loader
By Benard Kakuru
Bi-weekly Report 1st - 14th December 2023

PREPARED BY

BACK TO UNICEF UGANDA DASHBOARD

OVERVIEW

This report presents findings from the analysis of the coverage of children-related issues in Uganda for the period 1st – 14th December 2023 by various online media platforms. The main method used for analysis was content analysis.     

Overall, the analyzed data results show that 442 articles were published online on children and children-related issues in Uganda, indicating a decrease of 38 articles from those published during the last two weeks of November 2023. 

One hundred eighty-one (181) articles focused on keeping children Alive[1], 164 on keeping children Safe[2], and 97 were on keeping children Learning[3].

BI-WEEKLY ANALYSIS OF EDITORIAL AND JOURNALISTIC REPORTING TRENDS BY ONLINE PUBLICATIONS ON CHILDREN IN UGANDA (DECEMBER 1ST – 14TH 2023)
  1. 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 December 2023.

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 442 articles from online publications reporting children and children-related issues in Uganda during the first weeks of December 2023 (1st – 14th), indicating a decrease of 38 articles from those recorded during the last two weeks of November 2023. Below is a table showing a breakdown by publication and category.

Publication Website URLKeeping children AliveKeeping Children SafeKeeping Children LearningTotal No. of articles
The New Visionhttps://www.newvision.co.ug 15          311460
Urban TVhttps://www.youtube.com/@urbantv_ug/videos 13141443
NTV Ugandahttps://www.ntv.co.ug/ug  16         18842
Daily Monitorhttps://www.monitor.co.ug13          111741
UBC TVhttps://ubc.go.ug/ 156728
Bukeddehttps://www.bukedde.co.ug318526
Uganda Radio Networkhttps://ugandaradionetwork.net415322
Ankole Timeshttps://ankoletimes.co.ug/46515
Nile Posthttps://nilepost.co.ug 76215
BBS Terefayinahttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQaMcZZMj6A 60713
KFMhttps://www.kfm.co.ug 3418
Salt Mediahttps://www.youtube.com/@saltmediauganda/videos3317
The Independenthttps://www.independent.co.ug3          126
Capital Radiohttps://capitalradio.co.ug/2406
PML Dailyhttps://www.pmldaily.com/ 3216
The 8https://www.8newsnow.com/3126
East Newshttps://eastnews.co.ug1405
Watchdoghttps://www.watchdoguganda.com/2204
Daily Expresshttps://dailyexpress.co.ug 2204
The Observerhttps://www.observer.ug 0303
Tukohttps://www.tuko.co.ke/0101
Africa Newshttps://www.africanews.com/1102
Business Insiderhttps://africa.businessinsider.com/1001
All Africahttps://allafrica.com0101
East Africanhttps://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/0112
News24https://www.news24.com/1001
IFSWhttps://www.ifsw.org/0101
The Citizenhttps://www.thecitizen.co.tz/1012
Radar Onlinehttps://radaronline.com/1001
Medical Xpresshttps://medicalxpress.com/1001
The Zimbabwe mailhttps://www.thezimbabwemail.com/1011
Todayhttps://www.today.com/1001
BBChttps://www.bbc.com/1001
CBS Newshttps://www.cbsnews.com/ 1001
Bet Newshttps://www.bet.com/1001
Peoplehttps://people.com/1001
TBS Newshttps://www.tbsnews.net/1001
NDTVhttps://www.ndtv.com/1001
CBS42https://www.cbs42.com/1001
Business Insider Africahttps://africa.businessinsider.com/1001
New York Posthttps://nypost.com/1001
AAhttps://www.aa.com.tr/1001
LBChttps://www.lbc.co.uk/1001
ITVhttps://www.itv.com/1001
Washington Posthttps://www.washingtonpost.com/1001
Euro Newshttps://www.euronews.com/1001
Chicago defenderhttps://chicagodefender.com/1001
Bored Pandahttps://www.boredpanda.com/1001
Standard Advocatehttps://www.stamfordadvocate.com/1001
Vancouver Sunhttps://vancouversun.com/1001
Premium Timeshttps://www.premiumtimesng.com/1001
Wral Newshttps://www.wral.com/1001
Greenwich Timehttps://www.greenwichtime.com/1001
Nnalubaale Sporthttps://nnalubaalesports.com/0011
The Standardhttps://thestandard.co.ug/0011
Forbeshttps://www.forbes.com/0101
Hollywood unlockedhttps://hollywoodunlocked.com/1001
Penn livehttps://www.pennlive.com/1001
The Bumphttps://www.thebump.com/1001
Tylahttps://www.tyla.com/1001
WDRBhttps://www.wdrb.com/1001
NBC Philadelphiahttps://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/1001
FHI360https://www.fhi360.org/1001
Iowa’s News nowhttps://cbs2iowa.com/1001
APhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZJbirK6RZk 1001
ABC4Newshttps://abcnews4.com/1001
Arirang newshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns9NMz9b5J0 1001
Tioga publishinghttps://www.tiogapublishing.com/1001
The Hillhttps://thehill.com/1001
Oh my Maghttps://www.ohmymag.co.uk/1001
Your news nowhttps://www.mywabashvalley.com/1001
Sky newshttps://news.sky.com/1001
Wanehttps://www.wane.com/1001
Fox21https://www.fox21news.com/1001
NBC4ihttps://www.nbc4i.com/1001
NECNhttps://www.necn.com/1001
WGN9https://wgntv.com/1001
DC News Nowhttps://www.dcnewsnow.com/1001
CTV newshttps://www.ctvnews.ca/1001
NewsChannel6https://www.wjbf.com/1001
Black Newshttps://blacknews.com/1001
Rollingouthttps://rollingout.com/1001
Brieflyhttps://briefly.co.za/1001
Siouxland Proudhttps://www.siouxlandproud.com/1001
The Strait Timeshttps://www.straitstimes.com/1001
Delta TVhttps://www.youtube.com/@DELTATVTUKOLE/videos0101
Catholic Registerhttps://www.catholicregister.org/0101
SoftPowerhttps://softpower.ug/0101
Al Jazeerahttps://www.aljazeera.com/1001
Erasing 76crimeshttps://76crimes.com/0101
UNESCOhttps://www.unesco.org/0011
Reliefwebhttps://reliefweb.int/2002
Pulse Sportshttps://www.pulsesports.ug/2002
Telecompaperhttps://www.telecompaper.com/0011
MTN Sportshttps://sports.mtn.co.ug/0011
France24https://www.france24.com/0101
Jubilee Radiohttps://jubileeradiouganda.com/0101
Chimp Reportshttps://chimpreports.com0101
TOTAL 18116497442
  • CATEGORIES 

One hundred eighty-one (181) articles were centered on Keeping Children Alive. 

Issues related to Keeping Children Safe were reported in 164 articles. Articles on Keeping Children Learning were in 97 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, 46 articles had no authors specified.

SENTIMENT

We found that 59% of the articles on children and children related issues published online during the first two weeks of December 2023 had a Positive sentiment[4]. Children-related articles with neutral sentiment were the least in number.

Positive (262)                        Negative (120)                   Neutral (60) 

Out of the 120 children-related articles we recorded having a negative sentiment, four (04) articlesmentioned UNICEF. The mentions were in the articles below.

  1. https://www.ntv.co.ug/ug/news/national/kasese-tops-uganda-in-child-stunted-growth-4450876 Kasese tops Uganda in child stunted growth
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQNTywWGGkY Kasese tops Uganda in child stunted growth
  3. https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/central-northern-region-top-child-abuse-cases-NV_176433 Central Northern Region top child abuse cases –Report
  4. https://developmentdiaries.com/uganda-despite-law-child-trafficking-cases-rise/ Uganda: Despite Law, Child Trafficking Cases Rise
  • SHARE OF VOICE

The majority (87%) of the articles recorded during the first two weeks of December 2023 had a high share of voice[5] on children and children-related issues.

  • TYPE OF COVERAGE

The graph below shows the type of coverage of children-related articles online during the period 1st – 14th December 2023

  • MESSAGE FIDELITY

The majority (70%) of the children and children-related articles recorded during the first two weeks of December 2023 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 442 children-related articles we recorded from online publications, 365 had direct quotes, indicating journalists’ sourcing and clarity in presenting news.

  • USE OF VISUALS

In the articles recorded during this period, all 442 articleshadaudio–visuals (photos, videos, audio, and graphics), as shown below.

It should be noted that articles with visuals are understood much better than those without.

  • 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 on in online publications.

From the stories captured, we noted that the issue of Maternal health was the most covered (66 times) during this period. This was followed by:

  • Education (57)
  • HIV/AIDS (47)
  • Child Murder (27)
  • Child protection (21)
  • Refugee children (19)
  • Teenage pregnancy (14)
  • Schools and Malaria (13)
  • Child death (12)
  • Children with disabilities, Gender Based Violence, and Parenting (10)


Note that some stories covered more than one issue.

  • STORY DISTRIBUTION PER REGION

Most (235) of the stories recorded were from the Central region while the Eastern region had the least stories at 55 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.

Kampala (141), Mukono (13), Wakiso (30), Sembabule (3), Nakaseke (3), Mubende (5), Mpigi (1), Mityana (5), Masaka (8), Lyantonde (4), Kyotera (8), Kiboga (1), Kayunga (1), Kassanda (3), Buvuma (5), Bukomansimbi (2), Buikwe (3)

Kamuli (11), Tororo (2), Soroti (1), Sironko (2), Serere (1), Pallisa (1), Mbale (3), Mayuge (5), Luuka (2), Kwania (3), Kumi (1), Kibuku (1), Katakwi (1), Buyende (2), Kapchorwa (2), Jinja (10), Iganga (4), Butaleja (5), Busia (2), Bulambuli (2)

Rukungiri (5), Ntoroko (12), Mbarara (3), Kyegegwa (1), Kitagwenda (2), Kisoro (4), Kikuube (4), Kibaale (1), Kasese (1), Kanungu (3), Kamwenge (3), Kagadi (6), Kabarole (5), Hoima (5), Bunyangabu (5), Bundibugyo (3), Kyenjojo (2), Kakumiro (5)

Kaabong (5), Zombo (2), Yumbe (3), Pader (1), Oyam (3), Otuke (4), Nwoya (2), Napak (1), Nebbi (1), Moroto (6), Lira (5), Lamwo (4), Kitgum (2), Kaabong (6), Gulu (9), Dokolo (5), Arua (6), Apac (4), Amuru (2), Kole (4), Otuke (1), Pakwach (3)

  • 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. During the first two weeks of December 2023, one (01) press release was published.

Story link & titleSearch Engine Optimization (SEO)[6]Comments
  1.                        https://www.unicef.org/uganda/press-releases/most-vulnerable-most-valuable-placing-child-rights-heart-climate-action From Most Vulnerable to Most Valuable: Placing Child Rights at the Heart of Climate ActionPhotosGood use of keywordsLinksOutbound 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
  • UNICEF UGANDA MENTIONS

During this period, UNICEF Uganda was mentioned 13 times in 442 children andchildren-related articles in online publications. Below are links to the articles where UNICEF Uganda was mentioned.

CHILD PROTECTION

  1. https://www.ifsw.org/paving-the-way-for-a-safer-and-more-secure-future-for-children-in-uganda/ PAVING THE WAY FOR A SAFER AND MORE SECURE FUTURE FOR CHILDREN IN UGANDA
  2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/unicefusa/2023/12/02/how-unicef-fights-to-protect-the-rights-of-children-with-disabilities/?sh=1fcb5181755e How UNICEF Fights To Protect The Rights Of Children With Disabilities
  3. https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/central-northern-region-top-child-abuse-cases-NV_176433 Central Northern Region top child abuse cases –Report
  4. https://developmentdiaries.com/uganda-despite-law-child-trafficking-cases-rise/ Uganda: Despite Law, Child Trafficking Cases Rise
  5. https://www.newvision.co.ug/category/news/hiv-unicef-calls-for-urgent-govt-action-to-pr-NV_176236 HIV: UNICEF calls for urgent govt action to protect girls

MALNUTRITION

OTHER

The World Health Organization (WHO) was the most mentioned comparator in 10 stories, followed by the Ministry of Education & Sports (MoES) with 8, Ministry of Health (MoH)with 7 mentions, among other comparators.

Below is a breakdown of all comparator mentions

  COMPARATOR  NUMBER OF MENTIONS
World Health Organization (WHO)10
Ministry of Education & Sports (MoES)8
Ministry of Health (MoH)7
MGLSD1
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)4
Rotary International1
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)  2
UK Aid4
USAID                  1      
PEPFAR1
Action Aid1
GIZ1
World Bank1

3. SOCIAL MEDIA INSIGHTS, 1ST – 14TH DECEMBER 2023

FACEBOOK

x

INSTAGRAM

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

  • 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, GBV, climate change & floods, HIV/AIDS, Toto-Christmas festival, WASH, child-torture, immunization, education, girl child, schools, child malnutrition, teaching, child murder, 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 December 2023:

https://www.facebook.com/NTVUganda/posts/764885109015409

https://www.facebook.com/thenewvision/posts/744603574378154

https://www.facebook.com/thenewvision/posts/744602174378294

https://www.facebook.com/thenewvision/posts/744301344408377

https://www.facebook.com/nbstelevision/posts/770385865126242

https://www.facebook.com/nbstelevision/posts/770372588460903

https://www.facebook.com/NTVUganda/posts/765658315604755

https://www.facebook.com/NTVUganda/posts/765557248948195

https://www.facebook.com/NTVUganda/posts/765335175637069

https://www.facebook.com/nbstelevision/posts/771416685023160

https://www.facebook.com/thenewvision/posts/744838217688023

https://www.facebook.com/NTVUganda/posts/767053602131893

https://www.facebook.com/thenewvision/posts/746240537547791

https://www.facebook.com/thenewvision/posts/746853014153210

https://www.facebook.com/thenewvision/posts/748076990697479

https://www.facebook.com/thenewvision/posts/748552963983215

https://www.facebook.com/thenewvision/posts/748028300702348

https://www.facebook.com/thenewvision/posts/748112747360570

[1] Reports categorized as such may connote content published in a context of improving and addressing the issues concerning both the informal and formal education of a child, including early and progressive learning.

[2]Articles in this category may refer to a journalistic report(s) written and presented in the context of the 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.

[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.

[4] 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.

[5] The measure of the publicity/exposure a brand or issue receives in a story compared to its competitors or other issues.

[6] Search Engine Optimization is the process of improving the content on your website to increase its visibility for relevant searches online.

BACK TO UNICEF UGANDA DASHBOARD

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *