UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA (UNISA)
College of Human Sciences · Department of Communication Science
A Content Analysis Study to Investi-
gate How The Mail & Guardian Cov-
ers Political Stories in South Africa
Research Proposal · Assignment 01
COM3706
Module Code:
Research in Communication
Module Name:
Assignment 01 Research Proposal
Assignment:
The Mail & Guardian
Newspaper Selected:
University of South Africa (UNISA)
Institution:
Semester 01
Semester:
2025
Academic Year:
Institute of Political Aairs
Appointed By:
60 Marks
Total Marks:
Submitted in partial ful
lment of the requirements for COM3706 · Semester 01
,UNISA | COM3706 Research Proposal: Political Story Coverage
Declaration
I declare that this assignment is my own work. I have acknowledged all sources consulted and
have not copied, plagiarised, or submitted work that is not entirely my own. I am aware that
UNISA uses Turnitin to detect similarities between submissions and various sources, including
internet material, AI tools, and previously submitted assignments.
Signature: Date:
Page 2 of 17
,UNISA | COM3706 Research Proposal: Political Story Coverage
Contents
Declaration 2
1 1. Introduction 4
2 2. Research Problem Statement / Main Issue 5
2.1 2.1 Problem Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3 3. Subproblems 6
3.1 Subproblem 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2 Subproblem 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4 4. Literature Review 7
4.1 4.1 Introduction to the Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2 4.2 Political Coverage in the South African Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.3 4.3 Framing and Representation of Political Actors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.4 4.4 International Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.5 4.5 The Role of Visual Communication in Political Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.6 4.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5 5. Theoretical Framework: Agenda-Setting Theory 9
5.1 5.1 History of the Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.2 5.2 Key Scholars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.3 5.3 De
nition of Agenda-Setting Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.4 5.4 Key Theoretical Tenets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.5 5.5 Application to this Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6 6. Research Design 11
6.1 6.1 Characteristics of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Designs . . . . . . . 11
6.2 6.2 Why this Study is Both Qualitative and Quantitative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6.3 6.3 Data Collection Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
6.4 6.4 Target Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6.5 6.5 Accessible Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6.6 6.6 Sampling Category and Sampling Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6.7 6.7 Sample Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Page 3 of 17
,UNISA | COM3706 Research Proposal: Political Story Coverage
6.8 6.8 Unit of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.9 6.9 Data Analysis Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
7 7. Conclusion 15
Reference List 16
Page 4 of 17
, UNISA | COM3706 Research Proposal: Political Story Coverage
1. Introduction
This research proposal outlines a plan to conduct a content analysis of political story coverage
in The Mail & Guardian, one of South Africa's most widely respected national weekly news-
papers. The study has been commissioned by the Institute of Political Aairs, which seeks to
understand how the South African press frames, prioritises, and presents political issues to the
reading public.
The Mail & Guardian (M&G) was founded in 1985 and has consistently been recognised for its
investigative journalism and editorial independence (Tyali 2017:548). It covers a broad range
of national and international political topics, making it an appropriate vehicle for examining
how political stories are packaged and communicated to South African audiences. As a weekly
publication, the M&G devotes signi
cant editorial space to in-depth political analysis, opinion,
and investigative reporting, which adds depth to any content analysis exercise.
The sections that follow present the research problem statement, subproblems, a literature re-
view drawing on existing scholarly work, the theoretical framework (agenda-setting theory),
and the research design that will guide the conduct of this study. Together, these sections con-
stitute the research plan that will inform the subsequent mini-research (Assignment 03), in
which the actual data collection and analysis will take place.
Page 5 of 17
College of Human Sciences · Department of Communication Science
A Content Analysis Study to Investi-
gate How The Mail & Guardian Cov-
ers Political Stories in South Africa
Research Proposal · Assignment 01
COM3706
Module Code:
Research in Communication
Module Name:
Assignment 01 Research Proposal
Assignment:
The Mail & Guardian
Newspaper Selected:
University of South Africa (UNISA)
Institution:
Semester 01
Semester:
2025
Academic Year:
Institute of Political Aairs
Appointed By:
60 Marks
Total Marks:
Submitted in partial ful
lment of the requirements for COM3706 · Semester 01
,UNISA | COM3706 Research Proposal: Political Story Coverage
Declaration
I declare that this assignment is my own work. I have acknowledged all sources consulted and
have not copied, plagiarised, or submitted work that is not entirely my own. I am aware that
UNISA uses Turnitin to detect similarities between submissions and various sources, including
internet material, AI tools, and previously submitted assignments.
Signature: Date:
Page 2 of 17
,UNISA | COM3706 Research Proposal: Political Story Coverage
Contents
Declaration 2
1 1. Introduction 4
2 2. Research Problem Statement / Main Issue 5
2.1 2.1 Problem Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3 3. Subproblems 6
3.1 Subproblem 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.2 Subproblem 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4 4. Literature Review 7
4.1 4.1 Introduction to the Literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.2 4.2 Political Coverage in the South African Press . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.3 4.3 Framing and Representation of Political Actors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.4 4.4 International Perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.5 4.5 The Role of Visual Communication in Political Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.6 4.6 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
5 5. Theoretical Framework: Agenda-Setting Theory 9
5.1 5.1 History of the Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.2 5.2 Key Scholars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.3 5.3 De
nition of Agenda-Setting Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.4 5.4 Key Theoretical Tenets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5.5 5.5 Application to this Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
6 6. Research Design 11
6.1 6.1 Characteristics of Qualitative and Quantitative Research Designs . . . . . . . 11
6.2 6.2 Why this Study is Both Qualitative and Quantitative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
6.3 6.3 Data Collection Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
6.4 6.4 Target Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6.5 6.5 Accessible Population . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6.6 6.6 Sampling Category and Sampling Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6.7 6.7 Sample Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Page 3 of 17
,UNISA | COM3706 Research Proposal: Political Story Coverage
6.8 6.8 Unit of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
6.9 6.9 Data Analysis Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
7 7. Conclusion 15
Reference List 16
Page 4 of 17
, UNISA | COM3706 Research Proposal: Political Story Coverage
1. Introduction
This research proposal outlines a plan to conduct a content analysis of political story coverage
in The Mail & Guardian, one of South Africa's most widely respected national weekly news-
papers. The study has been commissioned by the Institute of Political Aairs, which seeks to
understand how the South African press frames, prioritises, and presents political issues to the
reading public.
The Mail & Guardian (M&G) was founded in 1985 and has consistently been recognised for its
investigative journalism and editorial independence (Tyali 2017:548). It covers a broad range
of national and international political topics, making it an appropriate vehicle for examining
how political stories are packaged and communicated to South African audiences. As a weekly
publication, the M&G devotes signi
cant editorial space to in-depth political analysis, opinion,
and investigative reporting, which adds depth to any content analysis exercise.
The sections that follow present the research problem statement, subproblems, a literature re-
view drawing on existing scholarly work, the theoretical framework (agenda-setting theory),
and the research design that will guide the conduct of this study. Together, these sections con-
stitute the research plan that will inform the subsequent mini-research (Assignment 03), in
which the actual data collection and analysis will take place.
Page 5 of 17
