An assessment of mediated political communication in the Herald and Newsday

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess news coverage of women politicians and investigate the extent of gendered mediation in news coverage and its effect on women representation in politics. The study adopted a qualitative approach backed by an interpretivist philosophy. The sample size of the study comprised nine (9) women politicians and seventy-five (75) newspaper articles published over a two-month period, (July and August) in the Herald and the Newsday. The study adopted a survey and case study designs. The data was collected through structured interviews and data analysis guide. The qualitative data was analysed through open coding and a thematic approach of data analysis was adopted. The study observed that women were underrepresented in terms of coverage in media, and they were also victims of abuse by the media. It was recommended that the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists should monitor the coverage of women in media with the aim of balancing reporting based on gender