University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA FRAMING OF SELECTED DANCEHALL ARTISTES ON BLOGS SAMUEL TAKYI SELBY 2017 i University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA FRAMING OF SELECTED DANCEHALL ARTISTES ON BLOGS SAMUEL TAKYI SELBY A THESIS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES, FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION, SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR AWARD OF THE MASTER OF ART DEGREE IN COMMUNICATION AND MEDIA STUDIES (MEDIA STUDIES). DECEMBER, 2017 ii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh DECLARATION STUDENT’S DECLARATION I, Samuel Takyi Selby declare that this dissertation, with the exception of quotations and references contained in published works which have all been identified and duly acknowledged, is entirely my original work, and it has not been submitted, either in part or whole, for another degree elsewhere. SIGNATURE: ………………………….. DATE: …………………………………… SUPERVISOR’S DECLARATION I hereby declare that the preparation and presentation of this work was supervised in accordance with the guidelines for supervision of Dissertation as laid down by the University of Education, Winneba. NAME OF SUPERVISOR: MR KWESI AGGREY SIGNATURE: ………………………………………………………. DATE: …………………………… ii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to express my deepest gratitude to each and every person who has influenced my life, directly and indirectly to this point. My greatest gratitude goes to God almighty, the one who gave me life, knowledge, wisdom and understanding to sail through graduate school successfully. To Him who networked me to great and wonderful people who helped shape my narrative. Indeed, He makes all things beautiful in his own time. To my supervisor, Mr Kwesi Aggrey, I say, “Nyame nhyira wo”. Your advice and guidance have led me this far. I would also like to express my gratitude to Dr Andy Ofori-Birinkorang, Mr. Yaw Boadu-Ayeboafoh, Ms. Joyce Mensah, Ms. Christine Hammond, Dr. Mavis Amo-Mensah, Ms. Abena Abokoma Asemanyi, Mrs. Gifty Tetteh, Phyllis Paintsil and Mr. Asare Okae-Anti for moulding that hustler into a researcher. I highly appreciate the participants of this study for making time for the interview and also giving out information freely. God bless and increase your territories. To my friend and manager Nana Yaw Owusu-Ansah, thank you for being there always and to the entire INM family, “to the world wi seh”. I would finally love to express my sincerest gratitude to my family for their support. To my father Mr Albert Takyi Selby, my Grandmother Mrs Bertha Akonowah Entsiwah, and my sisters; Takyiwah, Baaba, Araba and Nkumah. I doff my hat to you all. iii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh DEDICATION To the entire INM family. “4lyf”. iv University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii DEDICATION iv TABLE OF CONTENTS v ABSTRACT viii CHAPTER ONE 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.0 Introduction 1 1.1 Background of the study 1 1.2 Statement of the problem 4 1.3 Research Objectives 5 1.4 Research Questions 6 1.5 Significance of the study 6 1.6 Scope 7 1.7 Summary 7 CHAPTER TWO 9 LITERATURE REVIEW 9 2.0 Introduction 9 2.1 Blog 9 v University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh 2.1.1 Classifications of blogs 11 2.2 Dancehall Music 13 2.2.1 Dancehall artistes and culture 15 2.3 Theoretical Framework 18 2.3.1 Framing 18 2.3.2 Agenda-setting 20 2.3.2.1Priming theory 23 2.4 Relevance of the Theories to this Study 24 2.5 Summary 24 CHAPTER THREE 26 METHODOLOGY 26 3.0 Introduction 26 3.1 Research Approach 26 3.2 Research Design 28 3.2.1 Case study. 28 3.3 Sampling Strategy 29 3.4 Sampling Size 32 3.5 Data Collection Method 33 3.5.1 Interviews 33 3.5.2 Document Analysis 34 vi University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh 3.6 Data Collection Procedure 35 3.7 Method of Data Analysis – Content analysis 38 3.8 Ethical Issues 39 3.9 Chapter Summary 40 CHAPTER FOUR 42 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 42 4.0 Introduction 42 4.1 RQ.1. What are the dominant frames used to portray the selected artistes? 42 4.2 Q2. What is the rationale for the frames used to portray the selected artistes? 48 4.3 Summary 50 CHAPTER FIVE 51 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 51 5.0 Introduction 51 5.1 Summary 51 5.2 Conclusion 52 5.3 Limitation 53 5.4 Suggestions for further research 53 5.5 Recommendations 54 Reference 56 Appendix 64 vii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh ABSTRACT The study examined the dominant frames used to portray dancehall artistes and the rationale for such frames on blogs. This research, through the lens of framing and agenda setting theory, and anchored on a case study design interrogates articles from three purposively selected blogs on two purposively selected dancehall artistes. Findings from the study showed that the selected artistes had been presented in the frames of inspirational, prim, prominence, dissociation, prolific, charismatic and impulsive. Also, the study revealed the rationale for such dominant frames as a strategy to market the artistes as well as the blogs, and also as a reinforcement of the artistes various characters. The study concludes that all the frames employed by the various blogs to present the two dancehall artistes were geared towards projecting their (artistes) brands to the target market. viii University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.0 Introduction This introductory chapter discusses the background to the study, statement of problem, objectives and research questions. It further provides the significance, scope of the study and the organisation of the research. 1.1 Background of the study According to Lavie-Dinur, Karniel & Azran (2013), the news media plays an important role in liberal pluralist societies by providing much of the information in the public discourse. They serve as valuable sources of information and powerful modes of communication. This power controls much of what people understand of events that occur around the world on a daily basis, and the way information is transferred to mass audience, which comes through various forms all of which are framed to meet the goals of the providing source (Cissel, 2012). The news media has the power to set agenda, shape debates, and also reproduce the dominant ideology (Van & Dijk, 1988, Korn 2004) and construct the consensus for the social order (Hall, 1978, Korn 2004). Studies have shown that the media tend to report the news along explanatory frames that cue the reader, listener, and viewer to put events, issues, and social actors(eg, musicians) into contextual frameworks of reference (Norris 1997). It is by focusing on one aspect of an event and presenting it to an audience that media outlets construct reality (Carter, 2013). This construction operates by making certain aspects of stories more salient than others. 1 University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh This salience further “frames” an event and provides a reference point for viewers in which all subsequent information is judged upon. Entman (1995) posits that a frame operates to select and highlight some aspects of reality and obscure others in a way that tells a consistent story about problems, their causes, moral implications, and remedies. Ibrahim (2010) avers that framing considers the relationship of content to ideological structures and institutions. In the same vein, she states that the process of framing involves the construction of meaning through structured discourse. Analysing this discourse helps media scholars understand how messages are packaged and disseminated. According to Chong & Druckman (2007), a frame in communication or media refers to the words, images, phrases, and presentation styles that a speaker (e.g., a musician, a media outlet) uses when relaying information about an issue or event to an audience. Similarly, Kaid, Fernandes and Painter, (2009) defined frames as “the information presented to an audience and how the selection of one method or content of presentation over another affects how an audience perceives a person, events or issues” (p.18). The chosen frame therefore reveals what the speaker or media outlet sees as relevant to the topic at hand. For example, a particular media house may decide to frame a dancehall artiste in either a positive or negative way such that, audience will get used to such frames and thus associate such frames with the specific artiste even outside the media. Framing research in media studies therefore attempts to understand how journalists as well as their editors and/or producers, organise and explain events and issues (Reese, Gandy and Grant, 2001). 2 University of Education,Winneba http://ir.uew.edu.gh Just like other media, blogs also highlight certain aspects of reality while obfuscating others, thus limiting the boundaries of discourse on selected issues. Garyyan (2012), defined blog as a space on the Internet where a single person or a group of people record their information, opinions, photos, videos, among others. Blogs are frequently updated webpages with a series of archived posts, typically in reverse-chronological order and they are becoming important components of the internet landscape, providing authors and readers with an avenue for unedited expression, reaction, and connection, without the censorship of mediated chat rooms or formal media outlets (Schmidt, 2007). Due to its unique features, Bestbusinessblogging, (2005) posits that, a blog can help an individual or a company to reach out to a comparatively wider range of new audiences as well as improve a brand’s visibility on the web, which is an important aspect for any business such as music (Santos, 2016).