An Empirical Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of The Covid-19 Pandemic in Cameroon

This study is primarily concerned with Newspaper Coverage of the
COVID-19 Pandemic in Cameroon. Newspapers written and published in
Cameroon constituted the study population of this work. The main
objective of the study was to assess how newspapers covered the COVID-19

Pandemic in Cameroon in 2020. It was guided by two theories namely;
the Diffusion of Innovation theory and Framing theory. Data was
collected through content analysis, using a mixed approach with three
newspapers published in the English language: The Post, The Guardian
Post, and Cameroon Tribune as the purposive sample. The findings
suggest that newspapers exploited eight frames in covering the pandemic
with the political frame being the most used. Also, consistency is very
much evident in the reports. It further highlights that the reports lacked
balance, were ununiformed, and not coordinated which accounts for the
fact that journalists do not do proper investigation and research before
writing their reports concerning the pandemic thereby making these
reports doubtful. The study concludes that Cameroonian newspapers
have been instrumental and frequent in providing vital information to the
public on the nature, prevention, and medication of the COVID-19
pandemic. The newspapers also recognised the place of proximity in news
selection by reporting more frequently the outbreak in Cameroon than
that of distant outbreaks of similar diseases in foreign countries. Based
on this conclusion, journalists should adopt Hallin and Mancini’s model
of media and politics, which states that crisis communication should be
truthful, fast, consistent, and explanatory. This will help reduce
inconsistency in reporting. Again, while newspapers are available for
content analysis, a survey of audience perception of broadcast media
reports on the pandemic or health crises is necessary and recommended
for further study. This is because it will determine if there is a health
behaviour change caused by the media. It will also determine if there is
a fast rate of diffusion caused by media reports. This will greatly
complement the findings of this study.

Keywords: Newspaper, Coverage, COVID-19 Pandemic