Framing of National Disasters in the Print Media

Abstract

Media is one of the most important institutions in every society. The media plays a vital role in the dissemination of information to the public. The print media, which forms part of the channels of mass communication has been the major source of disseminating information since the inception of the movable press by Johan Gutenburg in 1440. To date, the print media still serve as one of the valuable sources and powerful modes of communication. This power controls much of what people understand of events that occur around the world on a daily basis. The newspaper being the main form of print media is a major medium for sending authentic news items to its publics. Thus, the Ghanaian public depend on newspapers to know the various happenings in the country which include issues on politics, religion, human rights, disaster among others.The public trust the information provided by media during disaster so they often access media for disaster updated information. According to Fernando (2010), the media stand to gain substantial audiences at moments of natural disaster. Media coverage on disasters are captured for shorter periods of time than they do on other issues. Numerous disasters suffered by Ghana were framed in the newspapers by emphasizing government response than addressing individuals' and communities' level of response. The focus of this study is to examine how the print media, specifically Daily Graphic Newspaper framed National Disasters in Ghana.The Daily Graphic is a state-owned Newspaper Agency with the largest daily circulation and readership in Ghana (NMC, 2006). The 2018 GeoPoll report found that Daily Graphic, published by The Graphic Communications Group Ltd., was the most popular daily newspaper, at 1.5 million readers per day (GeoPoll, 2018). The paper is the company's premier newspaper, published since October 2, 1950. To date, it is regarded as the most credible and authentic source of news in Ghana.Newspapers capture and frame disaster stories differently depending on their coverage and sources of information. Space and time of news framing, however, is very essential in news item in the newspapers and essential for communication research as it signify salience in the news making process. The space and time frames allow researchers to compare how different types of issues and events are framed. Chyi and McCombs (2004) explain 'as 'time' corresponds to the 'when' in the five W's of journalism, 'space' refers to the 'where' and may also include the 'who,' the 'what,' and even the 'why'. Gitlin (1980) notes that framing is unavoidable because, at the institutional and individual journalist level, framing is necessary to interpret, organize, and understand large amounts of information. Entman (1993) suggested that framing functions to define problems, diagnose causes, make moral judgments, and suggest remedies. Houston,