Out of an Abundance of Caution: COVID-19 and Health Risk Frames in Canadian News Media

Rebecca Wallace,Erin Tolley,Andrea Lawlor

doi:10.1017/s0008423921000214

Abstract

AbstractAlthough Canada's first documented case of COVID-19 appeared in mid-January 2020, it was not until March that messaging about the need to contain the virus heightened. In this research note, we document the use of the media's construction of risk through framing in the early stages of the pandemic. We analyze three dimensions of the health risk narratives related to COVID-19 that dominated Canadians’ concerns about the virus. To capture these narratives, we examine print and online news coverage from two nationally distributed media sources. We assess these frames alongside epidemiological data and find there is a clear link between media coverage, epidemiological data and risk frames in the early stages of the pandemic. It appears that the media relied on health expertise and political sources to guide their coverage and was responsive to the public health data presented to Canadians.

Highlights

Résumé Bien que le premier cas documenté de COVID-19 au Canada soit apparu à la mijanvier, ce n’est qu’en mars que les messages sur la nécessité de contenir le virus se sont intensifiés
When Canada’s first case of COVID-19 was documented in mid-January, public health officials assured the public that the risk to Canadians was very low
We consider the source of the risk framing, comparing the operational and strategic interventions offered by public health officials, on the one hand, and politicians and government authorities, on the other

Summary

Introduction

Résumé Bien que le premier cas documenté de COVID-19 au Canada soit apparu à la mijanvier, ce n’est qu’en mars que les messages sur la nécessité de contenir le virus se sont intensifiés. This research note extends this analysis by focusing on the media’s construction of risk in the early stages of the pandemic, in terms of framing the severity and proximity of the virus.

Objectives

Results

Conclusion