Framing of FeeMustFall students' protest by Daily Dispatch Newspaper and the effect on readers’ perceptions

Abstract

This article sought to examine the framing of FeeMustFall protest by Daily Dispatch Newspaper (DDN) and its effect on readers' perceptions. This study adopted a mixed method of research, wherein a quantitative content analysis was used to explicate the frames of FeeMustFall stories reported by DDN while a focus group discussion, a qualitative method, was used to assess the effect of framing of FeeMustFall students' protest stories on readers’ perceptions. Quantitative data were collected and analyzed through content analysis of the DDN while qualitative data collected through focus group discussions were analyzed thematically. Content analysis of 31 FeeMustFall stories reported by DDN showed that 45.16 per cent (14) of the stories were categorized as conflict frame (CF), 29 per cent (9) as attribution of responsibility frame (ARF), 16 per cent (5) as human interest frame (HIF) while 6.45 per cent (2) and 3.23 per cent (1) were categorized as economic consequence frame (ECF) and morality frame (MF), respectively. Thematic analysis of the focus group discussions revealed that the type of news frame used for the presentation of FeeMustFall protest stories influenced the thoughts and perceptions of readers on the issue as the news frames generated similar audience frames.