Our issue or their issue? Media coverage and framing of the Zika virus epidemic

Dados Bibliográficos

ID7750684
AutoresThomas Jamieson (0000-0002-2716-5476, Assistant Professor, School of Public Administration University of Nebraska at Omaha United States, autor correspondente), Juve J Cortés-Rivera (0000-0001-5464-0247, Universidad Pablo de Olavide), Juve J Cortés Rivera (Visiting Scholar Pablo De Olavide University Seville Spain)
Ano2022
Volume46
Fascículo3
Páginas677-699
Data de publicação2022-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoDisasters (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0361-3666 • E-ISSN: 1467-7717
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/disa.12497
PMID34197015
OpenAlexW3177368895
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas1
Referências citadas58

How does the news media respond to health emergencies abroad? Between 2015 and 2018, Zika virus spread rapidly throughout Latin America before arriving in the continental United States. Despite the risks to adults and newborns, it is unclear how media coverage developed and framed the threat for its audience. In this paper, we argue that while the frequency of coverage was responsive to infections, its content failed to promote proactive health behaviour. To assess these claims, we analyse each of 442 articles dealing with Zika virus published by The New York Times from 2015–18. We find that the amount of coverage reflected infections but did not change once the disease emerged in the US. Furthermore, content analysis using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count software reveals that coverage emphasised differences between communities (those affected and those at home) and that present and past time orientations dominated coverage as opposed to future time orientations

Content analysis · Environmental health · Framing (construction · Geography · Latin Americans · Media coverage · Media studies · Political science · Social science · Sociology · Virus · Zika virus · Law · Media Influence and Politics · Media Studies and Communication · Medicine · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Virology