News coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak: thematic analysis of a Portuguese quality newspaper

Pedro R. P. Rodrigues

doi:10.17231/comsoc.43(2023).4130

News coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak: thematic analysis of a Portuguese quality newspaper

Título traduzido da contribuição: Cobertura noticiosa do surto de COVID-19: análise temática de um jornal português de referência

Pedro R. P. Rodrigues

Resultado de pesquisa › revisão de pares

1 Citação (Scopus)

55 Transferências (Pure)

Resumo

A cobertura noticiosa pode desempenhar um importante papel durante crises de saúde pública, alertando para os potenciais riscos, informando sobre medidas de resposta e encorajan-do comportamentos preventivos. No entanto, a pandemia COVID-19 aumentou a precariedade dos jornalistas, ao mesmo tempo introduzindo novos desafios no seu trabalho. Este artigo apre-senta os resultados de uma análise temática a 612 notícias sobre o período inicial do surto de COVID-19 em Portugal, publicadas num jornal português de referência, de janeiro a março de 2020. Os resultados mostram a relevância da proximidade geográfica e cultural como valores--notícia da cobertura internacional. Ainda que a quantificação de casos e mortes tenha sido um tema proeminente tanto em notícias internacionais como nacionais, a cobertura doméstica deu maior relevo a casos específicos de infeção, enquanto os indicadores epidemiológicos gerais fo-ram mais frequentemente o tema principal da cobertura de outros países. Notícias sobre eventos em Portugal focaram mais frequentemente medidas específicas de contenção e mitigação, ao contrário da cobertura internacional, que valorizou antes os estados de emergência e quarente-nas. Relativamente a fontes de informação, houve uma clara dependência de representantes do Estado e comunicados de imprensa da Direção-Geral de Saúde. As experiências e opiniões de pessoas que falam a título individual, e não em representação de uma instituição, foram muito menos frequentes.

Título traduzido da contribuição	Cobertura noticiosa do surto de COVID-19: análise temática de um jornal português de referência
Idioma original	English
Número do artigo	e023002
Revista	Comunicação e Sociedade
Volume	43
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.43(2023).4130
Estado da publicação	Publicado - 14 fev. 2023

ODS da ONU

Este resultado contribui para o(s) seguinte(s) Objetivo(s) de Desenvolvimento Sustentável

ODS 3 Boa saúde e bem-estar
ODS 16 Paz, justiça e instituições fortes

Keywords

COVID-19
Pandemia
Imprensa
Fontes de informação
Valores-notícia

Acesso ao documento

10.17231/comsoc.43(2023).4130Licença:

63123679_ENFinal published version, 253 KBLicença:
63123679_PTFinal published version, 246 KBLicença:

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/40218Licença:

Outros arquivos e links

Link to publication in Scopus

A pandemia no Jornal Público durante o 1º trimestre de 2020
Rodrigues, P. R. P., abr. 2022.
Resultado de pesquisa

Acesso aberto
Ficheiro

Citação

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title = "News coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak: thematic analysis of a Portuguese quality newspaper",

abstract = "News coverage can play a vital role during public health crises, raising awareness about potential risks, informing about response efforts, and encouraging preventive behaviors. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the precariousness of journalists while introducing new challenges in their work. This article presents the results of a thematic analysis of 612 news articles about the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in Portugal, published in a Portuguese quality newspaper from January to March 2020. Results show the relevance of geographical and cultural proximity as news values in international coverage. While the quantification of cases and deaths was a prominent theme in international and domestic coverage, specific cases of infection were frequent in domestic news, while general epidemiological indicators were more often the main theme in international coverage. News about events in Portugal was also more focused on specific containment and mitigation measures, while international coverage found states of emergency and lockdowns more newsworthy. As for news sources, there was a clear dependence on public officials and press releases from Dire{\c c}{\~a}o-Geral de Sa{\'u}de as information sources. The experiences and opinions of people speaking as individuals and not on behalf of organizations were much less frequent.",

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N2 - News coverage can play a vital role during public health crises, raising awareness about potential risks, informing about response efforts, and encouraging preventive behaviors. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the precariousness of journalists while introducing new challenges in their work. This article presents the results of a thematic analysis of 612 news articles about the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in Portugal, published in a Portuguese quality newspaper from January to March 2020. Results show the relevance of geographical and cultural proximity as news values in international coverage. While the quantification of cases and deaths was a prominent theme in international and domestic coverage, specific cases of infection were frequent in domestic news, while general epidemiological indicators were more often the main theme in international coverage. News about events in Portugal was also more focused on specific containment and mitigation measures, while international coverage found states of emergency and lockdowns more newsworthy. As for news sources, there was a clear dependence on public officials and press releases from Direção-Geral de Saúde as information sources. The experiences and opinions of people speaking as individuals and not on behalf of organizations were much less frequent.

AB - News coverage can play a vital role during public health crises, raising awareness about potential risks, informing about response efforts, and encouraging preventive behaviors. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the precariousness of journalists while introducing new challenges in their work. This article presents the results of a thematic analysis of 612 news articles about the initial stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in Portugal, published in a Portuguese quality newspaper from January to March 2020. Results show the relevance of geographical and cultural proximity as news values in international coverage. While the quantification of cases and deaths was a prominent theme in international and domestic coverage, specific cases of infection were frequent in domestic news, while general epidemiological indicators were more often the main theme in international coverage. News about events in Portugal was also more focused on specific containment and mitigation measures, while international coverage found states of emergency and lockdowns more newsworthy. As for news sources, there was a clear dependence on public officials and press releases from Direção-Geral de Saúde as information sources. The experiences and opinions of people speaking as individuals and not on behalf of organizations were much less frequent.

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News coverage of the COVID-19 outbreak: thematic analysis of a Portuguese quality newspaper

Resumo

ODS da ONU

Keywords

Acesso ao documento

Outros arquivos e links

Impressão digital

Resultado de pesquisa

A pandemia no Jornal Público durante o 1º trimestre de 2020

Citação