Media Coverage of Macular Degeneration in Countries of Different Developmental Stages

Abstract

Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a chronic degenerative eye disorder that may not be well reported to the public. Current literature regarding media coverage of eye conditions tends to examine general visual impairment (ex. Tillery, 2017) instead of specific disorders such as AMD. The current research aims to examine how news media cover and frame information regarding AMD. Therefore, the researcher conducted an inductive content analysis on newspaper articles with the keyword AMD in the most circulated newspaper in three countries: The United States, Singapore, and Bangladesh. The three countries were chosen based on their varying socioeconomic status as the are categorized as developed, developing, and underdeveloped countries respectively. Results showed that the developed country reported more on treatments while the developing and developed countries reported mostly on the prevention of AMD. Writing strategies examined from all three news sites indicate episodic framing as the most prominent among all news sites and there is no difference in that aspect. Results are further analyzed, discussed, and implications were made as well.