News Coverage of the COVID-19 Outbreak: Thematic Analysis of a Portuguese Quality Newspaper

Pedro Rodrigues

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

Authors

Pedro Rodrigues Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Cultura, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon, Portugal https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8009-2782

DOI:

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

Keywords:

COVID-19, pandemic, newspapers, information sources, news values

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 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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Author Biography

Pedro Rodrigues, Centro de Estudos de Comunicação e Cultura, Faculdade de Ciências Humanas, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lisbon, Portugal

Pedro R. P. Rodrigues is a researcher at the Research Centre for Communication and Culture, Faculty of Human Sciences, Universidade Católica Portuguesa. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the NOVA University of Lisbon and has published research on the coverage of crime and the portrayal of migrants in the Portuguese press. He is a member of the International Association for Media and Communication Research and the Associação Portuguesa de Ciências da Comunicação. Current research interests include the communication of risk, social representations, and media framing analysis.

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