Dr Etse Sikanku, a senior lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Journalism and Nana Kwame Osei Fordjour of the University of New Mexico have won the best research paper for the Freedom of Expression and Political Communication Interest Group at the upcoming 2023 Western States Communication Association conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

The title of the paper is: “Governor Andrew Cuomo before things went sour: A mixed method frame analysis of his COVID-19 tweets.” This was entered through the competitive paper submission process.

The paper examined the use of social media as a tool for crisis communication by political leaders. Using former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s tweets as data, the study examined the crisis communication frames presented during the early days of the pandemic.

The study found that the Governor demonstrated authenticity through the use of certain communicative strategies.

There was also the prevalence of leadership tweets, action tweets, severity frames, reassurance and collaborative frames. The paper adopted a mixed-method approach.

An email from the organisers stated that “the reviewers were so impressed with your paper that you have been awarded the Top Paper Award. You will be recognized and honoured during the business meeting, currently scheduled for Saturday, February 18, 2023, at 8am.”