90% of stories on road crashes run by Uganda’s media are news stories as opposed to analysis, explainers and features, the August 2021-January 2022 findings on going ACME media coverage of road safety midline study has revealed.
The study which was initiated in August 2021 targeted major news outlets such as; 3 newspapers including Daily Monitor, New Vision and Bukedde, 3 televisions including NTV, NBS and UBC and two Online platforms; ChimpReports and TND News.
In the newspapers, 85% of the stories appeared beyond page 5, the same less attention accorded by TVs and Online news platforms.
“This may be partly on the way reporters are packaging the stories, how are we outing these stories, are they attractive to Editors,” Bernard Tabaire, the Director of Programmes African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) said.
According to the study, stories reviewed so far focused more on motor vehicles for example 68% in Newspaper, 79% TV and 73% Online, followed by motorcycles then pedestrians.
“Your stories are focusing more on machines than the human beings involved,” Tabaire told reporters.
As far as risk factor is concerned, speeding took the lead in all the platforms (82% papers, 79% TV and 74% Online), followed by vehicles in dangerous mechanical conditions and environmental factors.
“Only 3 out of 10 stories contain background information that could help readers further understand the context like annual deaths, injury rates among others,” Tabaire noted.
The major sources of the stories according to the ACME Report were police officials, victims, hospitals among others.
