Prime Time Television News and Communication Strategies in Pandemic Times

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.40(2021).3436

Keywords:

television coverage of the pandemic, public health communication, covid-19, Portugal, journalism

Abstract

The covid-19 pandemic, declared by the World Health Organisation on 11 March 2020, had an immediate impact on the daily life of globalised societies. In the west, the virus has defied democracy and individual freedoms while demonstrating the centrality of the State and governments in managing the crisis. Communication strategies of governments and health authorities and their ability to influence mainstream media agendas were paramount in the deployment of public health restrictions and guidelines. This paper reflects on the communication strategies used by the Portuguese government during the covid-19 crisis and on their impacts on television coverage. This study was based on an empirical analysis of the first 3 months of the pandemic in Portugal by using a quantitative and qualitative assessment of news content and pre-determined systematised univocal categories. We start by presenting the global and national political, social and communicational frameworks in 2020, followed by a summary of trends and communication strategies of national and international organisations. The results are presented, discussed and interpreted from the point of view of the media coverage and communication strategies used by political and health authorities.

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Author Biographies

Isabel Ferin Cunha, Instituto de Comunicação da NOVA, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

Isabel Ferin Cunha holds a history degree from the School of Arts and Humanities of the University of Lisbon, a master’s degree and a PhD (1987) in communication sciences from the University of São Paulo, with a postdoctoral fellowship undertaken in France (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1991). She lectured at the University of São Paulo from 1983 to 1991 and at Católica University Lisbon from 1992 to 2002. Isabel Ferin Cunha is an associate professor with the title of agregação, now retired, of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra. She is a Researcher at NOVA Institute of Communication (NOVA University Lisbon). She coordinated the following projects approved by the Foundation for Science and Technology: Imagens do Feminino na Televisão (Images of Women on Television); Televisão e Imagens da Diferença (Television and Images of Difference); Jornalismo e Actos de Democracia (Journalism and Acts of Democracy); Cobertura Jornalística da Corrupção Política: Uma Perspetiva Comparada Brasil, Moçambique e Portugal (Journalistic Coverage of Political Corruption: A Comparative Perspective Brazil, Mozambique and Portugal). She coordinated (2003 to 2009), with the support of the High Commission for Immigration and Ethnic Minorities (ACIME), the project Media, Imigração e Minorias Étnicas (Media, Immigration and Ethnic Minorities). She has taken part and collaborates in national and international projects in the areas of media analysis and political communication.

Carla Martins, Instituto de Comunicação da NOVA, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal/Universidade Lusófona, Lisbon, Portugal

Carla Martins holds a philosophy degree and a master’s degree in philosophy from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Coimbra and a PhD in communication sciences, with a specialisation in media and journalism, from the School of Social Sciences and Humanities of NOVA University Lisbon. She is a staff member of the Portuguese Regulatory Authority for the Media, taking on the role of coordinator of the media transparency unit. She lectures on communication and journalism at Lusófona University of Humanities and Technologies. Researcher at the NOVA Institute of Communication. Co-author of Política no Feminino (Women in Politics; 2016) and author of Mulheres, Liderança Política e Media (Women, Political Leadership and the Media; 2015) and O Espaço Público em Hannah Arendt (Public Space in Hannah Arendt, 2005).

Ana Cabrera, Instituto de História Contemporânea, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal

Ana Cabrera holds a history degree from the University of Lisbon, a master’s degree in communication sciences from NOVA University Lisbon, a PhD in contemporary institutional and political history from NOVA University Lisbon, and a post-doctorate in political communication — gender studies. Founder of the Media and Journalism Research Centre; coordinator of research projects funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) such as Política no Feminino (Women in Politics) and Censura e Métodos de Controlo das Informações em Teatro e Cinema (Censorship and Information Control Methods in Theatre and Film); she takes part in funded projects such as Corrupção Política (Political Corruption) and História do Jornalismo em Portugal (History of Journalism in Portugal). FCT researcher from 2009 to 2015. Researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History.

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Published

2021-12-20

How to Cite

Cunha, I. F., Martins, C., & Cabrera, A. . (2021). Prime Time Television News and Communication Strategies in Pandemic Times. Comunicação E Sociedade, 40, 33–52. https://doi.org/10.17231/comsoc.40(2021).3436

Issue

Vol. 40 (2021): Health Communication During a Pandemic

Section

Thematic Articles

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Copyright (c) 2021 Isabel Ferin Cunha, Carla Martins, Ana Cabrera

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors own the copyright, providing the journal with the right of first publication. The work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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