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News Media Trust And Mistrust During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kaitlyn Seiter Dec 2021

News Media Trust And Mistrust During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kaitlyn Seiter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the uncertainty and growing information surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, news media consumption has increased drastically compared to pre-pandemic consumption. At the start of the pandemic, 94% of Americans reported closely following COVID-19 news, with more than half of Americans spending more than two hours consuming COVID-19 news everyday (SSRS, 2020). With the news media serving as a critical source of information through this public health crisis, the public’s reactions, behaviors, and attitudes to the pandemic stem from the level of trust they have in the news media to share COVID-19 information. Because of this, this study examines trust in …


Examining Media Dependency And Parasocial Relationship On Protective Action Behaviors During Covid-19, Amy Hyman Oct 2021

Examining Media Dependency And Parasocial Relationship On Protective Action Behaviors During Covid-19, Amy Hyman

Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic illuminated the significant role that mass media plays in disseminating messages to the public during disasters and public health crises. Information disseminated during a disaster influences individuals’ decision-making process regarding protective actions, or mitigation behaviors. This study examined the relationship between media dependency theory, parasocial relationship, and media effects (cognitive, affective and behavioral) during the COVID-19 pandemic. A quantitative approach was used with a convenience sample. The sample focused on residents in the state of Arkansas and specific generational cohorts. The results found that the generational cohorts had different media preferences during the height of …


A Content Analysis Of The Coverage Of Covid-19 In The First Seven Days, Chrystal Celestine Kerubo Onkeo Ms May 2021

A Content Analysis Of The Coverage Of Covid-19 In The First Seven Days, Chrystal Celestine Kerubo Onkeo Ms

Theses & Dissertations

This study explored how the Kenyan print media covered Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the first seven days after the first infection was confirmed in Kenya. The was guided by the following research objectives: - (i) To find out the prominence the Kenyan media gave COVID-19 stories in the first seven days following the announcement of patient zero, (ii)To identify the frames that were predominantly used by the media in the coverage of COVID-19 following the announcement of patient zero, and (iii)To examine the extent to which COVID-19 stories published in the first seven days following the announcement of patient …


Place Of Solutions Journalism In Coverage Of A Crisis: Examining Reporting Of Covid-19 Pandemic In Kenyan Newspapers, Rebecca Mutheu Mutiso Ms May 2021

Place Of Solutions Journalism In Coverage Of A Crisis: Examining Reporting Of Covid-19 Pandemic In Kenyan Newspapers, Rebecca Mutheu Mutiso Ms

Theses & Dissertations

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Kenya in March 2020 created an unprecedented challenge to media houses. Media coverage of the disease raised questions on the best approach that can be used for reporting the Covid-19 crisis and whether journalists should only report the reality of the social and economic impact of the pandemic or they have a duty to also tell stories on the responses to the crisis, an approach referred to as solutions journalism. The study’s objectives were: - (i) examine the major themes in the coverage of Covid-19 pandemic in Kenya’s media, (ii) to explore the …


Coming Together While Standing Apart Encouraging Community Ownership During The Isolating Days Of A Pandemic, Cora Scott Jan 2021

Coming Together While Standing Apart Encouraging Community Ownership During The Isolating Days Of A Pandemic, Cora Scott

eJournal of Public Affairs

Because of the pandemic, the future feels difficult and uncertain, and few of us have much control over it, beyond doing our best to keep ourselves informed and those around us safe. The result is a lot of unhappy people. Gallup survey data show that pessimism about the future of the pandemic in the U.S. is rising. This is infecting our general outlook. This article explains on how one local government and health department successfully communicated during the pandemic and even increased community engagement. This was done through encouraging a sense of community ownership.


Social Media Self-Regulation And The Rise Of Vaccine Misinformation, Ana Santos Rutschman Jan 2021

Social Media Self-Regulation And The Rise Of Vaccine Misinformation, Ana Santos Rutschman

All Faculty Scholarship

This essay examines the main characteristics and shortcomings of mainstream social media responses to vaccine misinformation and disinformation. Parts I and II contextualize the recent expansion of vaccine information and disinformation in the online environment. Part III provides a survey and taxonomy of ongoing responses to vaccine misinformation adopted by mainstream social media. It further notes the limitations of current self-regulatory modes and illustrates these limitations by presenting a short case study on Facebook—the largest social media vehicle for vaccine-specific misinformation, currently estimated to harbor approximately half of the social media accounts linked to vaccine misinformation. Part IV examines potential …