Open AccessMedia Coverage in Times of Crisis. Intermedia Agenda-setting of COVID-19 – related Topics
Author(s) -
Raluca Buturoiu,
Ana Voloc
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
romanian journal of communication and public relations
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.175
H-Index - 4
eISSN - 2344-5440
pISSN - 1454-8100
DOI - 10.21018/rjcpr.2021.2.323
Subject(s) - mainstream , context (archaeology) , covid-19 , political science , public opinion , digital media , order (exchange) , social media , news media , pandemic , romanian , public relations , content analysis , media event , intermedia , sociology , politics , business , history , social science , medicine , law , linguistics , philosophy , disease , archaeology , finance , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , performance art , art history
In times of crisis, the media play a crucial role in offering people information and updates related to the ongoing events. Thus, the media implicitly shape public opinion on the issues they cover and, as a result, influence public attitudes and behaviors. In this context, this paper aims at analyzing the media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, by means of quantitative content analysis (N=1511) conducted on both television and online news stories released during March 18-31 2020, this study sheds light on the agenda-setting effects of the media and the phenomenon known as intermedia agenda-setting. Main results show that, in spring 2020, both television and online news stories extensively covered COVID-19 topics, focusing on domestic issues such as decisions taken by the authorities in order to manage the pandemic, effects of the virus, and statistics. Furthermore, results show a relatively high intermedia agenda-setting effect within the Romanian media environment. Content published online (either in the form of social media content or online stories) is frequently “borrowed” and cited in both online and television news stories, leading us to the idea that digital media might have become mainstream information sources.