Premium
Simulating and Dissimulating News: Spanish Media Coverage of the Swine Flu Virus
Author(s) -
CortiñasRovira Sergi,
PontSorribes Carles,
AlonsoMarcos Felipe
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of contingencies and crisis management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.007
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1468-5973
pISSN - 0966-0879
DOI - 10.1111/1468-5973.12063
Subject(s) - newspaper , sensationalism , front (military) , front page , political science , social media , united front , media studies , public relations , criminology , law , sociology , engineering , politics , communism , mechanical engineering
Spanish press handling of the swine flu crisis of 2009 was explored by studying front pages and editorials for the E l Pais , E l Mundo , L a V anguardia , E l Periódico and A vui newspapers over a period of 8 weeks. Major ethical issues arising during media coverage were identified, notably the use of scaremongering and sensationalist stratagems. The analysis revealed discrepancies between front page information and editorial stance. Specifically, front pages depicted a situation of alarm liable to generate social panic, whereas editorials tended to play down the crisis and complied rigorously with ethical and social responsibility criteria.