Media framing on Somalia during the early period of state-building : a comparative content analysis of Garowe Online and Daily Nation

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to find out how media framing on Somalia during the early period of state-building was represented by local and regional newspapers based on the framing theory. The study employed two online newspapers (Garowe Online (GO) of Somalia and Daily Nation (DN) of Kenya). A total of 223 news stories were collected for a period of three months (1/08 – 31/10/2012). The method used in this study was qualitative content analysis in nature to produce in-depth understanding even beyond the concepts. The findings have shown different aspects between the two newspapers. With regard to Garowe Online (GO), the results indicate that its framing nature of Somalia was positively framed while Daily Nation (DN) portrayed negatively. The most framed issues were violence and democratic process and both GO and DN was almost similar in coverage despite the different scale in their stories. Furthermore, the sources referenced by GO and DN were largely different. For GO, the newspaper depended mostly on civilian sources, own reports and military sources while DN prioritized military sources first, News Agencies second and finally, its own reports. The study has concluded that three facts are rooted in these differences: 1) national interest, 2) economic interest and 3) editorial policy. Thus, despite the chaotic situation in Somalia, the local media framing on Somalia was positive which opposes the exposure of international and regional media framing on Somalian issues.