newspapers. The content analysis examined the coverage of stories and how these stories were framed. The data revealed that the media covered various issues related to the health departments. These included medico-legal claims, the bankruptcy of the health departments, staffing crises and protests, supplier debt and delayed payment of suppliers, the shortage of resources, corpse negligence and unclaimed bodies, COVID-19, the increase in teenage pregnancy statistics, the increase in TB and HIV infection rates, patient safety incidents, the NHI Bill, and the expansion of services. However, the coverage was tremendously negative, with most news articles focusing on the shortage of resources and the suggested bankruptcy of the health departments due to medico-legal claims. This negative framing may negatively impact the overall trustworthiness of the health departments and the public health system of KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape provinces
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Hloma, N. 2025. Media Framing; Public Perception; Journalism & Mass Media; Media framing of the KwaZulu Natal and Eastern Cape Health Departments. . University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Centre for Film and Media Studies. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/43883