Who gets to speak? Sources in Covid-19 news coverage by Kenyan and Zimbabwean press

Abstract

Employing the hierarchy of influences model this study examines source use in Covid-19 news coverage by Kenyan and Zimbabwean newspapers, an understudied area in Africa. A quantitative content analysis (N = 557) revealed the dominance of elites and men as sources and reporters. Women as sources were absent in 72% of all news stories while ordinary voices were present in only 9.3%. The voices of Covid-19 affected (victims and families of the sick/dead) were also neglected, appearing in less than 1% of news articles. Meanwhile, government officials, business executives, and representatives of civil society were the most privileged class in news sourcing. These findings align with extant literature suggesting the news media mute voices of women and ordinary citizens and privilege the opinions of elite men. The similarity in sourcing patterns between Kenyan and Zimbabwean newspapers, despite the different media and political systems, could be linked to the prevailing patriarchal culture in both nations that undermine women’s participation in the public sphere.