A Controvérsia na Cobertura Mediática de Saúde: A Aplicação Stayaway Covid e as Fontes de Informação

Sandra Pinto; Eunice Oliveira; Elsa Costa e Silva

doi:10.17231/comsoc.40(2021).3254

Authors

Sandra Pinto Fundação Bial, Trofa, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1311-6104
Eunice Oliveira Serviço de Comunicação, Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Tecnologia e Ciência, Porto, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8520-4376
Elsa Costa e Silva Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7215-6384

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.40(2021).3254

Keywords:

pandemic, media, sources of information, controversy, health journalism

Abstract

Presented as an essential tool to stop the covid-19 pandemic, the Stayaway Covid app has remained at the scene of the national media landscape since it was mentioned for the first time, having generated around 1,400 news in 2020. This remarkable volume of news coverage reflects the potential relevance of this technology during a pandemic and the controversy among the public and the media. To contribute to the understanding of the news coverage of the application, we analysed the sources of a sample of 182 press, radio and television news pieces associated with Stayaway Covid, distinguishing those that focus on privacy and obligatoriness controversies from those that do not. In this case of public health controversy, the results show that experts did not take the lead, with politicians having a more prominent role in fueling the controversy, especially concerning the intention to make the application mandatory.

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Author Biographies

Sandra Pinto, Fundação Bial, Trofa, Portugal

Sandra Pinto has a master’s degree in science communication (2010) and a degree in media communication (1997) from the University of Minho. She started her professional career at the headquarters of Portugal Telecom (currently Altice), where she carried out various activities in internal communication for two years. Sandra Pinto joined INESC TEC in 2000 as a communication specialist, establishing the communication service. Between April 2006 and May 2021, she assumed the role of head of communication, pursuing science communication activities to promote and boost the institution’s knowledge, image, and prestige. She worked as head of communication in the UT Austin Portugal Program hosted at INESC TEC from June 2018 to March 2020. She ensures, since June 2021, the communication of the Bial Foundation.

Eunice Oliveira, Serviço de Comunicação, Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores, Tecnologia e Ciência, Porto, Portugal

Eunice Oliveira has worked at INESC TEC’s communication service since 2012, where she has performed various science communication tasks. She is also part of the INESC TEC team that is part of the Portuguese consortium of the Enterprise Europe Network, an initiative of the European Commission. In 2013 and 2014, Eunice Oliveira reconciled her activity at INESC TEC with communication activities of the CMU Portugal program. Before joining INESC TEC, she worked as a journalist on a Portuguese television channel and also in the communication department of the Moimenta da Beira city council. She graduated in journalism (2008) and later completed her master’s in communication and journalism (2011), both at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Coimbra. In 2016, she completed a post-graduation in digital marketing and e-business.

Elsa Costa e Silva, Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Sociedade, Instituto de Ciências Sociais, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal

Elsa Costa e Silva lectures political economy of communication and journalism at the University of Minho. Her research interests focus on the concentration of media ownership, media economics and regulation. She has published in several national and international journals. She is the coordinator of the working group on economics and communication policy of the Portuguese Association of Communication Sciences (Sopcom). She was a journalist at Diário de Notícias.

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