Media Reportage of Kidnapping Cases in Sierra Leone from 2021-2025

This study examined kidnapping coverage in the Royal Gazette and Sierra Leone Advertiser from 2021 to 2025, focusing on frequency, story type, framing, and prominence. Using agenda-setting and framing theories, and content analysis of 480 editions, results showed kidnapping was rarely covered (6%), mostly as straight news. The dominant frame was political (20.1%), linking kidnappings to politics, while prominence was low (26.2% and 20%). The study concluded that kidnapping receives insufficient attention and recommended that newspapers increase coverage to educate and mobilize the public, avoiding ethnic or political bias.