Pandemic and health reporting: A content analysis of New York times coverage of COVID-19 from January 01, 2020, to August 31, 2022

Abstract

The media coverage of an infectious disease outbreak can quickly become a complex issue as the sources of messages may get complicated by the nature of the outbreaks and sources of information. During past pandemics, media were criticized for the sensationalized coverage of H1N1 and politicized coverage of both Ebola and Zika virus. Recent studies related to the COVID-19 pandemic indicated that media coverage of the health crisis may have affected the emotional states (i.e., panic, fear, anger) of the viewers and influenced the risk perception and protective actions such as hand washing, vaccination, maintaining social distancing and preference of mask-wearing. In this study, we conducted a qualitative content analysis of the New York Times (NYT) coverage of COVID-19-related stories published between 1, 2020, and August 31, 2022. Based on crisis communication and media framing theories, we analyzed the coverage span, size, and wording of the articles. Based on our sample, we observed that the frequency of COVID-19-related reports was higher at the beginning of the pandemic and decreased over time. Section analysis of the articles reflected a high diversity as coronavirus-related stories were distributed in more than ten sections. In addition, we found that almost 16 percent of the articles were placed in U.S. news and 14 percent were in the editorial. It also indicated a national interest and the topic's significance as articles found in editorials received more attention. Regarding media framing, in particular, the human interest, conflict, and economic consequences frame seem to cover more stories related to health determinants. We also found that the coverage characteristic of the NYT coverage of COVID-19 was strongly interwoven with politics, especially by using responsibility and conflict frames.