Media coverage research and analysis during the previous week suggested the need for clear and regular communication, with calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to address the nation.
This address finally happened on Wednesday 13 May 2020 changing the narrative and conversations from uncertainty to how relaxed restrictions would work across business and society.
The underlying sentiment following the president’s address was that there was a lack of clarity around what is next for the nation, with increased mentions of alert level 3 restrictions.
Media coverage analysis over the past week shows how various ministers and provinces have reacted to the news of possibly relaxed restrictions from level 4 to level 3, as well as readiness across provinces. There is still some uncertainty around how some parts of Gauteng, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, with some of the highest cases of the novel coronavirus, may not see relaxed lockdown restrictions.
With South Africa now nearing 60 days in lockdown, business and the general public are looking for direction on how the economy will begin to open. Answering questions during a virtual session of the Gauteng provincial legislature, Gauteng premier, David Makhura said the province is going to level 3 in June. Questions remain about how other provinces and some affected communities will make the shift to level 3 or whether some parts of the country might remain on stricter regulations.
This week’s Covid-19 media coverage analysis infographic is based on a sample of 5 637 media items collected from online, print and broadcast sources from 13 to 19 May 2020. Online and radio remain in the lead with the highest volume coverage across platforms. Radio and TV have the highest numbers of audiences and are among the most trusted news sources by South Africans in both urban and outer lying communities.
Magazines did not feature and this could be for a number reasons including that most have monthly publication schedules and the review period focuses on the middle of May. It is no secret that some of South Africa’s well-known magazine titles have closed down and lockdown restrictions have limited movement across industries, which also affects magazines.
Brand Intelligence® firm Ornico has committed its resources to assist the communication industry and will be working closely with the Public Relations Institute of Southern Africa (PRISA) and other industry role players to help understand reportage around the pandemic. This will help professional communicators to improve critical messaging and to direct it to relevant audiences.
Follow Ornico on Twitter and the company website for weekly updates and ongoing research.
