A quantitative content analysis of media framing of illegal mining in Ghana

Illegal mining in Ghana has attracted considerable public and policy attention due to its far-reaching environmental, social, and health consequences. Our study examines how Ghanaian news media frame illegal mining, the tone of media coverage, and the stakeholders represented in news narratives. Using a quantitative content analysis, 800 news articles were sampled from six widely read media outlets, Daily Graphic, Ghanaian Times, TV3 Ghana, GTV, Joy FM, and Citi Newsroom. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was employed to examine differences in framing, tone, and stakeholder representation across outlets. Findings indicate that news organizations emphasize distinct frames, resulting in varied patterns of coverage. The most prominent frames include attribution of responsibility, policy and regulation, health risk, morality, and criminal activity. Government officials emerge as the most frequently represented stakeholders, followed by law enforcement agencies, illegal miners, the general public, local communities, and media actors, while academic voices are notably underrepresented. Overall, media narratives predominantly adopt a negative tone, which may contribute to unfavorable public perceptions of illegal mining in Ghana. These findings underscore the influential role of the media in shaping environmental discourse and highlight the need for more balanced and inclusive reporting on illegal mining in the Ghanaian context.