Media Coverage Research Articles

The media's coverage and framing of hospital reforms: The case of Germany

Abstract Aim In Germany, a long-lasting debate about the need for a hospital reform, including centralisation, now resulted in reform plans. As cutbacks to essential services such as hospitals are an emotional topic, the public should be properly informed, which is a central role of the media. Based on a media analysis of a large-scale hospital reform in Denmark, showing that the media’s reporting might have had an agenda-setting effect, we analysed the media’s coverage and framing of restructuring the hospital landscape in German newspapers. Subject and methods A systematic search identified relevant articles in national and regional newspapers. The coverage between January 2018 and January 2023 was analysed regarding quantity and main theme (agenda-setting). Each article’s title and main text were analysed for tone and whether it focused on episodic (single events) or thematic (broader context) framing. Results A total of 705 newspaper articles (592 regional, 113 national) were included. Both regional and national newspapers mainly used episodic framing. Regional newspapers mostly reported on single closures of hospitals or departments. The tone of the title and main text in national newspapers was mainly negatively depicted, which applied to less than half of the articles in regional newspapers. These differences were, however, not statistically significant. Conclusion Results indicate higher agenda-setting effects in regional compared to national newspapers. However, the overall high amount of episodic framing can result in less attribution of responsibility to policy-makers, thereby conserving the status quo. To succeed, a media strategy might help to raise problem awareness among the public.

Assessing the Impact of the Türkiye February 2023 Earthquakes on Cultural Heritage Sites: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach Utilizing ARIA Maps and Social Media Collaboration

Abstract. The earthquakes that occurred in our country on February 6, 2023, significantly damaged and destroyed cultural and historical assets. The Habib-i Nejjar Mosque in Antakya and other important historical sites suffered significant damage. This study provides a comprehensive account of the post-earthquake efforts carried out by volunteers from various disciplines, including archaeology, cartography, space sciences, and architecture, using social media platforms. The volunteers created an extensive database for cultural and archaeological sites in all 11 provinces that were declared disaster zones. This database made it easier to conduct a thorough evaluation of the damage. The database was augmented with surface displacement data, enabling an analysis of damage levels with the exactitude facilitated by the gathered information. The utilization of the Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) maps was pivotal in this study. The maps, created through partnerships between NASA and different space agencies, offer intricate satellite imagery and analysis of surface displacement. This is essential for evaluating the effects of earthquakes on cultural heritage sites. The utilization of ARIA maps in this study facilitated an accurate assessment of the seismic impact on cultural and historical resources. Additionally, Sentinel 1 images are used to generate displacement maps with the use of the LICSAR tool and the SBAS method. The study examined the state of about 1500 cultural heritage sites in 11 provinces in the aftermath of the earthquake. The report incorporated data from media coverage and input from relevant parties present at the scene, providing a thorough assessment of the situation following the disaster. For instance, the research revealed substantial shifts at prominent locations, like the UNESCO World Heritage site of Arslantepe in Malatya. This site experienced a displacement of over one meter towards the south and 75 cm towards the west, along with a subsidence of approximately 10 cm in the surrounding area. Furthermore, the study presented a visual representation that depicted the quantity of impaired cultural heritage sites in every province, providing a comprehensive evaluation of the impacted cultural and archaeological resources. This comprehensive strategy not only emphasized the magnitude of harm to cultural heritage but also emphasized the significance of interdisciplinary cooperation in disaster response and heritage preservation.

Making a Statement: Positions of Professional Medical Organizations Towards Gender-Affirming Care.

Despite politically charged media coverage and legislation surrounding gender affirming care (GAC), many organizations have released position statements to provide scientifically backed clinical practice standards, combat misinformation, and inform medicolegal policies. The purpose of this study is to objectively assess the availability and the content of the official position statements of relevant medical professional organizations regarding GAC. A list of U.S. medical professional organizations with likely involvement in GAC based on medical or surgical specialties was compiled. For included organizations, we evaluated the availability, content, and publication year of positions on GAC through October 2023. When available, formal positions were categorized as supportive or unsupportive. A total of 314 professional medical organizations were screened for our study based on specialty, relevance to GAC, and issuance of patient guidelines or position statements. Inclusion criteria were met by 55 organizations. Most organizations (35, 63.6%) had formal position statements on GAC. Support for GAC was described in 97.1% (n=34). Further, 94.2% (n=33) of available statements explicitly addressed GAC in individuals less than 18 years old and were largely supportive (96.9%, n=32). This cross-sectional analysis demonstrates that a majority of multidisciplinary professional medical organizations with relevance to GAC have issued formal position statements on the topic. Available positions were overwhelmingly supportive of individualized access to gender-affirming therapies in adult and adolescent populations. However, silence from some organizations continues to represent a modifiable disparity in the provision of GAC.

Revisiting the HMAS Swan Scandal and Histories of Sexual Harassment in the Australian Defence Force

In September 1993, the Australian media was abuzz over a Naval Board of Inquiry which investigated allegations of sexual abuse on the HMAS Swan. Following the Board of Inquiry and media coverage, the Minister for Defence Science and Personnel referred the matter to a new, broader Senate Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in the Australian Defence Force. This inquiry received 122 submissions and handed down its final report in August 1994. The HMAS Swan inquiries were neither the first nor the last major reports investigating abuse in the Australian armed forces. Indeed, media reports and new inquiries every few years suggest a cycle of serial epiphanies – to borrow a phrase from Aboriginal researcher Maggie Walter – about cultures of abuse within the ADF. Yet, what set the HMAS Swan scandal apart from earlier ones was: 1. The interest and interventions taken by the political class, and 2. That it centred on sexual abuse and the status of women in the Australian Defence Force (ADF). This article revisits the HMAS Swan inquiries thirty years later, exploring their findings, legacies and shortcomings. It explores why what could have been a turning point in the treatment of women in the ADF instead became just another inquiry.

Spatio-Temporal Changes of Vegetation Net Primary Productivity and Its Driving Factors on the Tibetan Plateau from 1979 to 2018

The Net Primary Productivity (NPP) of the Tibetan Plateau (TP) has undergone significant changes since the 1980s. The investigation of the spatiotemporal changes of NPP and its driving factors is of significant importance. Here, we analyze the spatial and temporal trends of Net Primary Production (NPP) and the effects of meteorological factors on the NPP change on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) using version 5.0 of the Community Land Model. The results showed that the average NPP was 256 (g C·m2·yr−1) over the past 40 years, with a continuously increasing trend of 2.38 (g C·m2·yr−1). Precipitation was the main factor affecting NPP changes, temperature had no significant effect on NPP changes, while radiation showed a negative trend. Changes in precipitation, temperature and radiation account for approximately 91%, 5.3%, and 3.8% of NPP variation, respectively. Based on grass coverage, we categorized alpine grasslands into three types: high, medium, and low coverage. Our findings indicate the NPP change of the high-coverage grasslands was mainly affected by precipitation, and then the temperature and radiation. Comparatively, the precipitation change is the driving factor of the increased NPP of low-coverage grasslands, but the temperature increase is the negative factor. Our studies have implications for assessing and predicting vegetation responses to future climate change.

Towards a smart glasses society? Ethical perspectives on extended realities and augmenting technologies

The release of Apple Vision Pro in early February and the subsequent media coverage have pushed Mixed Reality (MR) and augmenting technologies into public consciousness, raising the question of whether we are moving towards a “smart glasses society” where wearing MR-devices in public becomes commonplace, and regularly engaging with extended realities will be part of our everyday experience. This paper delves into the ethical implications of this potential development, scrutinizing the effects smart glasses may have on our humanity, our relation to the world, and our shared-life world. It calls for a nuanced approach that earnestly engages with these concerns while maintaining a composed outlook, recognizing that many of these issues discussed in the context of immersive technologies, although they seem new, have been with us for quite some time.

Exposure Experiences of Area Residents Near a Chronic Environmental Contamination Site

Background: The study aims to analyze and interpret the exposure experiences of local residents living within 5 miles of the Fernald Feed Materials Production Center, a former uranium processing site. The goal is to enhance public health efforts addressing psychological stress resulting from environmental exposure. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted from July 1998 to February 2001 as part of the Fernald Living History Project. The study focuses on 4 key phenomenological events: air releases of uranium by-products, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency public notifications of water contamination, a citizens' class action lawsuit against the US Department of Energy and National Lead of Ohio, Inc, and extensive media coverage. Researchers used descriptive inductive coding to analyze data from these events, involving 34 participants. Results: The study identified 5 central themes in the residents' exposure experiences: disruptions to life, loss of trust, seeking answers, interpreting ambiguous threats, and adaptive responses. Participants recounted how these events affected their lives and triggered emotional responses. Conclusion: This research provides valuable insights into the experiences of individuals living near environmentally contaminated sites and offers guidance for future prevention and mitigation strategies.

“On the books” yet “off the record”-occupational injury and migrant women: scoping review findings from OECD countries, with implications for New Zealand

IntroductionLittle appears to be known regarding the work-related injury (WRI) experiences of migrants (those born in a country other than their identified host country) and specifically, women migrants.MethodsAs part of a wider PhD project investigating the WRI experiences of New Zealand (NZ) migrants, a review of NZ mainstream media coverage of migrants WRIs was undertaken, which identified no representations of migrant women's WRI experiences. In turn, a scoping review was undertaken to identify peer-reviewed publications reporting empirical findings about WRI experiences and outcomes for migrants in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, including NZ. This paper aims to identify and describe findings for migrant women specifically. From 2,243 potential publications, 383 proceeded to full text review; ultimately 67 were retained. These 67 publications were reviewed to identify findings specifically for occupationally injured migrant women; 22 such publications (from 21 studies) were found. This paper reports: the characteristics of identified studies; characteristics of migrant women within; frameworks and theories used, and knowledge (and gaps) related to occupationally injured migrant women.ResultsPublications came from only four OECD countries, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Spain. A range of study designs, and topic areas (working conditions, legal rights, identities, the role of gatekeepers, and precarity), were identified; however, only three studies reported findings for longer-term experiences and outcomes of WRIs. Nine publications considered theoretical models underpinning research, including theories about precarious work, stigmatization, and citizenship. However, there was a paucity of analyses of the WRI experience throughout the life-course, highlighting a gap in understanding of how these experiences are “lived” over the long term by occupationally injured migrant women.DiscussionScoping review findings were synthesized using a provisional “matryoshka framing narrative” model, to be refined through forthcoming qualitative interviews with occupationally injured NZ migrant women. This model highlights the multitude of influences in WRI experiences, potentially specific to migrant women, suggesting the consequences of WRIs may be uneven, with migrant women experiencing different, and potentially, greater disparities in outcomes. These findings provide an impetus to investigate knowledge gaps and urgently address potential disparities in WRI outcomes for migrant women specifically.

Emerging Trends in Information-Seeking Behavior for Alpha-Gal Syndrome: Infodemiology Study Using Time Series and Content Analysis.

Alpha-gal syndrome is an emerging allergy characterized by an immune reaction to the carbohydrate molecule alpha-gal found in red meat. This unique food allergy is likely triggered by a tick bite. Cases of the allergy are on the rise, but prevalence estimates do not currently exist. Furthermore, varying symptoms and limited awareness of the allergy among health care providers contribute to delayed diagnosis, leading individuals to seek out their own information and potentially self-diagnose. The study aimed to (1) describe the volume and patterns of information-seeking related to alpha-gal, (2) explore correlations between alpha-gal and lone star ticks, and (3) identify specific areas of interest that individuals are searching for in relation to alpha-gal. Google Trends Supercharged-Glimpse, a new extension of Google Trends, provides estimates of the absolute volume of searches and related search queries. This extension was used to assess trends in searches for alpha-gal and lone star ticks (lone star tick, alpha gal, and meat allergy, as well as food allergy for comparison) in the United States. Time series analyses were used to examine search volume trends over time, and Spearman correlation matrices and choropleth maps were used to explore geographic and temporal correlations between alpha-gal and lone star tick searches. Content analysis was performed on related search queries to identify themes and subcategories that are of interest to information seekers. Time series analysis revealed a rapidly increasing trend in search volumes for alpha-gal beginning in 2015. After adjusting for long-term trends, seasonal trends, and media coverage, from 2015 to 2022, the predicted adjusted average annual percent change in search volume for alpha-gal was 33.78%. The estimated overall change in average search volume was 627%. In comparison, the average annual percent change was 9.23% for lone star tick, 7.34% for meat allergy, and 2.45% for food allergy during this time. Geographic analysis showed strong significant correlations between alpha-gal and lone star tick searches especially in recent years (ρ=0.80; P<.001), with primary overlap and highest search rates found in the southeastern region of the United States. Content analysis identified 10 themes of primary interest: diet, diagnosis or testing, treatment, medications or contraindications of medications, symptoms, tick related, specific sources of information and locations, general education information, alternative words for alpha-gal, and unrelated or other. The study provides insights into the changing information-seeking patterns for alpha-gal, indicating growing awareness and interest. Alpha-gal search volume is increasing at a rapid rate. Understanding specific questions and concerns can help health care providers and public health educators to tailor communication strategies. The Google Trends Supercharged-Glimpse tool offers enhanced features for analyzing information-seeking behavior and can be valuable for infodemiology research. Further research is needed to explore the evolving prevalence and impact of alpha-gal syndrome.

From party to pandemic – Frames and metaphors in the news coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak in Austria

Media framing facilitates people’s understanding of a threat and affects one’s emotional reaction. It therefore plays a vital role in both individual and societal responses to a public health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a combination of conceptual metaphor analysis and qualitative frame analysis, this article examines how three Austrian newspapers framed the initial national outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020. The results show that at that early stage, media coverage was primarily concerned with the national government’s political actions to contain the disease. Only a few articles framed the situation in terms of personal experiences and possible economic or social consequences. As has been the case in research reporting on other health crises, metaphors of war, journeys, and natural disasters were used to conceptualize the coronavirus pandemic. Yet, overall, the tone remained neutral, as the media framing was clearly aimed at passing on information and conveying a sense of urgency while at the same time trying to avoid scare tactics.

How does media coverage affect a COVID-19 pandemic model with direct and indirect transmission?

How does media coverage affect a COVID-19 pandemic model with direct and indirect transmission?

Follow the media? News environment and public concern about immigration

AbstractImmigration is a hot topic in Europe, but research on the media effects on public attention to immigration remains limited. We examine how media coverage affects the degree of importance attached to immigration in seven Western European Union member states. Data come from an extensive analysis of claims in printed newspapers, and the Eurobarometer (2002–2009). The continuous sample of news coverage is aggregated into a biannual panel, and we relate these data to citizens’ perceptions of the most important issues in their country 6 months later (lagged). The public consider immigration more important than other policy‐related issues when there is an increase in the volume of news and more political claims on the topic in the media. The media environment appears to be an exogenous actor that can have agenda‐setting effects on public concern about immigration. Our results highlight limitations of both the ‘policy‐gap’ thesis and thermostatic models of policy making.

Victims of a Human Tragedy or “Objects” of Migrant Smuggling? Media Framing of Greece’s Deadliest Migrant Shipwreck in Pylos’ Dark Waters

Refugee and migration crises has been an integral part of the continuous and successive crises that the world has been experiencing. Media has played a crucial role in shaping public opinion over migration and asylum-seeking. Within this context, this paper aims to discuss Greek media coverage of the migrant shipwreck off the Greek coast of Pylos, in June 2023, in which more than 600 people mostly from Syria, Egypt, and Pakistan are thought to have drowned. Based on data from a quantitative content analysis and a sample of news stories stemming from the online version of five Greek news media outlets, representing diverse political spaces, a broader set of criteria for content analysis, including the absence of refugee and migrant voice in media content, dehumanization, absence of solutions and context, among many others, was used in order to explore how the Greek media framed what has been labeled as one of the deadliest migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean. Results revealed (i) frames of dehumanization, (ii) insufficient reporting of injustice and discrimination stemming from (state) structures and practices, and an (iii) overemphasis on migrant smuggling.

Precariousness and vulnerability: Seafarers in the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected the world and work in particular, but its effects on the labor market were not evenly distributed. Seafarers, who are essential workers engaging in international maritime transport, encountered exacerbated challenges to labor conditions at sea during the pandemic. Notably, the inability to conduct crew changes violated their right to rest, increasing the risk of fatigue-related safety accidents at sea. Additionally, the precarious nature of maritime employment relationships delayed seafarers waiting to enlist on the vessels, creating extended financial hardship ashore. Socio-legal analysis revealed how the pandemic, related public health measures and precarious employment heightened the vulnerability of seafarers during the pandemic. Applying the Pressure, Disorganization and Regulatory Failure model and supported by qualitative data collected through a policy review, media coverage analysis and semi-structured interviews, we identified how seafarers’ health and safety rights were significantly compromised during the pandemic. Even though various initiatives were raised by international governmental and non-governmental organizations to address the “humanitarian crisis” at sea, maritime labor regulatory failures were not effectively addressed throughout the multiple waves of the pandemic.

A Series of Suicides and Homicides by Cyanide in Türkiye: Exploring the Role of Media Reports and the Copycat Effect

Objectives: This paper focuses on the intentional deaths by cyanide that occurred in Turkey and aims to discuss the effect of internet and the media on these cases. Methods: Five highly circulated daily newspapers were selected and the term “siyanür”, which means “cyanide” in Turkish, were searched within their online search function between 2017-2021. A Google Trends analysis was performed with “siyanür+siyanur” as the keyword, “Turkey” as the region, and “1/1/2017-12/31/2021” as the custom time range. Results: Twenty different incidents and news reports of cyanide related suicides and/or homicides with 29 total deaths were found. In Google Trends analysis, seven out of total 8 periods of increased search interest coincided with the news reports related to cyanide deaths. Conclusions: The authors observed a surge in cyanide-related incidents following a highly publicized case in May 2019, with a peak in November 2019. The study highlights the influence of media coverage on subsequent incidents, with newspapers often using sensational headlines and providing detailed information on suicide methods. Reporting a news article on suicide requires great care and caution. Thus, the guidelines on reporting suicide related news should be implemented nationwide with a collaboration between media professionals and health-care experts.

120 Gene editing: From the general public perspective

Abstract The public controversy around genetically engineered (GE) products, aka genetically modified organisms (GMO), has been ongoing for almost 40 yr fueled in part by well-funded misinformation campaigns disseminated by activist organizations. Polls reveal that public perception of GE animals is generally negative, with biomedical applications being more positively perceived than agricultural applications. Opposition to GE animals is often conflated with opposition to use of animals in research in general, as well as opposition to aspects of intensive animal agriculture. In general, concerns about animal biotechnology are influenced by views around the moral status of animals, the boundary between “natural” and “unnatural,” and perceived risks and benefits of GE animals to health and the environment (personal and cultural characteristics); the purpose of the application (e.g., disease resistance &amp;gt; fast growth), the method(s) being used, and the motivation of the research group making the genetic modification (public or private); and the species being modified (animal characteristics). There were three factors that aggravated opposition to GE products including 1) a lengthy and expensive regulatory step uniquely associated with commercializing products developed using that breeding method, 2) competing business interests (e.g., organic, non-GMO project) that were able to monetarize fear around the method to extract value (rent seeking) and selling their value-added (more expensive) product that avoided the use of GE, and 3) there is a mandatory labeling requirement to track/differentiate products produced with (or without) that breeding method to enable value-added marketing. Even so, when GE products that people wanted were allowed to reach the market (e.g., Impossible Burger with GE heme, GloFish, AquAdvantage salmon), they met with commercial acceptance. Now it has been suggested that the public will similarly reject animal products derived from gene edited (GnEd) animals, but that idea has only recently been put to the test as such food products were not previously available. A 2022 Japanese paper noted that with regard to GnEd food (gene knock-out tomatoes and fish) there was a “gap between anticipated and actual public response”. They noted that “even though there were some petitions against the use of genome-editing made by consumer groups; they did not develop into a mass mobilization, and media coverage was mostly positive.” These GnEd food products were developed by startups from Japanese universities, required no unique regulatory step before commercialization or mandatory labeling with Japanese regulatory agencies transparently sharing a summary of the information and notification on their websites, and businesses were encouraged to share information on products to respect The right of consumers to know. Successful commercialization of GnEd animal products has so far occurred in countries (e.g., Argentina, Brazil, Japan) where regulations treat simple GnEd products with no “foreign DNA” to be “non-GMO” and analogous to conventional breeding.

Foreign shareholding and corporate environmental expenditure: Evidence from China

AbstractThis paper estimates the effects of foreign investments on the environmental expenditure of listed companies in China by differentiating pre‐IPO foreign investors from post‐IPO foreign investors. Our findings indicate that while pre‐IPO foreign investments make significant and positive contributions, the influence of post‐IPO foreign investments is negligible. These results are particularly pronounced for enterprises that are privately owned, located in coastal China, operating in heavily polluting industries, and whose management lacks prior experience in environmental protection and international vision. Furthermore, research efforts are devoted to uncovering potential channels through which pre‐IPO foreign investments affect corporate environmental expenditure, including environmental regulations in home countries or regions, government attention to environmental issues, media coverage, and corporate financial constraints.

The Conditionality of Political Short‐Termism: A Review of Empirical and Experimental Studies

Political short-termism prioritizes short-term net policy benefits over long-term benefits and thus can hinder policy investments that impose short-term costs to society to address long-term policy challenges. This literature review explores when political short-termism can be driven and mitigated in a democratic system by reviewing empirical and experimental studies and identifying the various factors that can influence policy investments: elections, economic conditions, power-sharing arrangements, partisanship, the presence of compensation schemes, and media coverage among politicians; discounts of future policy benefits, policy trade-offs, political ideology, and socioeconomic and demographic factors among voters; and compliance costs, power-sharing arrangements, compensations, and long-term political signaling from governments among special interest groups. Finally, I discuss the findings and provide suggestions for future research.

Wellbeing and collective grievances among farmers: The case of Flanders, Belgium

Media coverage and policy at both national and EU level is increasingly paying attention to how farming populations in multiple countries in Europe are facing problems in terms of wellbeing. Similar attention is also being paid to this issue in Flanders (Belgium), although research data on this problem is lacking. The present study fills this gap by investigating what type of stressors farmers are experiencing in their daily activities. Through qualitative interviews (15) and focus group discussions (9), reaching 81 Flemish farmers, 2 categories of stressors are identified as negatively impacting on farmers wellbeing. The first category encompasses regulations and administrative burdens which are understood to be increasingly strict and complex, adding to workload and reducing the autonomy of the farmer. A second category relates to financial insecurity, including points such as anxieties as to the overall future of the farm enterprise and price volatility. These stressors and their direct impact can also be retrieved in other countries.In addition to these findings, this article will argue that these stressors are inextricably tied to perceptions by Flemish farmers about a changing socio-political climate that is understood to be increasingly anti-farming. Throughout the individual and group interviews on stress and wellbeing, a discourse emerges about a lack of societal respect towards farming in which farmers express increasingly feeling alienated from society. Hence, these individual stress factors cannot be detached from a set of collective grievances about the place of farmers as a professional group in the larger societal fabric. The point on regulations and administrative burdens is put in a framework wherein farmers indicate increasingly being misunderstood and disrespected. A specific symbol of contention in this regard are so-called ‘green regulations’ centred around biodiversity, animal welfare, climate … The issue of financial insecurity is tied to a larger moral critique wherein society supposedly no longer wishes to pay a fair price for honest labour and healthy food products.

Occupational health and safety management system and stock price crash risk

This study responds to the call of Ben-Nasr and Ghouma (2018) by providing more empirical evidence on stock price crash risk from the employee treatment perspective. With a focus on occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS), we examine whether corporate OHSMS adoption reduces stock price crash risk. We find that OHSMS adoption is negatively associated with crash risk. This negative relationship is more pronounced for SOEs than for non-SOEs, and for firms with higher levels of media coverage and with higher market competitive status. Employee welfare and internal control effectiveness are two channels through which OHSMS adoption affects crash risk. The current study extends to the health and safety factor, thus shedding new light on the determinants of crash risk. Our study also advances the understanding of the “responsible employee treatment – crash risk” relationship.