Independent Online and News24 Framing of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma: A Case Study of the African National Congress 54th National Conference

Abstract The media plays a crucial role in shaping public opinion concerning political leaders by either selecting or negating what to report. Extensive research has shown that apart from informing the public about issues of interest, the media is a socio-political institution responsible for framing events and issues to influence the audience engagement with news. This article reports on a study that used a qualitative case study approach to investigate how Independent Online (IOL) and News24 frames were used to either legitimise or de-legitimise the political and leadership qualities of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma who was appointed as the Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation on 27 February 2018. The study interrogated whether IOL and News24 frames reinforced the gender biases normally assigned to South African women in the news. The two key questions asked in the study were: “How were Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma's leadership and political characteristics portrayed by the media?” and “Did the portrayal of Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma evoke any gendered media biases?” An analysis of 100 electronic online news articles purposively retrieved from IOL and News24 archives was conducted. The study identified that the media evoked cultural constituted frames that were replete with gender stereotypes to discredit Dlamini-Zuma's leadership and political qualities. Thus, the study has contributed to research on the framing of women leaders by demonstrating how IOL and News24 frames were infused with gendered stereotypes.