Abstract:
This study investigates the themes that discursively construct the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya’s newspaper
headlines, specifically focusing on their role in structuring communication related to the COVID-19 pandemic. While
prior research has examined news discourse in various contexts, thematic analysis in Kenya’s news reporting has
received limited attention. The study examines 59 COVID-19-related headlines drawn from The Standard and the
Daily Nation newspapers. The methodology draws from the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) model, and specifically
employs the Top-Down Approach of sampling texts as espoused by Mautner. Van Dijk argues that those who control
discourse indirectly manipulate people’s thoughts and actions. This observation is corroborated by the study’s findings
which reveal that Kenya’s print media shaped the COVID-19 discourse through the choice and framing of themes
such as bondage, death, economy, education and COVID-19 research and search for vaccines. The analysis shows
that Kenya’s print media largely constructed the themes in a negative way and this created a sense of crisis and fear
among the populace. These feelings of fear and crisis were heightened because the themes encapsulate the things that
are dear to Kenyans and which were under threat because of COVID-19. Proactive measures such as online learning
during the pandemic were almost wholly excluded from the COVID-19 discourse. The media created unequal power
relation with the readership by constructing itself as the reservoir of knowledge about COVID-19. The reader was
positioned as subordinate and in dire need of guidance. This was an important discursive strategy for legitimizing the
authority of the media about the pandemic. It is hoped that this study will make significant contribution to the fields of
discourse, communication and media, as it reveals how media discourse plays a key role in shaping our understanding
of pandemics.
