Media and Communication

News media coverage of COVID-19 public health and policy information

K. J. Mach, R. S. Reyes, et al.

This study reveals critical insights into COVID-19 coverage in Canada, the UK, and the US. Conducted by a team of experts, the research scrutinizes 1331 articles and uncovers surprising trends in scientific quality and sensationalism across different newspapers.

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Playback language: English

Index

Abstract

This study assesses print and online newspaper coverage of COVID-19 from March to August 2020 in Canada, the UK, and the US. It uses validated tools to measure scientific quality and sensationalism in 1331 articles from twelve newspapers. Findings reveal moderate scientific quality and low sensationalism overall, with populist-right leaning newspapers exhibiting the lowest scientific quality. Left-leaning US newspapers showed more critical coverage of policy failures and misinformation. The study suggests that low-quality reporting, even with low sensationalism, may have negatively impacted public health.

Publisher

Humanities & Social Sciences Communications

Published On

Sep 28, 2021

Authors

Katharine J. Mach, Raúl Salas Reyes, Brian Pentz, Jennifer Taylor, Clarissa A. Costa, Sandip G. Cruz, Kerronia E. Thomas, James C. Arnott, Rosalind Donald, Kripa Jagannathan, Christine J. Kirchhoff, Laura C. Rosella, Nicole Klenk

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