Prepared by
OVERVIEW
This report presents findings from the analysis of the coverage of children-related issues in Uganda for the period 1st – 14th January 2024 by various online media platforms. The main method used for analysis was content analysis.
Overall, the analyzed data results show that 312 articles were published online on children and children-related issues in Uganda, indicating a decrease of 35 articles from those published during the last two weeks of December 2023.
One hundred forty-one (141) articles focused on keeping children safe[1], 126 on keeping children alive[2], and 45 were on keeping children Learning[3].
BI-WEEKLY ANALYSIS OF EDITORIAL AND JOURNALISTIC REPORTING TRENDS BY ONLINE PUBLICATIONS ON CHILDREN IN UGANDA
(JANUARY 1ST -14TH 2024)
- INTRODUCTION
Ultimate Multimedia Consult (UMC) is required to present to UNICEF Uganda every two weeks an analysis of editorial and journalistic reporting trends on children and children-related issues in Uganda as published on online platforms. This report presents findings on how online publications covered children-related issues for the first two weeks of January 2024.
The report also shows how UNICEF Uganda messages, including press releases, reports, and expertise, are reported on by online publications. In addition, the report gives insights into the accuracy and appropriateness of the information provided on children’s issues.
The analysed content was drawn from news websites based in Uganda like NTV Uganda, Bukedde and Capital FM; other websites like: Daily Monitor, New Vision, Uganda Radio Network, NTV Uganda, Daily Express, Mazima News, PML Daily, Nile Post, The Independent, and Various YouTube Channels like BBS Terefayina, NTV Uganda, UBC TV, Spark TV, Bukedde TV, NBS TV, Urban TV among others, as well as websites based in other countries. The analysed data was accessed from online publications/platforms.
- ONLINE ANALYSIS
We captured 312 articles from online publications reporting children and children-related issues in Uganda during the first weeks of January 2024 (1st – 14th), indicating a decrease of 35 articles from those recorded during the last two weeks of December 2023. Below is a table showing a breakdown by publication and category.
[1] Articles in this category may refer to a journalistic report(s) written and presented in the context of social safety and welfare including the security of a child. Such articles include any content that addresses issues that threaten the lives of children like physical assault, psychosocial injury, and threat.
[2]Reports categorized as such may connote content published in the context of improving and addressing the issues concerning both the informal and formal education of a child, including early and progressive learning.
[3] This is concerned with articles and journalistic content that address the health of children in Uganda. It may also entail articles that look at the welfare of pregnant mothers or maternal health in general.
CATEGORIES
One hundred forty-one (141) articles were centered on Keeping Children Safe.
Issues related to Keeping Children alive were reported in 126 articles. Articles on Keeping Children Learning were in 45 articles.
GENDER OF AUTHORS
During the period under review, male authors reported and/or wrote most articles. While some articles had more than one author, 47 articles had no authors specified.
SENTIMENT
We found that 47% of the articles on children and children-related issues published online during the first two weeks of January 2024 had a Negative sentiment[1]. Children-related articles with neutral sentiment were the least in number.
[1] Sentiment (also known as tonality) is used to measure how messages contained in children-related articles are portrayed in the media in relation to UNICEF’s mission to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, help meet their basic needs, and expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. Sentiment is normally categorized as positive, neutral, or negative.
Sentiment (also known as tonality) is used to measure how messages contained in children-related articles are portrayed in the media in relation to UNICEF’s mission to advocate for the protection of children’s rights, help meet their basic needs, and expand their opportunities to reach their full potential. Sentiment is normally categorized as positive, neutral or negative.
Out of the 148 children-related articles we recorded having a negative sentiment, none mentioned UNICEF.
SHARE OF VOICE
The majority (81%) of the articles recorded during the first two weeks of January 2024 had a high share of voice[1] on children and children-related issues.
[1] The measure of the publicity/exposure a brand or issue receives in a story compared to its competitors or other issues.
TYPE OF COVERAGE
The graph below shows the type of coverage of children-related articles online during the period 1st – 14th January 2024
MESSAGE FIDELITY
The majority (74%) of the children and children-related articles recorded during the first two weeks of January 2024 had high message fidelity. This implies that the messages were laid out clearly through the use of facts, statistics, audio-visuals and sources, making it easy for users to understand them as intended by the authors. Such articles are credible and trusted by content consumers.
NATURE OF QUOTES
Out of the 312 children-related articles we recorded from online publications, 278 had direct quotes, indicating journalists’ sourcing and clarity in presenting news.
USE OF VISUALS
In the articles recorded during this period, all 312 articles had audio-visuals (photos, videos, audio, and graphics), as shown below.
ISSUES COVERED
The graphic below shows the topics covered in children-related articles online. The size of the words in the figure below and the numbers shown in the brackets (after the graphic) reflect the frequency at which the various topics were reported in online publications.
From the stories captured, we noted that the issue of Child health was the most covered (49 times) during this period. This was followed by:
STORY DISTRIBUTION PER REGION
Most (171) of the stories recorded were from the Central region while the Western region had the least stories at 22 as represented on the graph above.
While some stories cut across different districts, others were general in nature and therefore were not recorded as coming from any of the four regions of Uganda.
UNICEF UGANDA WEBSITE ARTICLES
This part analyzes UNICEF Uganda messages, including press releases, reports and expertise, and how they are reported on by UNICEF Uganda website. One (01) article was published during the first two weeks of January 2024.
| Story link & title | Search Engine Optimization (SEO)[1] | Comments | |
| 1. | https://www.unicef.org/uganda/stories/sato-pans-transforming-health-kamuli-district Sato Pans transforming health in Kamuli District | Outbound and inbound links on keywords and characters in your articles can make them stand out in Google searches. Keywords can also be included as tags. Headlines can also be made keyword-rich to make articles more searchable and attract readers’ attention. Exploit other visuals like graphics and animations whenever possible. Multimedia articles are not only easy to understand but also stand out in online searches.Use of block quotes, bolding key phrases, and putting some parts of the article in list form makes it scannable and easy to read | Outbound and inbound links on keywords and characters in your articles can make them stand out in Google searches. Keywords can also be included as tags. Headlines can also be made keyword-rich to make articles more searchable and attract readers’ attention. Exploit other visuals like graphics and animations whenever possible. Multimedia articles are not only easy to understand but also stand out in online searches. Use of block quotes, bolding key phrases, and putting some parts of the article in list form makes it scannable and easy to read |
[1] Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving the content on your website to increase its visibility for relevant searches online.
UNICEF UGANDA MENTIONS
During this period, UNICEF Uganda was mentioned two (02)times in 312 children and children-related articles in online publications. Below are links to the articles where UNICEF Uganda was mentioned.
- https://www.thecooldown.com/green-tech/super-banana-uganda-vitamin-a/ SCIENTISTS’ ‘SUPER BANANA’ COULD SAVE THOUSANDS OF LIVES, REDUCE BLINDNESS — BUT IT STILL HAS MAJOR OPPOSITION TO OVERCOME
- https://www.kfm.co.ug/health/vaccinating-pregnant-mothers-early-can-reduce-infant-tetanus-deaths-experts-say.html Vaccinating pregnant mothers early can reduce infant tetanus deaths, experts say
COMPARATOR MENTIONS
The Ministry of Health was the most mentioned comparator in 12 stories, followed by the Ministry of Education & Sports (MoES) with 4, World Food Program with 4 mentions, among other comparators.
Below is a breakdown of all comparator mentions
| COMPARATOR | NUMBER OF MENTIONS |
| MOH | 12 |
| MOES | 4 |
| WFP | 4 |
| Red Cross Society | 3 |
| PEPFAR | 2 |
| TASO | 1 |
| UNAIDS | 1 |
| AU | 1 |
| UNHCR | 1 |
| Uganda AIDS Commission | 1 |
| BRAC | 1 |
| MGLSD | 1 |
| USAID | 1 |
| UNFPA | 1 |
SOCIAL MEDIA INSIGHTS 1ST – 14TH JANUARY 2024
X
YOUTUBE
SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS
This part looks at how different media organizations in Uganda posted about children-related issues on social media. During this period, NTV Uganda, The New Vision, Urban TV and Daily Monitor posted the most on children. Posting was mainly on aspects of, Vaccination, Child-murder, maternal mortality, child-death, WASH, child-torture, immunization, education, schools, child health, teachers, menstrual hygiene, teenage pregnancy and other sex-related offences against children, reproductive health, maternal and neonatal health, child protection, parenting violence against children, among others. Below are snippets from and links to the posts captured from social media in the first two weeks of January 2024:
https://www.facebook.com/nbstelevision/posts/790423839789111
https://www.facebook.com/nbstelevision/posts/790978173067011
https://www.facebook.com/DailyMonitor/posts/767310882093623
https://www.facebook.com/NTVUganda/posts/789639606539959
https://www.facebook.com/nbstelevision/posts/794254929406002
https://www.facebook.com/nbstelevision/posts/794755832689245
https://www.facebook.com/nbstelevision/posts/794713032693525
https://www.facebook.com/nbstelevision/posts/794709896027172
https://www.facebook.com/nbstelevision/posts/795468895951272
https://www.facebook.com/thenewvision/posts/766011462237365
https://www.facebook.com/nbstelevision/posts/796182889213206
https://www.facebook.com/NTVUganda/posts/791969772973609
https://www.facebook.com/NTVUganda/posts/791860139651239
https://www.facebook.com/DailyMonitor/posts/770944525063592
https://www.facebook.com/thenewvision/posts/767269492111562
