COVERAGE OF ROAD ACCIDENTS IN THE GAMBIA’S FOROYAA AND THE POINT NEWSPAPERS

Abstract

Road accident is a public health issue and a global threat to individual, corporate, and national existence. The Gambia has experienced an increase in the number of road accidents over the last three years due to human and natural factors. This study interrogates the increase in road accidents with a focus on the role of Gambian newspapers through their coverage of accidents across the country. The study was conducted on the theoretical foundations of agenda-setting and framing theories. A mixed design was employed; the reported cases of accidents from the records of The Gambian Police Force and the number of accident reports in Foroyaa and The Point newspapers were quantitatively analysed while thirty (30) purposively selected news articles were thematically analysed for the qualitative aspect of the study. Qualitative data was extracted from the sample using a validated coding sheet. Findings from this study show that most accidents are caused by human factors characterized by include over-speeding, negligence, and drivers’ ignorance of traffic rules and regulations. The study concludes that the selected newspapers give insignificant attention to road accidents in the country, and this has led to an increase in the rate of road accidents in The Gambia. Given this, the study recommends that Gambian media organizations should allocate more space and time to road safety and traffic issues. It also recommends specialised training and retraining for media personnel on traffic reporting.