Content Analysis Of Newspaper Coverage Research Articles

Framing Later Life Vulnerability during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Content Analysis of Newspaper Coverage in Canada and the United States.

This study explores vulnerability narratives used in relation to older adults and others during the COVID-19 pandemic. A mixed-method content analysis was conducted of 391 articles published in two major newspapers in Canada and the USA during the first wave of the pandemic. The findings indicated that during the early months of the pandemic, limited attention was directed towards its impact on older adults or other 'vulnerable' subpopulations in both countries. Where evident, intrinsic (individual-level) risk factors were most consistently used to frame the vulnerability of older adults. In contrast, vulnerability was more likely to be framed as structural with regard to other subpopulations (e.g., ethno-racial minorities). These narratives also differed somewhat in Canadian and US newspapers. The framing of older adults as intrinsically vulnerable reflects ageist stereotypes and promotes downstream policy interventions. Greater attention is needed to the role of structural factors in influencing pandemic-related outcomes among older adults.

The Covenant School Shooting: Media Coverage and Backlash against the Transgender Community

On 27 March 2023, Aiden Hale broke into the Covenant School, a private Christian academy in Nashville, TN, and killed three students and three staff members. Hale, a former student at the school, was transgender. Although assigned female at birth, Hale identified as male, asked to be called by a male name, and used he/him pronouns. In the aftermath of the shooting, a newfound wave of anti-trans rhetoric soared, once again putting members of the transgender community in harm’s way. In this article, we review the details of the Covenant School shooting and consider them in the context of the anti-trans movement in the United States, a movement that has escalated as transgender people have become more visible and more vocal in society. We then present findings from an extensive content analysis of newspaper coverage in the two weeks following the shooting (27 March–10 April). In so doing, we add to the literature on K-12 school shootings and gender studies, specifically stigma towards the transgender community.

How changing discourses on borders and masculinity leads to the intensification of draft evasion

ABSTRACT This study explores the vast intensification of ‘draft-dodging’ by looking at changes in attitudes towards the border and masculinity. Based on interviews conducted in 2011 and content analysis of newspaper coverage of military service and ‘draft-dodging’ in Cyprus between 2011 and 2019, this study shows that draft-dodging can intensify in the context of changing discourses on borders and masculinity. In particular, the opening of internal borders, the enlargement of borders to the European Union, and the shifting of the locus point of the conflict from inland to the maritime boundaries are the three border changes in Cyprus that contributed to draft evasion. Moreover, the emerging ‘Euro-Cypriot’ hegemonic masculinity maintains a weak relationship with the military. Through the case study of Cyprus, this article illustrates that paying attention to changing notions of border-related security and the reconfigured hegemonic masculinity will shed light on the model of public security and offer implications for draft evasion. The findings from post-conflict Cyprus can help understand draft evasion in Western and post-conflict societies.

A comparative content analysis of newspaper coverage about extreme risk protection order policies in passing and non-passing US states

BackgroundExtreme risk protection order (ERPO) laws are a tool for firearm violence prevention (in effect in 19 states), often enacted in the wake of a public mass shooting when media coverage of gun violence tends to spike. We compared news media framing of ERPOs in states that passed and those that considered but did not pass such laws after the 2018 mass shooting in Parkland, Florida.MethodsWe conducted a content analysis of 244 newspaper articles about ERPOs, published in 2018, in three passing (FL, VT, RI) and three non-passing states (PA, OH, CO). Measures included language used, stakeholders mentioned, and scientific evidence cited. We use chi-square tests to compare the proportion of articles with each measure of interest in passing versus non-passing states.ResultsCompared to newspaper coverage of non-passing states, news articles about ERPOs in passing states more often used only official policy names for ERPOs (38% vs. 23%, p = .03), used less restrictive language such as “prevent” to describe the process of suspending firearm access (15% vs. 3%, p < .01), mentioned gun violence prevention advocacy groups (41% vs. 28%, p = .08), and referenced research on ERPOs (17% vs. 7%, p = .03). Articles about passing states also more often explicitly stated that a violent event was or could have been prevented by an ERPO (20% vs. 6%, p < .01).ConclusionsMedia messaging that frames gun violence as preventable, emphasizes identifiable markers of risk, and draws on data in conjunction with community wisdom may support ERPO policy passage. As more states consider ERPO legislation, especially given endorsement by the Biden-Harris administration, deeper knowledge about successful media framing of these life-saving policies can help shape public understandings and support.

A content analysis of newspaper coverage of maternal mortality from 2010-2019

ABSTRACT Pregnancy-related death, the death of a woman during or within one year after pregnancy, is between three and four times more likely to occur in Black women than White women. To better understand communication about this public health crisis, we examined features of news coverage on maternal mortality in 155 newspaper articles. Very few articles included a clear definition of the problem, and only about a third mentioned that these deaths are largely preventable. Additionally, 61% referenced the racial disparity, but within those, most did not discuss substantive causes of inequities. In terms of message features, about one third of articles used a patient narrative, with less than 10% referencing a celebrity’s patient experience. Very few (5%) articles included information about the history of mistreatment of Black patients in American health care. Together, the findings suggest current newspaper coverage does not effectively address social determinants of maternal health outcomes.

Intra-Crisis Lesson-Drawing in Real-Time: The Pandemic Lessons Available in the UK Media during the First Months of COVID-19

This article assesses, using a framework derived from lesson-drawing, policy transfer and crisis research, the lessons offered by the media from abroad and from the past in the UK COVID-19 pandemic. The lesson-drawing literature focuses on a series of steps and questions associated with the ‘fungibility’ of lessons, and the crisis literature, with its constituent elements of threat, uncertainty and between ‘routine’ and ‘non-routine’ or ‘less routine’ crises. The article utilises the LexisNexis Database1 in order to provide a content analysis of newspaper coverage of lessons offered, giving analysis in ‘real time’ of the source of potential lessons (e.g. past pandemics or other nations), and the type of lessons (e.g. copying or instruments). Its analysis highlights the complexity of lesson-drawing in ‘real time’ in a period of considerable uncertainty, where knowledge is contested, and is subject to change over time.

Exploring Media-Covered Accountability of Public Agencies

Although journalism and media coverage are known to induce, inform, and affect public accountability processes, little is known about media-covered accountability. This study therefore explores accountability processes of Danish and Flemish agencies as subjects of the news. Drawing on news construction literature, our quantitative content analysis of newspaper coverage ( N = 13,540) focuses on the presence of accountability processes in media coverage and the extent to which organizational characteristics (task, political salience, and size) are related to this phenomenon. Horizontal accountability forums have the highest media presence. Opinions from horizontal forums, vertical forums, and citizens appear less frequently for service-providing organizations.

THE MEDIA AND A GREEN ENVIRONMENT: ASSESSING NEWSPAPER COVERAGE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN NIGERIA

Author(s): Mbamalu, Marcel; Okoro, Nnanyelugo M | Abstract: The study was a content analysis of newspaper coverage of renewable energy in Nigeria. Four newspapers (The Guardian, Nation, Daily Sun and Vanguard) and the 364 editions studied were statistically determined. Both content analysis and survey research design were used. This was put in the context of Nigeria’s position as a major oil exporters, a potential powerhouse for renewable energy development, perennial power problems and environmental concerns due to fossil fuel exploration. The study found that newspapers gave dominant attention to ‘solution to renewable energy challenges, which was reported 62 times with a 33. 9 % score. Coverage focus was significantly dependent on the individual newspapers (P l 0.05). The study makes recommendations on areas of coverage such as technical support, while calling for further research attention on the context of energy reportage in Nigeria through more engagement with editors and reporters

News Framing of the Rohingya Crisis: Content Analysis of Newspaper Coverage from Four Countries

The study examines prominent news frames, sources, and refugee characteristics present in coverage of the under-reported Rohingya refugee crisis across newspapers from four nations. Findings show victim, thematic, and administrative frames were most commonly used. Politicians, international organizations, and NGOs were dominant sources, while nationality, age, and gender were frequently used refugee characteristics. Findings suggest positive practices that journalists can incorporate while reporting refugee crises. These include more frequent use of thematic and personalized frames that will help provide holistic background to crises and lead to nuanced portrayals of refugee subjects.

Tales of Two Referendums: Comparing Debate Quality between the UK and New Zealand Voting System Referendums of 2011

ABSTRACT Two voting system referendums in the same year in two countries with institutional and cultural similarities provide an excellent opportunity for comparison, particularly given the significant differences in how those referendums were regulated and conducted. In New Zealand, a well-funded and balanced official information campaign led the debate; in Britain, the debate was dominated by campaign organisations. Based on content analysis of newspaper coverage of the campaigns, this paper explores how regulatory differences between these two cases shaped the quality of debate as reflected in media discourse. It finds that they made a difference, suggesting that positive interventions to promote better debate can work. It also concludes, however, that contextual factors are crucial too: interventions that work in one context will not necessarily work in another.

A content analysis of newspaper coverage of COVID-19 pandemic for developing a pandemic management framework

BackgroundThe emergence of COVID-19 pandemic has not only shaken the global health sector, but also almost every other sector, including economic and education sectors. Newspapers are performing a significant role by featuring the news of COVID-19 from its very onset. The temporal fluctuation of COVID-19 related key themes presented in newspaper articles and the findings obtained from them could offer an effective lesson in dealing with future epidemics and pandemics. Aim and methodThis paper intends to develop a pandemic management framework through an automated content analysis of local newspaper coverage of COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. To fulfill the aim, 7,209 newspaper articles are assembled and analyzed from three popular local newspapers named “bdnews24.com”, “New Age”, and “Prothom Alo English” over the period from January 1, 2020 to October 31, 2020. ResultsTwelve key topics are identified: origin and outbreak of COVID-19, response of healthcare system, impact on economy, impact on lifestyle, government assistance to the crisis, regular updates, expert opinions, pharmaceutical measures, non-pharmaceutical measures, updates on vaccines, testing facilities, and local unusual activities within the system. Based on the identified topics, their timeline of discussion, and information flow in each topic, a four-stage pandemic management framework is developed for epidemic and pandemic management in future. The stages are preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. ConclusionThis research would provide insights into stage-wise response to any biological hazard and contribute ideas to endure future outbreaks.

Exploring the relationship between newspaper coverage of vaccines and childhood vaccination rates in Spain

ABSTRACT Background: Despite the effectiveness of vaccines being well established and recognized by the research community, eleven European countries have adopted mandatory vaccination programs because of vaccine hesitancy. Lack of information and fake news are considered the main reasons. The media are a powerful tool for spreading vaccine-related information. The study of media effects on vaccine uptake has received little attention in Europe. Objective: To explore the association of childhood vaccination rates in Spain with vaccine-related coverage in print media. Methods: A content analysis of newspaper coverage of vaccines was conducted. The study variables were: national vaccination rates, article publication dates, tone and main theme of the articles. We conducted a correlation analysis to assess the association between media coverage and childhood vaccine uptake. Results: While vaccine coverage with positive and neutral tones significantly increased during the study period (p < .001), the number of articles with a negative tone remained unchanged (p = .306). There was a significant and inverse correlation between negative newspaper coverage and childhood vaccine uptake (r = −.771, p < .05). During 2016 and 2017, although the media reporting declined, vaccination rates kept increasing. The most frequent themes were about the development of the Ebola vaccine, and the chickenpox and meningitis vaccine crises. Conclusions: Our findings expand the understanding of media role on vaccination and suggest that the media need to be considered as an important player during vaccination campaigns. The study points to the important educational role of the media in public health.

Policy framing in the press: analyzing media coverage of two flood disasters

Disasters focus public and political attention on environmental hazards, creating a window of opportunity to adopt new risk reduction policies. The news media can shape post-disaster policy debate by directing the attention of policymakers towards problems and solutions and framing the nature of support or opposition to policy change. For these reasons, scholars have devoted increasing attention to the policy influence of the media over public policies to address hazards, particularly floods. However, the nature of news media coverage following flood disasters is largely unexplored in Canada. Through a content analysis of newspaper coverage around two of Canada’s most significant floods, this paper examines whether and how the media frame flooding as a policy problem. The results reveal that the Canadian media are focused more on the short-term impacts of hazards than on the policy problems that underpin flood risk. In addition, the study confirms relationships found in previous research between media content and the substance of policy discussions, which could inform a broader multijurisdictional comparison of media coverage and hazard policy.

Student resistance movements in higher education: an analysis of the depiction of Black Lives Matter student protests in news media

Popular media shapes societal perceptions and discourse. The growing use of news media in higher education practices (outreach, admissions, and campus communication) have heightened the need for institutional leadership to not only understand the general impact of popular media but also to comprehend students’ representation, as well as the acquisition and dissemination of media content. In this study, authors present a media content analysis of newspaper coverage of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in the well-known periodical, the Chronicle of Higher Education. Ultimately, this study demonstrates (1) organizational leadership can be influenced and disrupted to promote racial justice and (2) the discursive treatment of the BLM in popular media and, and by extension, in the United States’ public imagination. Overall, this study suggests that in situations where institutional policies perpetuate racial inequity, BLM student movements have the capacity to complicate existing discourse about Blackness in higher education and catalyze substantial social change.

How news media (de-)legitimize national and international climate politics – A content analysis of newspaper coverage in five countries

Implementing global climate change policies on the national and sub-national level requires the support of many societal actors. This support depends on the perceived legitimacy of climate policies, which can be sustained by legitimation debates in domestic news media. This article analyses legitimation statements on climate politics in newspapers of five countries for three Conferences of the Parties in 2004, 2009 and 2014 ( n = 369 legitimation statements). According to our data, it is mainly the legitimacy of international climate policies (instead of national ones) which is evaluated in national fora, and it is usually portrayed negatively. However, there is a noticeable shift in the arguments used over our 10-year period of analysis, moving from efficiency as the dominating evaluation criterion to questions of fairness in the distribution of costs and gains.

The palatability of sugar-sweetened beverage taxation: A content analysis of newspaper coverage of the UK sugar debate.

BackgroundExcess sugar consumption, including sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), contributes to a variety of negative health outcomes, particularly for young people. The mass media play a powerful role in influencing public and policy-makers’ perceptions of public health issues and their solutions. We analysed how sugar and SSB policy debates were presented in UK newspapers at a time of heightened awareness and following the announcement of the UK Government’s soft drinks industry levy (SDIL), to inform future public health advocacy.Methods & findingsWe carried out quantitative content analysis of articles discussing the issues of sugar and SSB consumption published in 11 national newspapers from April 2015 to November 2016. 684 newspaper articles were analysed using a structured coding frame. Coverage peaked in line with evidence publication, campaigner activities and policy events. Articles predominantly supportive of SSB taxation (23.5%) outnumbered those that were predominantly oppositional (14.2%). However, oppositional articles outnumbered supportive ones in the month of the announcement of the SDIL. Sugar and SSB consumption were presented as health risks, particularly affecting young people, with the actions of industry often identified as the cause of the public health problem. Responsibility for addressing sugar overconsumption was primarily assigned to government intervention.ConclusionOur results suggest that the policy landscape favouring fiscal solutions to curb sugar and SSB consumption has benefited from media coverage characterising the issue as an industry-driven problem. Media coverage may drive greater public acceptance of the SDIL and any future taxation of products containing sugar. However, future advocacy efforts should note the surge in opposition coinciding with the announcement of the SDIL, which echoes similar patterns of opposition observed in tobacco control debates.

Understanding tobacco industry tactics: a content analysis of newspaper coverage of tobacco issues in Pakistan

Understanding tobacco industry tactics: a content analysis of newspaper coverage of tobacco issues in Pakistan

Content analysis of newspaper coverage of wolf recolonization in France using structural topic modeling

Populations of large carnivores are recovering in Europe and incur increasing conflict interactions with human activities. According to the agenda-setting theory, the media dissemination of information on these interactions is likely to contribute to shaping public perceptions of large carnivores. We conducted a content analysis of printed media coverage of wolf recovery in France over the period 1993–2014, ever since its natural return to southeast France. To do so, we used a recently developed statistical method – structural topic modeling – that allows to generate topics from large amount of texts and formulate new or assess existing hypotheses. This method formally includes covariates to explain variation in topic prevalence and content in a way that is similar to standard regression analyses. We contrasted content variation between articles in a regional (Nice-Matin; N = 742) and a national (Le Monde; N = 148) newspaper and analyzed time trends in topic prevalence. The most represented topics were mainly related to the management issues regarding wolf recovery. We found that Le Monde represented management issues in a generic manner associated with a perspective centred on carnivore species. In contrast, articles in Nice-Matin were about factual issues and associated with a human-centred viewpoint. This contrasted framing emphasizes the gap in representations of wolf management between citizens who directly interact with the wolf and favor detailed information content, centred on human views, and citizens who do not interact or only indirectly with the wolf who will focus on less detailed news, with a more ecological approach. We suggest that increased communication between local and national stakeholders and institutions could provide the context for a more balanced media content of interactions between carnivore species and human activities. This combination could attenuate the gap between regional and national representations.

Recent Police Killings in the United States: A Three-City Comparison

Recent police killings of citizens in the United States have attracted massive coverage in the media, large-scale public protests, and demands for reform of police departments throughout the country. This study is based on a content analysis of newspaper coverage of recent high-profile incidents that resulted in a citizen’s death in Ferguson, North Charleston, and Baltimore. We identify both incident-specific content as well as more general patterns that transcend the three cases. News media coverage of similar incidents in past decades tended to be episodic and favored the police perspective. Our findings point to some important departures from this paradigm. Reporting in our three cases was more likely to draw connections between discrete incidents, to attach blame to the police, and to raise questions about the systemic causes of police misconduct. These findings may be corroborated in future studies of news media representations of high-profile policing incidents elsewhere.

“Its Own Kind of Torture”: Denial, Acknowledgment, and the Debate About Force Feeding at Guantánamo Bay

Social science research has revealed how U.S. political and media elites, as well as U.S. citizens, downplayed and denied allegations of torture during the country's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This research effectively applies and extends Stanley Cohen's () typology of the rhetoric of denial. We lack, however, a typology of the rhetoric of acknowledgment. In this article, I synthesize studies of discourse of torture to develop just such a typology. I propose three rhetorical forms of acknowledgment, which parallel Cohen's forms of denial. Literal or factual acknowledgment includes claims to convince audiences that alleged incidents indeed occurred. Interpretive acknowledgment consists of claims to affirm that those allegations constitute serious human rights violations, such as cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or torture. Implicatory acknowledgment includes efforts to delegitimize torture. I then illustrate the use of the rhetoric of acknowledgment through a qualitative content analysis of newspaper coverage of force feeding at the United States' detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. This case allows me to extend our understanding of the rhetoric of denial and acknowledgment by revealing ways in which discourse around force feeding deviates from that around the United States' use of “enhanced interrogation” and torture.