Analysis of Citizen Television’s Framing of GMO-Related Stories for Public Awareness in Kenya

Abstract

In recent times, global concerns regarding climate change and its impact on people's lives have heightened, with drought-induced food shortages being a significant issue, particularly in African countries. To address this, many nations have turned to Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) as a solution for food scarcity, but public understanding of this topic remains limited, especially in developing countries like Kenya. Therefore, a comprehensive study was conducted to examine how mass media, particularly Citizen Television, one of Kenya's most-watched channels in the country, framed GMO-related stories in October 2022 (when the government lifted a one-decade ban on GMOs) to raise public awareness. The research aimed to answer the question of how Citizen Television framed its GMO-related stories for public awareness and had two specific objectives: one focused on the natural framing of GMO stories and the other on the social framing. The study employed a qualitative content analysis approach and analyzed fourteen news stories from Citizen TV's online database, revealing that Citizen Television used various themes and strategies to shape public awareness, addressing environmental impacts and societal implications of GMO adoption. The study recommended that Citizen Television contextualizes GMOs within both global and local perspectives to enhance public sensitization through its news framing initiatives.