Comparative media frames and their invoked solutions of the 2021 attack on Palma, Cabo Delgado

Abstract

This study examines the online media reporting of the violent attack that took place in Palma, Northern Mozambique, in March 2021. The study uses a qualitative inductive thematic analysis to identify the dominant and oppositional frames used in the published online articles of the United Kingdom’s The Guardian, South Africa’s Daily Maverick and Kenya’s Nation newspapers, between 1st Jan 2021 and 31st Dec 2021. Furthermore, it seeks to identify what these frames in turn propose as responses to the conflict. The findings of this study point to a dominant frame that portrays these attacks as a ‘terrorist’ problem that warrants a military response. This frame, which is placed within the discourse of the US-led ‘war on terrorism’, obscures the local context of political struggles and grievances, such as government corruption, youth unemployment and neglect of the Cabo Delgado Province. This dominant frame is supplemented by an additional frame that views the discovery of natural gas as a resource curse and contributing factor to the conflict. There is also an oppositional frame that takes a broader view and advocates for a political and humanitarian response to try and address the root causes of the problem through development. Ultimately, the thesis illuminates the limitations of media framing in fostering a holistic understanding of the events unfolding in Cabo Delgado. The interplay of dominant and oppositional frames reveals the tension between maintaining established narratives and addressing the multifaceted realities of a changing conflict. While the oppositional frame "Cabo Esquecido" attempts to advocate for development and long-term solutions, it is often overshadowed and falls short of challenging the underlying assumptions of dominant frames in the reporting. This underscores the need for more critical, context-sensitive reporting that transcends entrenched narratives and paves the way for more comprehensive and sustainable responses to conflicts in the region and Africa as a whole. Thus, this study contributes to the understanding of conflicts and the world of media sensemaking.