Media framing of presidential candidates in Kenya's 2022 general election: Analysing coverage patterns in the Daily Nation and the Standard Newspapers

Abstract

This research investigates the media framing of presidential candidates in Kenya during the 2022 General Election, paying attention to both The Daily Nation and The Standard as representatives of the Kenyan media. Given the centrality of policy debates to political coverage, coverage of policy issues was in the minority according to the quantitative elements of the media monitoring exercises, with horse race reporting dominant at 68 per cent of the sample with policy issues figuring at 32 per cent. More precisely, The Standard posted 400 horse race articles and 200 policy-related ones, while The Daily Nation provided 350 and 150, respectively. This skewed the voting outcome towards two horse race candidates, leaving little space for others such as George Wajackoyah and David Waihiga Mwaure and analysing the narrative approach of framing theory depicting William Ruto and Raila Odinga as polarisation and side-lining of policies. These observations bear implications for the phenomenon of electoral debate and voter decision-making, in particular, its depth. They also recommend that media houses increase reports on all the candidates and provide training to enlighten the journalists on framing the situation so that there is as much competition focus as there is policy discussion emphasis. This approach would lead to increased and qualitatively higher levels of electoral debate and democratic participation by voters as they can make informed decisions.