The COVID-19 Health Crisis And Its Framing: Approaches Used by the Print Media for Coverage
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.84.9676Keywords:
framing, Covid-19, newspapers, health pandemic, WHO, NCDCAbstract
Almost all the countries of the world have witnessed the outbreak of a global health pandemic known as COVID-19 like never before. This pandemic has negatively impacted the economic, health, social, and overall well-being of humanity. The framing analysis approach allows scholars to explore the media’s roles in developing health, economic, political, social, and cultural issues facing society daily. Besides, framing entails an interplay between leading social values and the efforts to tinker with them. This study explored what aspects of framing approaches the major newspapers have created for their readership in Nigeria in understanding the COVID-19 health pandemic that has rattled the entire world since January 2020. The research findings revealed that the six selected newspapers amplified coverage of the pandemic using the frames of economic issues, public healthcare crisis, health workers strike, and corruption with different ferocity and salience. It was also found that the dominant news frames approaches of economic issues, corruption, and public healthcare crisis received negative tone coverage across all the sampled papers at varying degrees. The tone approaches used in framing the COVID-19 pandemic in the selected newspapers were positive, negative, and neutral tones, which are possibly rooted in their editorial policies and political beliefs.
References
1. WHO COVID-19 Pandemic. WHO Update. 2020; 2-5.
2. The Daily Sun Newspaper 16 January 2020. Editorial: COVID-19 Pandemic: From Wuhan China to the World
3. Zipursky, B. (2020). COVID-19 in pregnancy: Maintaining clarity with expanding evidence. Journal of Health and Nursing, 13.
4. Barret, Z. (2020). COVID-19 in pregnancy: Maintaining clarity with expanding evidence. Journal of Health and Nursing, 18.
5. Sohrabi, C., Alsafi, Z., O’Neill, N., Khan, M., Kerwan, A., Al-Jabir, A., . . . Agha, R. (2020). World Health Organization declares global emergency: A review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). International Journal of Surgery.
6. NCDC. (2020a). First Case of COVID-19 Outbreak in Nigeria.
7. NCDC. (2020a). First Case of COVID-19 Outbreak in Nigeria.
8. NCDC. (2020b). First Case of COVID-19 Outbreak in Nigeria.
9. WHO COVID-19 Pandemic. WHO Update. 2020; 2-5.
10. NCDC, WHO. (2020). COVID-19 Pandemic. WHO and NCDC Update. 2020; 10-17.
11. Liu, X., Kar, B., Zhang, C., & Cochran, D. M. (2018). Assessing the relevance of tweets for risk communication. International Journal of Digital Earth.
12. Sillars, A. L., & Vangelisti, A. L. (2018). Communication: Basic properties and their relevance to relationship research.
13. Ardèvol-Abreu, A. (2015). Framing theory in communication research. Origins, development, and current situation in Spain. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social(70).
14. Ciboh, R. (2017). FRAMING THE HERDSMEN-FARMERS’CONFLICTS AND PEACE BUILDING IN NIGERIA. Retrieved from https://www. researchgate. net/publication/319093481 Communication Studies. (2018) retrieved from http://www. communicationstudies. Com/communicationtheories/framing-theory.
15. Nwakpu, E. S., Ezema, V. O., & Ogbodo, J. N. (2020). Nigeria media framing of coronavirus pandemic and audience response. Health Promotion Perspectives, 10(3), 192.
16. Okeke, S. V., Okwumba, O. E., Ezeah, G. H., & Celestine, G. V. (2019). Journalism practice in a country facing division threats: Newspaper framing of secession agitations in Nigeria. Journalism Practice.
17. Dahl, T. (2017). Verbal and Visual Framing Activity in Climate Change Discourse: A Multimodal Analysis of Media Representations of the IPCC’s 5th Assessment Report The role of language in the climate change debate (pp. 29-46): Routledge.
18. Tolley, E. E., Ulin, P. R., Mack, N., Robinson, E. T., & Succop, S. M. (2016). Qualitative methods in public health: a field guide for applied research: John Wiley & Sons.
19. Abdulbaqi, S. S., & Ariemu, O. (2017). Newspapers framing of herdsmen-farmers’ conflicts in Nigeria and its implication on peace-oriented journalism. Creative Artist: A Journal of Theatre and Media Studies, 11(2), 77-105.
20. Egbunike, N. (2015). Framing the# Occupy Nigeria protests in newspapers and social media. Open Access Library Journal, 2(05), 1.
21. Ezeji, A. Analysis of Nigerian Newspapers Framing of President Mohammadu Buhari’s Medical Leave to United Kingdom Chioma R. Chime-Nganya Daniel Toochukwu Ezegwu
22. Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(3).
23. Entman, R. M. (2004). Projections of power: Framing news, public opinion, and US foreign policy, University of Chicago Press.
24. Scheufele, DA (2000). Agenda-setting, priming, and framing revisited: Another look at cognitive effects of political communication. Journal of Mass Communication and Society.
25. Wasike, B. (2017). Persuasion in 140 characters: Testing issue framing, persuasion, and credibility via Twitter and online news articles in the gun control debate. Computers in human behavior, 66, 179-190.
26. Fløttum, K., & Gjerstad, Ø. (2017). Narratives in climate change discourse. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 8(1), e429.
27. Kapranov, O. (2017). The Framing of Climate-Change Discourse by Shell and the Framing of Shell’s Climate Change-Related Activities by The Economist and The Financial Times. Bergen Language and Linguistic Studies, 7.
28. Naylor, R., Manley, W., Maye, D., Enticott, G., Ilbery, B., & Hamilton‐Webb, A. (2017). The framing of public knowledge controversies in the media: a comparative analysis of badger vaccination’s portrayal in the English national, regional and farming press. Sociologia ruralis, 57(1), 3-22.
29. Princen, S. (2018). Agenda-setting and framing in Europe The Palgrave Handbook of Public Administration and Management in Europe (pp. 535-551): Springer.
30. Geise, S. (2017). Visual framing. The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects, 1-12.
31. Feezell, J. T., Glazier, R. A., & Boydstun, A. E. (2019). Framing, identity, and responsibility: do episodic vs. thematic framing effects vary by target population? Politics, Groups, and Identities, 1-22.
32. Shah, A. H. (2019). How episodic frames gave way to thematic frames over time: A topic modeling study of the Indian media’s reporting of rape post the 2012 Delhi gang-rape. Poetics, 72, 54-69.
33. Springer, S. A., & Harwood, J. (2015). The influence of episodic and thematic frames on policy and group attitudes: Mediational analysis. Human Communication Research, 41(2), 226-244.
34. Hengelaar, A. H., van Hartingsveldt, M., Wittenberg, Y., van Etten‐Jamaludin, F., Kwekkeboom, R., & Satink, T. (2018). Exploring the collaboration between formal and informal care from the professional perspective—A thematic synthesis. Health & Social Care in the Community, 26(4), 474-485.
35. Mato, K. (2012). Issues on Jonathan’s transformation agenda. Retrieved on 23 August 2013.
36. Shah, A. H. (2019). How episodic frames gave way to thematic frames over time: A topic modeling study of the Indian media’s reporting of rape post the 2012 Delhi gang-rape. Poetics, 72, 54-69.
37. Boydstun, A. E., Gross, J. H., Resnik, P., & Smith, N. A. (2013). Identifying media frames and frame dynamics within and across policy issues. Paper presented at the New Directions in Analyzing Text as Data Workshop, London.
38. McLeod, D. M., & Shah, D. V. (2015). News frames and national security: Cambridge University Press.
39. Fløttum, K., & Gjerstad, Ø. (2017). Narratives in climate change discourse. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 8(1), e429.
40. Kapranov, O. (2017). The Framing of Climate-Change Discourse by Shell and the Framing of Shell’s Climate Change-Related Activities by The Economist and The Financial Times. Bergen Language and Linguistic Studies, 7.
41. Naylor, R., Manley, W., Maye, D., Enticott, G., Ilbery, B., & Hamilton‐Webb, A. (2017). The framing of public knowledge controversies in the media: a comparative analysis of badger vaccination’s portrayal in the English national, regional and farming press. Sociologia ruralis, 57(1), 3-22.
42. Crow, D. A., & Lawlor, A. (2016). Media in the policy process: using framing and narratives to understand policy influences. Review of Policy Research, 33(5), 472-491.
43. Greenslade, R. (2015). Where media fails on the reporting of migrants and refugees. The Guardian, 17.
44. Aiyesimoju, A., & Awoniyi, S. (2012). Newspaper reportage and its effect on enhancing agricultural and environmental sustainability in Nigeria. Journal of Business and Management, 1(6), 19-22.
45. Maxwell, J. A. (2019). Distinguishing between quantitative and qualitative research: A response to Morgan. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 13(2), 132-137.
46. Jubril R, (2009). Media framing of the Ruga Settlement Initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria and its implications on Government interest. Media and Communications Currents, 3 (2): 33-37
47. García-Gómez, P. (2011). Institutions, health shocks, and labor market outcomes across Europe. Journal of health economics, 30(1), 200-213.
48. Sullivan, H. R. (2019). Hospitals’ obligations to address social determinants of health. AMA journal of ethics, 21(3), 248-258.
49. Greenslade, R. (2015). Where media fails on the reporting of migrants and refugees. The Guardian, 17.
50. Li, W., Liao, J., Li, Q., Baskota, M., Wang, X., Tang, Y., . . . Ma, Y. (2020). Public health education for parents during the outbreak of COVID-19: a rapid review. Annals of translational medicine, 8(10).
51. Princen, S. (2018). Agenda-setting and framing in Europe The Palgrave Handbook of Public Administration and Management in Europe (pp. 535-551): Springer
52. Wasike, B. (2017). Persuasion in 140 characters: Testing issue framing, persuasion, and credibility via Twitter and online news articles in the gun control debate. Computers in human behavior, 66, 179-190.
53. Fløttum, K., & Gjerstad, Ø. (2017). Narratives in climate change discourse. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 8(1), e429.
2. The Daily Sun Newspaper 16 January 2020. Editorial: COVID-19 Pandemic: From Wuhan China to the World
3. Zipursky, B. (2020). COVID-19 in pregnancy: Maintaining clarity with expanding evidence. Journal of Health and Nursing, 13.
4. Barret, Z. (2020). COVID-19 in pregnancy: Maintaining clarity with expanding evidence. Journal of Health and Nursing, 18.
5. Sohrabi, C., Alsafi, Z., O’Neill, N., Khan, M., Kerwan, A., Al-Jabir, A., . . . Agha, R. (2020). World Health Organization declares global emergency: A review of the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). International Journal of Surgery.
6. NCDC. (2020a). First Case of COVID-19 Outbreak in Nigeria.
7. NCDC. (2020a). First Case of COVID-19 Outbreak in Nigeria.
8. NCDC. (2020b). First Case of COVID-19 Outbreak in Nigeria.
9. WHO COVID-19 Pandemic. WHO Update. 2020; 2-5.
10. NCDC, WHO. (2020). COVID-19 Pandemic. WHO and NCDC Update. 2020; 10-17.
11. Liu, X., Kar, B., Zhang, C., & Cochran, D. M. (2018). Assessing the relevance of tweets for risk communication. International Journal of Digital Earth.
12. Sillars, A. L., & Vangelisti, A. L. (2018). Communication: Basic properties and their relevance to relationship research.
13. Ardèvol-Abreu, A. (2015). Framing theory in communication research. Origins, development, and current situation in Spain. Revista Latina de Comunicación Social(70).
14. Ciboh, R. (2017). FRAMING THE HERDSMEN-FARMERS’CONFLICTS AND PEACE BUILDING IN NIGERIA. Retrieved from https://www. researchgate. net/publication/319093481 Communication Studies. (2018) retrieved from http://www. communicationstudies. Com/communicationtheories/framing-theory.
15. Nwakpu, E. S., Ezema, V. O., & Ogbodo, J. N. (2020). Nigeria media framing of coronavirus pandemic and audience response. Health Promotion Perspectives, 10(3), 192.
16. Okeke, S. V., Okwumba, O. E., Ezeah, G. H., & Celestine, G. V. (2019). Journalism practice in a country facing division threats: Newspaper framing of secession agitations in Nigeria. Journalism Practice.
17. Dahl, T. (2017). Verbal and Visual Framing Activity in Climate Change Discourse: A Multimodal Analysis of Media Representations of the IPCC’s 5th Assessment Report The role of language in the climate change debate (pp. 29-46): Routledge.
18. Tolley, E. E., Ulin, P. R., Mack, N., Robinson, E. T., & Succop, S. M. (2016). Qualitative methods in public health: a field guide for applied research: John Wiley & Sons.
19. Abdulbaqi, S. S., & Ariemu, O. (2017). Newspapers framing of herdsmen-farmers’ conflicts in Nigeria and its implication on peace-oriented journalism. Creative Artist: A Journal of Theatre and Media Studies, 11(2), 77-105.
20. Egbunike, N. (2015). Framing the# Occupy Nigeria protests in newspapers and social media. Open Access Library Journal, 2(05), 1.
21. Ezeji, A. Analysis of Nigerian Newspapers Framing of President Mohammadu Buhari’s Medical Leave to United Kingdom Chioma R. Chime-Nganya Daniel Toochukwu Ezegwu
22. Entman, R. M. (1993). Framing: Toward Clarification of a Fractured Paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(3).
23. Entman, R. M. (2004). Projections of power: Framing news, public opinion, and US foreign policy, University of Chicago Press.
24. Scheufele, DA (2000). Agenda-setting, priming, and framing revisited: Another look at cognitive effects of political communication. Journal of Mass Communication and Society.
25. Wasike, B. (2017). Persuasion in 140 characters: Testing issue framing, persuasion, and credibility via Twitter and online news articles in the gun control debate. Computers in human behavior, 66, 179-190.
26. Fløttum, K., & Gjerstad, Ø. (2017). Narratives in climate change discourse. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 8(1), e429.
27. Kapranov, O. (2017). The Framing of Climate-Change Discourse by Shell and the Framing of Shell’s Climate Change-Related Activities by The Economist and The Financial Times. Bergen Language and Linguistic Studies, 7.
28. Naylor, R., Manley, W., Maye, D., Enticott, G., Ilbery, B., & Hamilton‐Webb, A. (2017). The framing of public knowledge controversies in the media: a comparative analysis of badger vaccination’s portrayal in the English national, regional and farming press. Sociologia ruralis, 57(1), 3-22.
29. Princen, S. (2018). Agenda-setting and framing in Europe The Palgrave Handbook of Public Administration and Management in Europe (pp. 535-551): Springer.
30. Geise, S. (2017). Visual framing. The International Encyclopedia of Media Effects, 1-12.
31. Feezell, J. T., Glazier, R. A., & Boydstun, A. E. (2019). Framing, identity, and responsibility: do episodic vs. thematic framing effects vary by target population? Politics, Groups, and Identities, 1-22.
32. Shah, A. H. (2019). How episodic frames gave way to thematic frames over time: A topic modeling study of the Indian media’s reporting of rape post the 2012 Delhi gang-rape. Poetics, 72, 54-69.
33. Springer, S. A., & Harwood, J. (2015). The influence of episodic and thematic frames on policy and group attitudes: Mediational analysis. Human Communication Research, 41(2), 226-244.
34. Hengelaar, A. H., van Hartingsveldt, M., Wittenberg, Y., van Etten‐Jamaludin, F., Kwekkeboom, R., & Satink, T. (2018). Exploring the collaboration between formal and informal care from the professional perspective—A thematic synthesis. Health & Social Care in the Community, 26(4), 474-485.
35. Mato, K. (2012). Issues on Jonathan’s transformation agenda. Retrieved on 23 August 2013.
36. Shah, A. H. (2019). How episodic frames gave way to thematic frames over time: A topic modeling study of the Indian media’s reporting of rape post the 2012 Delhi gang-rape. Poetics, 72, 54-69.
37. Boydstun, A. E., Gross, J. H., Resnik, P., & Smith, N. A. (2013). Identifying media frames and frame dynamics within and across policy issues. Paper presented at the New Directions in Analyzing Text as Data Workshop, London.
38. McLeod, D. M., & Shah, D. V. (2015). News frames and national security: Cambridge University Press.
39. Fløttum, K., & Gjerstad, Ø. (2017). Narratives in climate change discourse. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 8(1), e429.
40. Kapranov, O. (2017). The Framing of Climate-Change Discourse by Shell and the Framing of Shell’s Climate Change-Related Activities by The Economist and The Financial Times. Bergen Language and Linguistic Studies, 7.
41. Naylor, R., Manley, W., Maye, D., Enticott, G., Ilbery, B., & Hamilton‐Webb, A. (2017). The framing of public knowledge controversies in the media: a comparative analysis of badger vaccination’s portrayal in the English national, regional and farming press. Sociologia ruralis, 57(1), 3-22.
42. Crow, D. A., & Lawlor, A. (2016). Media in the policy process: using framing and narratives to understand policy influences. Review of Policy Research, 33(5), 472-491.
43. Greenslade, R. (2015). Where media fails on the reporting of migrants and refugees. The Guardian, 17.
44. Aiyesimoju, A., & Awoniyi, S. (2012). Newspaper reportage and its effect on enhancing agricultural and environmental sustainability in Nigeria. Journal of Business and Management, 1(6), 19-22.
45. Maxwell, J. A. (2019). Distinguishing between quantitative and qualitative research: A response to Morgan. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 13(2), 132-137.
46. Jubril R, (2009). Media framing of the Ruga Settlement Initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria and its implications on Government interest. Media and Communications Currents, 3 (2): 33-37
47. García-Gómez, P. (2011). Institutions, health shocks, and labor market outcomes across Europe. Journal of health economics, 30(1), 200-213.
48. Sullivan, H. R. (2019). Hospitals’ obligations to address social determinants of health. AMA journal of ethics, 21(3), 248-258.
49. Greenslade, R. (2015). Where media fails on the reporting of migrants and refugees. The Guardian, 17.
50. Li, W., Liao, J., Li, Q., Baskota, M., Wang, X., Tang, Y., . . . Ma, Y. (2020). Public health education for parents during the outbreak of COVID-19: a rapid review. Annals of translational medicine, 8(10).
51. Princen, S. (2018). Agenda-setting and framing in Europe The Palgrave Handbook of Public Administration and Management in Europe (pp. 535-551): Springer
52. Wasike, B. (2017). Persuasion in 140 characters: Testing issue framing, persuasion, and credibility via Twitter and online news articles in the gun control debate. Computers in human behavior, 66, 179-190.
53. Fløttum, K., & Gjerstad, Ø. (2017). Narratives in climate change discourse. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 8(1), e429.
Downloads
Published
2021-03-14
How to Cite
Odoemelam, C. . E. (2021). The COVID-19 Health Crisis And Its Framing: Approaches Used by the Print Media for Coverage. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(3), 115–142. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.84.9676
Issue
Section
Articles
License
Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and online format and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.
