Spanish press coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. When front pages
alarm and editorials reassure
Cobertura de la Covid-19 en la prensa de calidad. Cuando las portadas alarman
y los editoriales tranquilizan
doxa.comunicación |
nº 36, pp. 65-85
| 65
January-June of 2023
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
How to cite this article:
Salvador-Mata, B. and Cortiñas-Rovira, S. (2023). Spanish press coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. When front pages alarm and editorials
reassure.
Doxa Comunicación
, 36, pp. 65-85.
https://doi.org/10.31921/doxacom.n36a1831
Bertran Salvador-Mata
. Adjunct lecturer in the Communication department of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and
third-year PhD student at the same university. He has published several publications in indexed journals and over 250
citations in Google Scholar. He is currently the co-director of the journal
Comunicació. Revista de Recerca i d’Anàlisi
,
included in the Web of Science-JCR.
Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain
[email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-0499-0350
Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira.
Senior lecturer in the Communication department of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra. He has
published around fty papers in the felds of journalism, scientic communication, sports journalism and psuedoscience.
He has a PhD in Social Communication and is a graduate in Chemistry and Journalism. He is also a Professor at the
UPF-BSM (Barcelona School of Management).
Universitat Pompeu Fabra, España
UPF Barcelona School of Management, Spain
[email protected]
ORCID: 0000-0002-7252-5418
Abstract:
e journalistic state of emergency that occurs during a health crisis
is characterised by a substantial increase in the number of news
items and a heightened risk of incurring in journalistic dysfunctions.
ese may vary between dierent sections of a newspaper. is
study has examined 124 front pages and 151 editorials from
El País,
La Vanguardia, El Mundo
and
El Periódico
published between
17/04/2020 and 17/05/2020 by applying inductive content analysis.
26% of the front pages contained journalistic dysfunctions of at least
one of the 8 subtypes described. However, these were only found in
14% of the editorials, mostly being linguistic in nature. e editorials
Resumen:
El estado de excepción periodístico que se produce durante una crisis
sanitaria se caracteriza por un incremento sustancial del número de no
-
ticias y una mayor probabilidad de cometer disfunciones periodísticas.
Estas pueden aparecer de modo diferencial en función de la sección del
periódico en el que se publican. En este trabajo se ha realizado un análi
-
sis de contenido inductivo de 124 portadas y 151 editoriales publicadas
en los diarios El País, La Vanguardia, El Periódico y El Mundo entre el
17/04/2020 y el 17/05/2020. En el 26% de las portadas se han detectado
disfunciones periodísticas de al menos uno de los 8 subtipos descritos
por metodología inductiva. En el 14% de los editoriales se han encon
-
Received: 26/10/2022 - Accepted: 07/12/2022 - Early access: 13/12/2022 - Published: 01/01/2023
Recibido: 26/10/2022 - Aceptado: 07/12/2022 - En edición: 13/12/2022 - Publicado: 01/01/2023
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
66
| nº 36, pp. 65-85 |
January-June of 2023
Spanish press coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. When front pages alarm and editorials reassure
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
doxa.comunicación
1. Introduction
Health crises can become disruptive for journalists’ duties, creating a kind of state of emergency in communication. e
communication of emergencies supposes a major and fundamental challenge and brings with it a notion of risk.
Risk society
or
risikogesellschaft
, to which both Giddens and Beck have dedicated eorts (Beck; Lash & Giddens; 1997; Beck, 2006), congures
a framework of reference from which one can understand reexive modernity and the notion and communication of risks. In
contemporary society, one can look to the future under the premise of risk, in the modern sense of the word (Galindo, 2015),
especially relevant in the handling of health crises which require a dicult balance between economic, health and political
measures. Crises are the essence of a (post)modernity characterised by a presumed absence of visible power, in an increasingly
globalised context and where control structures become invisible (Hardt & Negri, 2000). is makes the crises proliferate in a
type of continuum, with constant rallies.
Uncertainty and risk are the result of a society that lives looking to the future (Beck, Lash & Giddens, 1997) and which has
constructed its relationship with what is to come in an ongoing calculation of possibilities. e future is perceived, therefore,
as a result of comparing and assessing risks and uncertainties. In this context, communication of such risks to society becomes
essential for crisis management, including health crises.
ere is a reason the WHO considers communication risks to be one of its principal activities as an organisation. Part of
its bibliography consists of a series of reections and recommendations in this regard: from guides to establish the basic
elements of communication during health emergencies (WHO, 2017a), systematic reviews which help establish basic criteria
for recommendations (WHO, 2017b), or eective communication studies by the media (WHO, 2005a), to guides on how to
communicate outbreaks (WHO, 2005b). As a complement, numerous reviews have analysed and systematised these and
other recommendations, and have applied them, with nuances, to dened crisis contexts, such as, for example, outbreaks of
Ebola, Zika and yellow fever (Toppenberg-Pejcic et al., 2019) or the bird u pandemic (Abraham, 2011). In parallel, several
crisis communication models have been developed, from that of Reynolds & Seeger (2005) to that of Sandman (1993), and
decalogues of proposals for the management of risk communication (Pont-Sorribes & Cortiñas-Rovira, 2011).
e relationship with the public becomes essential when dealing with health crises, in terms of dialogue and the level of details,
evaluating scientic evaluations of risk and correlating with the needs of the audience (Seeger, 2006), whilst coordinating
tended to convey a message of rigour, prudence, and calm. is seems
to concur with the journalistic theorem arming that, during a serious
health crisis, the most truthful and reassuring information is to be
found in editorials rather than on front pages, which are more alarmist
and sensationalist. A new corollary is proposed for this theorem:
journalistic dysfunctions in editorials increase in a polarised political
context.
Keywords:
Alarmism; Covid-19; editorial; front page; journalistic dysfunction.
trado disfunciones, la mayoría de entidad lingüística. Los editoriales
suelen transmitir un mensaje de rigor, prudencia y sosiego. Se verica el
teorema periodístico que arma que, en el curso de una crisis sanitaria
grave, en los editoriales se encuentra la información periodística más
veraz y tranquilizadora, en contraposición a las portadas, que tienden
al alarmismo y al sensacionalismo. Se añade un corolario a este teore
-
ma: las disfunciones periodísticas en los editoriales se incrementan si se
da en un contexto de polarización política.
Palabras clave:
Alarmismo; Covid-19; disfunción periodística; editorial; portada.
doxa.comunicación |
nº 36, pp. 65-85
|
January-June of 2023
Bertran Salvador-Mata and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
67
with credible sources. e relationship must begin as early as possible and must be built on bidirectional communication
channels. e risk must be recognised, analysed, and expounded honestly, even when faced with mistakes, whoever makes
them (Sandman, 1993).
e communication of risks occupies a fertile spot in the journalistic eld and starts with the idea that the public has a right to
know the risks and dangers of a critical situation. How this communication should proceed, however, is a matter for debate.
Some posit drawing the gloomiest possible picture to generate a situation where the population is ready for the worst, and
thus avoid panic should the crisis really get worse, what has been called inoculation theory (Jones, 2010; Anderson & McGuire,
1965). is ts with philosophical positions such as the heuristic of fear, defended by the philosopher Hans Jonas (1995),
whereby, faced by fear of a future catastrophe, morals must produce a preventative action, although the calamity itself is only
a possibility. ey share with the WHO (2005a) the necessity of giving a swift alert about a crisis situation. Even so, it is not
clear that painting an exaggeratedly negative scenario at the beginning is the best option, rather, it is more common to strike a
balance between known risks and the uncertainties to be communicated, without utilising empty words.
Reynolds and Seeger (2005) propose a model for crisis management and the communication of risks. Divided into ve phases,
it establishes the following periods: pre-crisis (where warnings are given and risks communicated), initial event (where
uncertainty should be reduced and eective messages given), maintenance (continue to reduce uncertainty and keep up
the eective messages), resolution (resolution, discussion of the cause and new risks, and forecasting of future risks), and
evaluation (to evaluate the response and the lessons learnt). Supposing that crises tend to follow a pattern, this model seeks to
anticipate and serve as a guide for communication management depending on the phase and the time.
Despite previous experiences, journalism is severely disrupted in a pandemic, making journalistic dysfunction more probable.
is is aggravated by the lack of specic protocols -in addition to deontological codes, which may appear highly generic-.
Moreover, the against-the-clock nature of the task and the lack of scientic training among sta, apart from a few specialised
journalists, may play a part, (Cortiñas-Rovira et al., 2014; Cassany-Viladomat, Cortiñas-Rovira & Elduque-Busquets, 2018).
e journalistic state of emergency during a health crisis is characterised by, among other aspects, a substantial increase
in the number of news items. Over the period April 27 to May 3, 2009, coinciding with the H1N1 u (or type A inuenza)
crisis, Duncan (2009) detected 3,979 items dealing directly with H1N1 u in a selection of the main European media. For a
month in a non-crisis time (January 15 to February 15, 2009), the total number of articles on health matters in general was
only 2,824. Zanetti et al., (2012) found an over-exposure of the subject during the same crisis, especially on the front pages of
Italian media. Lewison (2008) reported a peak with the SARS 2003 outbreak, especially concentrated in the week of April 20,
practically tripling in number compared to March 23. In that same crisis, Chan et al., (2003) detected a correlation between the
increase in the number of publications and new cases, but also discovered a lapse when there was no coverage of the outbreak,
just as it began.
e same pattern has been observed in the case of Covid-19. Lázaro-Rodríguez and Herrera-Viedma (2020) found a boom
in media output concerning the crisis, with its peak in Spain coming with the decree of the State of Alarm, when over 45,000
digital news items were found, which, moreover, represented the lion’s share of content published in the press. is fact
68
| nº 36, pp. 65-85 |
January-June of 2023
Spanish press coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. When front pages alarm and editorials reassure
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
doxa.comunicación
correlates with the pandemic-related boom in scientic informationof scientic information, as indicated by Torres-Salinas
(2020) analysing its publication in dierent data bases (Scopus, PubMed Central & WoS among others).
Beyond this excess of information, these communication crises were characterised by a series of journalistic dysfunctions
which, to a greater or a lesser degree, were repeated. Among the dysfunctions previously identied in contexts of health crises
were, mainly, the periods or frames of alarmism, sensationalism, generation of the language of fear (Altheide, 2002) or the
utilisation of bellicose or deliberately exaggerated language. ese were found, for example, in the case of H1N1 u (Liuccio et
al., 2012; Trucchi; Domnich & Casabona, 2011). In Italy, up to 47.9% of the infographics analysed had an alarming tone, with
considerable use of sensationalist images (Zanetti et al., 2012). In Spain, an analysis of media coverage of the early stages of
the same virus also detected alarmism, sensationalism, lack of deeper information on science matters and a lack of rigour in
some content (Camacho, 2009; Cortiñas-Rovira; Pont-Sorribes & Alonso-Marcos, 2015).
ese studies indicate that journalistic dysfunctions do not follow a single pattern in the dierent sections of a paper. Cortiñas-
Rovira, Pont-Sorribes and Alonso-Marcos (2015) have set out a theorem which states that more trustworthy and pertinent
information concerning health crises is found in editorials than on front pages. is study intends to test this theory applied to
journalistic production at the height of a worldwide pandemic, that of Covid-19.
Any crisis like a pandemic supposes maximum tension for the media, but the case of Covid-19 brings other diculties to
the table which were far less serious in other health crises: (1) reduction in the number of workers due to the pandemic, (2)
mobility problems, (3) complications with access to sources, especially doctors, who were also overwhelmed by the situation,
and (4) possible emotional eects on journalists and sources.
All of this adds up to a truly complex journalistic context, worthy of analysis. is study analyses journalistic output published
over a month at the height of the Covid-19 crisis to analyse the most frequent journalistic dysfunctions in these news items,
as well as to establish a comparison between two distinct elements: editorials and front pages, with the intention of dening
their dierences and contributions to the education and literacy of the population in a crisis. Furthermore, it intends to test the
theorem proposed by Cortiñas-Rovira, Pont-Sorribes and Alonso-Marcos (2015).
2. Methodology
is study analyses journalistic coverage at the height of the pandemic by looking at the content reected on the front pages
and in the editorials of four of the main Spanish dailies (
El País, El Mundo, la Vanguardia
and
El Periódico
) over the period
from 17/04/2020 to 17/05/2020.
is period has been chosen, partially coinciding as it does with other studies into Covid-19 (Torres-Salinas, 2020), because
that was the equator of the rst State of Alarm (15/03/2020 to 21/06/2020). It represents approximately a third of said period,
thus being a signicant sample, which allows analysis of the development of media handling of the pandemic.
e front pages and editorials published digitally in the newspapers analysed were compiled for the sample. e various
newspapers’ library services were employed for the front pages, while for the editorials the FACTIVA tool was utilised, ltering
by dates, type of content (editorial) and newspaper. From the total of items gathered, all those which did not touch on the
doxa.comunicación |
nº 36, pp. 65-85
|
January-June of 2023
Bertran Salvador-Mata and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
69
Covid-19 pandemic or derived matters (economic, educational or health measures) were excluded. e nal n was 124 front
pages and 151 editorials.
La Vanguardia
and
El Mundo
published a large number of editorials which met the criteria for
inclusion, therefore their weight in the sample is greater than the other two newspapers.
Table 1. Description of the sample analysed
Front page
Editorials
Total Total
El País
3126
El Periódico
31
29
La Vanguardia
3150
El Mundo
3146
124151
Source: created by the authors
Once the sample was compiled, mixed (qualitative and quantitative) inductive content analysis was applied. e authors
examined both individually and qualitatively all those elements present on the front pages (headline, epigraph, subtitle, main
and secondary items, frieze and photographs) and in the editorials (title, subtitle, text) susceptible to containing journalistic
dysfunctions. e dierent dysfunctions identied were placed together and agreed consensually one by one.
Secondly, the dysfunctions were coded, grouping them together for a total of seven categories, named by consensus. ese
categories or “frames” were acquired inductively from indicators such as metaphors, examples, arguments, images... We
assumed that these frames
did
not appear explicitly and, therefore, it was necessary to perform an immersive process in the
sample to categorise and interpret the results (as in, for example, Ardévol-Abreu, 2015).
It was attempted, where possible, to
link the categories of dysfunctions or frames to standardised concepts in the bibliography (for example, alarmism, language
of fear, sensationalism, use of bellicose language); in other cases, specic dysfunctions, of a more deontological nature
(inappropriate dealings with disadvantaged collectives; invasion of privacy), were named as the sample required. For the front
pages, it was necessary to create an additional code: includes opinion.
e dysfunctions identied and coded in the study were the following: (1) creating social alarm, (2) fostering the language of
fear, (3) use of bellicose or catastrophic language, (4) use of deliberately exaggerated language, (5) sensationalism, (6) invasion
of privacy, (7) inappropriate treatment of disadvantaged social groups or other sensitive collectives. An eighth had to be added
for the front pages: (8) not respecting the divide between information and opinion.
irdly, quantitative frequencies were established by the number and type of dysfunction detected in each newspaper.
70
| nº 36, pp. 65-85 |
January-June of 2023
Spanish press coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. When front pages alarm and editorials reassure
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
doxa.comunicación
As the coding process was inductive, it is biased in favour of the dysfunctions on the front pages, as these were more recurrent
and varied. Even so, in some cases editorials also contain the dysfunctions, as will be seen in the results and discussion.
e principal objective of the study is to identify the dysfunctions present in these pieces, and to compare their frequency,
aetiology, and importance by the section they appear in (editorials or front pages) and the newspaper.
e secondary objective of the study is to verify whether, in the context of Covid-19, the journalistic theory propounded for
the A Flu (H1N1) health crisis is supported, that is, that editorials contain more reliable information (Cortiñas-Rovira; Pont-
Sorribes; Alonso-Marcos, 2015).
3. Results
From the total of 124 front pages analysed, dysfunctions were identied in 33 (26% of the total). On these front pages, up to
63 dierent dysfunctions were counted (1.9 dysfunctions per front page). Regarding the editorials, fewer items containing
dysfunctions were found, 21, corresponding to 14% of the total. Except in one case, only one dysfunction was found per
editorial. Table 2 shows the data obtained by newspaper and genre analysed.
Table 2. Front pages & editorials with dysfunctions & total # of dysfunctions per newspaper
Front pages
Editorials
Total
With
dysfunctions
Total
dysfunctions
Total
With
dysfunctions
Total
dysfunctions
El País
317132644
El Periódico
3113
23
2922
La Vanguardia
31485044
El Mundo
31919461112
12433631512122
Source: created by the authors
e medium with most dysfunctions on its front pages is
El Periódico
, with 23 dysfunctions on 13 dierent front pages, closely
followed by
El Mundo
, with 19 dysfunctions on 9 front pages. In the editorials, the newspaper with by far the greatest number
of dysfunctions is
El Mundo,
with 11 editorials including some type of dysfunction (nearly 24% of the total of the sample).
Table 3 reects all the dysfunctions found on the front pages by type. e commonest dysfunction identied is number 4 (use
of deliberately exaggerated language), which occurred on 14 occasions. e second most frequent is type 2 (fostering the
language of fear), identied 11 times. en come types 1 (creating social alarm) and 5 (sensationalism), with 10 appearances
doxa.comunicación |
nº 36, pp. 65-85
|
January-June of 2023
Bertran Salvador-Mata and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
71
each. Including opinion (dysfunction 8) was identied on 7 occasions. Type 6 (invasion of privacy) was seen 5 times, number 3
(use of bellicose or catastrophic language) on four occasions. Type 7 (inappropriate treatment of disadvantaged social groups)
was only found on two occasions.
Examination of the editorials gives varied results. Dysfunctions were found in 21 of the 151 editorials (14%), though in all the
editorials, bar one, no more than a single dysfunction was discovered. e aetiology of these dysfunctions was the 4th (use of
deliberately exaggerated language), on 13 occasions and the 3rd (use of bellicose or catastrophic language), on 9 occasions.
ere is, therefore, no appearance of alarmist speech, nor of that which causes fear, nor sensationalism, nor invasion of privacy
nor inappropriate treatment of vulnerable collectives. In this sense, any infringements present in the editorials are minor, in
that they do not incur in the prime malas praxis described in the introduction, but rather are of a linguistic character.
It was found that any infringements in the editorials tend to be of a political nature, related to argument and the political arena.
e newspaper
El Mundo
accumulates most of these editorials with dysfunctions.
El Periódico,
with only 2 editorials with
dysfunctions, is the newspaper incurring in fewest journalistic errors in that category.
72
| nº 36, pp. 65-85 |
January-June of 2023
Spanish press coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. When front pages alarm and editorials reassure
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
doxa.comunicación
Table 3. Dysfunctions identied on the front pages of the newspapers by type
11
Tabla 3. Disfunciones identificadas en las portadas de los distintos
periódicos por tipología
Fuente: Elaboración propia
A continuación, se detallan y explican de forma contextualizada las
vulneraciones de los códigos deontológicos encontradas en la muestra
analizada.
Disfunción (localización, fecha)
Tipo de
disfunción
El País
La generación triturada (Titular pieza secundaria, 26/04/20)
4
Ataúdes de cartón en Nueva York (Fotografía central, 28/04/20)
5
Fusiles contra el confinamiento (Titular
pieza
secundaria, 2/05/20)
3
Los jóvenes, arrasados por la crisis (Titular
pieza
secundaria, 10/05/20) //
“En la desescalada se pueden
cometer errores muy traumáticos” (Titular
pieza
principal, cita de Carmen Calvo, 10/05/20)
4 // 2, 1
¿Es lícito infectar a personas sanas para buscar una vacuna? (Titular
pieza
secundaria, 14/05/20)
1, 2
La epidemia hundió Detroit en 72 horas (Friso, 16/05/20)
4, 2
¿Hay que encerrar a los viejos? (Friso, 17/05/20, Opinión
)
2, 1, 7
El
Periódico
Imagen de la morgue (Fotografía central, 17/04/20)
5
Imagen de un niño reconocible (Fotografía central, 18/04/20)
6
Imagen de niños reconocibles (Fotografía central, 22/04/20)
6
Esperanza y miedo en la UCI (Titular notica secundaria, 23/04/20) // Imagen de un box de la UCI
(Fotografía central, 23/04/20)
2, 5 // 6, 5
Pánico en el país de los bares (Titular
pieza
secundaria, 25/04/20)
2, 1
La catástrofe exige reformar los geriátricos (Titular
pieza
secundaria, 28/04/20)
4
España, campeona en “crispación” vírica (Subtítulo
pieza
principal, 06/05/20)
8, 4
La escuela del virus (Titular pieza principal, 08/05/20)// Imagen de niños reconocibles en conferencia
(Fotografía central, 08/05/20
)
4 // 6
La pandemia amenaza con más miseria a América Latina (Titular
pieza
secundaria, 10/05/20)
2
El virus aboca a la extinción a la venta ambulante (Titular
pieza
secundaria, 11/05/20)
//
Imagen de un profesional sanitario con equipo de protección (Fotografía central, 11/05/20)
4 // 1, 5
Pobreza sobrevenida (Titular
pieza
principal, 14/05/20)
1
Muerte y devastación económica en dos meses de confinamiento (Subtítulo
pieza
principal, 15/05/20)
1, 5, 4
El miedo al hambre se suma a los impagos de facturas (Subtítulo
pieza
secundaria, 17/05/20)
2
La
Vanguardia
Las aterradoras cifras del virus en las residencias: ¿qué ha pasado? (Titular
pieza
secundaria, 26/04/20)
4, 2
Más muertos que en la Guerra del Vietnam (Pie de fotografía, 1/05/20)
//
Imagen de una mujer arrastrando un muerto (Fotografía central, 1/05/20)
3, 2 // 5
Invasión de franceses desconfinados en la Jonquera (Titular
pieza
secundaria, 12/05/20)
3, 1
El virus dejará un cierre masivo de comercios (Pie de la fotografía central, 13/05/20)
4
El Mundo
Los mellizos del coronavirus (Titular
pieza
secundaria, 20/04/20)
//
Imagen de dos recién nacidos reconocibles (Fotografía central, 20/04/20)
4 // 6
Un Gobierno rebasado rectifica en horas sobre el paseo infantil (Titular
pieza
principal, 22/04/20)
8
El naufragio de la gestión deja a Sánchez más solo que nunca (Titular
pieza
secundaria, 23/04/20)// Fin a
la morgue de hielo, símbolo de la pandemia (Titular
pieza
secundaria, 23/04/20)
8 // 5, 4, 1
Illa tergiversa los datos para doblar la curva de la pandemia (Titular
pieza
principal, 25/04/20)
8
Control de temperatura en súper chinos de Madrid (Pie de fotografía central, 29/04/20)
7
El Estado se prepara para un aluvión de demandas por la mala gestión del COVID
-
19 (Titular
pieza
principal, 04/05/20)
8
Sánchez amenaza con “el caos” para alargar su estado de alarma (Titular
pieza
principal, 05/05/20)
8
Fotoportada de Ayuso vestida de luto (Foto central, con cita “Vamos a la ruina económica”, 10/05/20)
5, 1, 2, 4
“Alrededor de un mes más” de estado de alarma exorbitado (Titular
pieza
principal, 17/05/20) //
8 // 4, 3, 5
Los “supercientíficos” al rescate de la humanidad (Friso, 17/05/20)
Source: created by the authors
doxa.comunicación |
nº 36, pp. 65-85
|
January-June of 2023
Bertran Salvador-Mata and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
73
e violations of the deontological codes found in the sample analysed are set out and explained in context below:
3.1.
Dysfunction 1: creating social alarm
Discourse, images or content in general which encourages or contributes to social alarm was detected on 10 front pages (8%
of the sample). However, this dysfunction was not found in any of the editorials analysed. Such dysfunctions were identied
in both headlines and photos on front pages where they created or could create alarm among readers. Among the examples
found are:
Should the elderly be locked up?
(
El País
, 17/05/20),
Death and economic devastation in two months of connement
(
El Periódico
, 15/05/20), a front-page photo of Ayuso (leader of the Madrid regional administration) (Image 1), accompanied
by the text:
“We’re headed for economic ruin”
(
El Mundo
, 10/05/20),
e virus will cause massive shop closures
(
La Vanguardia,
13/05/20),
Calvo: “Traumatic mistakes may be made during the de-escalation
(
El País
, 10/05/20),
e virus drives street traders
to extinction
(
El Periódico,
11/05/20) and an inappropriate front-page photo, with a close-up of a doctor wearing all kinds of
protective gear whilst taking a sele (
El Periódico
, 11/05/20, Image 2). Social alarm grows from such examples due to the use
of specic terms that cause alarm in society (death and devastation, ruin, mass closures, traumas, extinction) and a deliberate
use of images, unrelated to any communicative or informative function (the symbology accompanying Image 1, for example,
resonant of mourning, suering and desperation faced by catastrophe; the same happens with Image 2, where a highly
protected medic has been chosen taking a sele).
Image 1. Front page of
El Mundo
(10/05/2020)
74
| nº 36, pp. 65-85 |
January-June of 2023
Spanish press coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. When front pages alarm and editorials reassure
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
doxa.comunicación
e medium with most headlines of this kind over the period analysed is
El Periódico,
on four occasions, followed by
El País,
on three.
3.2. Dysfunction 2: fostering the language of fear
On 11 occasions (9% of the sample) situations and discourse which foster the so-called “language of fear” were discovered.
Clear examples of headlines were found with the inappropriate substantives “fear of hunger”, “panic in the land of bars”, “fear
in the ICU”, or adjectives (“terrifying”). e full examples are:
Fear of hunger on top of unpaid bills
(
El Periódico
, 17/05/20),
Panic in the land of bars
(
El Periódico
, 25/04/20),
Hope and fear in the ICU
(
El Periódico
, 23/04/20), and
e terrifying virus
gures in old age homes: What has happened?
(
La Vanguardia
, 26/04/20). Hardly more edifying is the headline
Is it licit to infect
the healthy in search of a vaccine?
(
El País
, 14/05/20) because of the unease it could cause.
Image 2. Front page of
El Periódico
(11/05/2020).
In this aspect, again,
El Periódico
is the newspaper which most abused expressions and rhetorical resources to, indirectly,
foster the growth of the language of fear. On the other hand,
El Mundo
is the one which incurred least in this dysfunction, with
a single front page.
3.3. Dysfunction 3: use of bellicose language
In the sample analysed, dysfunction 3 was not common on the front pages (only 4 times did we detect infringements in this
regard). However, 9 editorials showed an excessive use of bellicose language to report on the vicissitudes of the health crisis,
indicating that it is a more frequent dysfunction in longer, argumentative, or opinionated discourse. Concerning front pages,
doxa.comunicación |
nº 36, pp. 65-85
|
January-June of 2023
Bertran Salvador-Mata and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
75
it is a minor dysfunction, although it may also occur in images (over-representation of the military in media coverage of
appearances).
e utilisation of bellicose or catastrophic language is especially ill-advised in coverage of a pandemic of this type, as it increases
social alarm and the language of fear, even when not directly incurring in these dysfunctions. In this sense, three examples
can be cited:
Invasion by deconned French in La Junquera
(
La Vanguardia
, 12/05/20);
More dead than in the Vietnam war
(
La Vanguardia
, 01/05/20),
Ries against connement
(
El País
, 02/05/20). In these examples, the use of military terminology
is observed (invasion, ries) and, on the front page of
La Vanguardia
(01/05/20), a direct comparison is established between
a war and the Covid-19 situation.
In the editorials, though less evident, there are also comparisons between a conict and the anagement of Covid-19. In the
editorial of 05/05/20 in
La Vanguardia,
this phrase appears: “it has not been demonstrated that the fragmentation of power
when faced by an enemy like Covid-19 is a better solution for the country as a whole than a single command”. In this example,
the use of “enemy”, as well as the military term –very popular during the pandemic– of “command”, contribute to establishing
a comparison between the pandemic and a military conict by use of typically military terms. Other editorials have compared
the pandemic directly with wars, such as the editorial in
El Mundo
on 30/04/20 where the following phrase appears: “But
Moncloa does not seem to be able to keep from partisan ambushes even when under the cosh of the worst tragedy since the
Civil War”, comparing the pandemic with the Spanish Civil War, and moreover utilising military terms such as “ambush”.
3.4. Dysfunction 4: use of deliberately exaggerated language
is is the commonest dysfunction both on front pages (14 times) and in editorials (13 times). Exaggeration, or aggrandisement
of an event or situation happens both in headlines and in arguments or documentation in editorials.
is problem is similar to the previous one, being of linguistic character. is dysfunction may sometimes lead to other incorrect
journalistic practices, such as alarmism or sensationalism. Such exaggerations, beyond the eects of an eye-catching headline,
do not contribute to responsible conduct by journalists. To give some examples:
e epidemic sunk Detroit in 72 hours
(
El País
,
16/05/20),
A generation crushed
(
El País
, 26/04/20),
“Super scientists” to the rescue of humankind
(
El Mundo
, 17/05/20),
e
virus drives street traders to extinction
(
El Periódico
, 11/05/20), this last also being an example of alarmism. It would clearly
seem to be an exaggeration to say that Detroit was sunk in 72 hours, that an entire generation was going to be crushed by the
crisis, that there are “super scientists,” or that street traders are going to be extinguished forever (it is an open-air activity).
Other examples can be observed in the following editorials: A
colossal and overwhelmed government
(
El Mundo
, 04/05/20),
where the term
colossal
strives to exaggerate and set a counterpoint to
overwhelmed.
An excessively free use of the adjective
“condemned” is seen in the following editorial:
Catering condemned
(
El Mundo
, 30/04/20). Descriptions such as “historic”,
especially when accompanied by “collapse” represent a deliberate exaggeration when describing a situation, as in the editorial:
“
Spain, towards a historical collapse
(
El Mundo
, 01/05/20).
Although all the media analysed have incurred in this dysfunction, it is in
El Periódico
where most examples are found on front
pages (6) and in
El Mundo
where most come in editorials (5).
76
| nº 36, pp. 65-85 |
January-June of 2023
Spanish press coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. When front pages alarm and editorials reassure
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
doxa.comunicación
3.5. Dysfunction 5: sensationalism
As 10 front pages display this dysfunction (approximately 8% of the sample) it is one of the commonest. No examples were
found in the editorials analysed.
Appealing to the senses is a habitual praxis for journalists in this type of circumstances. Sensationalism is often intimately
linked to alarmism and the language of fear, which aggravates the end result for the reader. is study has detected dierent
examples, to a greater or lesser degree. e ve front-page photos cited here are ne examples: Morgue. (
El Periódico
,
17/04/20), Cardboard cons in New York (
El País
, 28/04/20), Front page of Ayuso, as mentioned above (Image 1), in strict
mourning, with a sorrowful look and verging on tears, with the text: “We’re headed for economic ruin” (
El Mundo
, 10/05/20),
Coronavirus twins (
El Mundo
, front-page photo, 20/04/20) and e end of the ice rink morgue, symbol of the pandemic (
El
Mundo
, 23/04/20).
3.6. Dysfunction 6: invasion of privacy: violation of intimacy, especially in children
5 front pages have been identied where people’s intimacy was invaded, with particular emphasis on minors. is dysfunction
was not observed in any of the editorials analysed.
Image 3. Front page of
El Periódico
(8/05/2020)
doxa.comunicación |
nº 36, pp. 65-85
|
January-June of 2023
Bertran Salvador-Mata and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
77
It is a journalist’s duty, as made clear in the deontological codes of the profession, to avoid clearly identiable minors appearing
in photographs. is is especially relevant in situations of pain and suering. It goes without saying that this is even more
serious on a front page. Five violations of this were detected including photographs of children: photos of children on the front
page, recognisable and inside their own homes (
El Periódico
, 22/04/20), a photo of children on the front page, recognizable
and in a public place (
El Periódico
, 18/04/20), photos of children on the front page, recognizable and in a hospital (
El Mundo
,
front-page photo, 20/04/20). A separate case is that of the full front page “e virus school” (
El Periódico
, 08/05/20), where 9
children appear, all identiable, name and age included, inside their homes, recorded on a cam (Image 3). Regardless of any
good intentions behind this approach (explaining what the school of the future will be like), the headline “e virus school”
causes confusion, something always to be avoided, as it could be interpreted as the most seriously aected school or the one
with most cases.
3.7. Dysfunction 7: inappropriate treatment of disadvantaged social groups or other sensitive collectives
is dysfunction was only identied on two front pages, the lowest number among all the dysfunctions analysed. It was not
observed in any editorials.
e clearest case refers to Chinese immigrants:
Temperature controls in mega-Chinese shops in Madrid
(
El Mundo
, 29/04/20),
which also contains a questionable photograph. It hardly seems relevant to the story to mention the nationality of the owners
of the business. Even less so when we consider the stigmatisation denounced by this collective in the initial phases of the
pandemic. e second case, less obvious, comes in the headline “
Should the elderly be locked up?” (El País
, 17/05/2020), where
the vulnerable collective is people in their later years.
3.8. Dysfunction 8: not respecting the divide between information and opinion
is nal dysfunction has been specically coded to point to those front-page news items that do not adhere to the principle of
objectivity that is presupposed for all journalistic pieces excepting those on the opinion page. ere are 7 occasions on which
front pages or elements on them do not respect the principle of objectivity. Logically, this dysfunction was not a consideration
when analysing the editorials.
e health crisis led to a political crisis, something infrequent in previous epidemic crises as they usually took place abroad. e
behaviour of the dailies varied greatly concerning the separation of information and opinion on the front pages.
El Mundo
is
the one which most frequently violated this deontological principle, with the introduction of opinion in apparently informative
headlines. It can be observed how, on several occasions this straying from informative language had subtle linguistic nuances
(utilisation of the possessive form “
su
(his)”, in “
su
State of Alarm”) or with other more evident forms, through the use of
highly value-laden adjectives (exorbitant State of Alarm; poor management; overwhelmed government), or substantives
(sinking) and verbs (distort) full of intention: e complete phrases in
El Mundo
are: “
Around another month” of exorbitant
State of Alarm
(17/05/20),
e sinking of his management leaves Sánchez more isolated than ever
(23/04/20),
An overwhelmed
government recties in hours concerning exercise for kids
(22/04/20),
Illa distorts the data to bend the curve of the pandemic
(25/04/20),
Sánchez threatens “chaos” to extend his (su) State of Alarm
(05/05/20) and
the State gets ready for an avalanche of
78
| nº 36, pp. 65-85 |
January-June of 2023
Spanish press coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. When front pages alarm and editorials reassure
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
doxa.comunicación
lawsuits due to the poor management of COVID-19
(04/05/20). e other three dailies do not display evidence of this problem,
except in one isolated and barely signicant case:
Spain, champion of viral “political tension”
(
El Periódico
, 6/05/20).
3.9. Editorials and internal coherence in a newspaper
As previously indicated, analysis of the editorials has given completely dierent results, having hardly anything to do with
the front pages. e principal dysfunctions of the front pages (alarmism, sensationalism, language of fear) almost completely
disappear in the editorials. e infringements detected in the editorials, often conned to political disputes, are restricted
to semantic exaggerations (lethal demonstrations on March 8th, shameful chaos, misshapen government) or bellicose or
catastrophic uses of language (civil war, catastrophe).
e editorials analysed basically revolve around three discursive lines: (1) continual calls for prudence, for responsibility, for
major political and social agreements, and to not forget the human dimension of the crisis; (2) applause for the exemplary
conduct of citizens during connement, and for healthcare workers for their dedication, and (3) criticism of politicians for
various motives (lack of responsibility, the lack of agreements, political tension and for the mistakes made). ese three
discursive lines are quite homogeneous in the four papers studied.
In general, the thesis that the newspaper analysed were alarmist and often irresponsible on their front pages during the
pandemic, while being prudent and responsible in their editorials, can be defended. To put it another way, the capacity for
analysis and criticism that the papers proved to have in their editorials, was not shown systematically on their front pages.
While in their editorials they were calling for responsibility and prudence, the front pages demonstrated a notable degree of
irresponsibility. Such a lack of coherence was observed in all of the dailies analysed.
ree editorials have been chosen from the study period which referred at some length to questions related to communication
or journalism. Given their relevance in the context of this study, it is important to show the whole message:
In times of doubt, free, truthful, independent, and veried information is more vital than ever to prevent people from falling victim to
hoaxes, lies and fake news, increasingly abundant not only on the social networks but in some media and some parties and political
representatives. (
La Vanguardia
, 17/04/20)
[...] for the common good, transparency is an obligation for all the Administrations aected, regardless of their ideology. (
El País
,
26/04/20)
It is important that users reinforce their analytical skills and, when necessary, their scepticism to deal with unveried messages. (
La
Vanguardia
, 28/04/20)
e three messages cited follow the same educational and paternalistic tone mentioned previously: calls for responsibility
addressed to politicians and citizens e former are asked for transparency; the latter, to be alert to abundant disinformation
and are invited to heighten their scepticism, “not only on the social networks but in some media”.
is statement from an editorial in
La Vanguardia
referring to “some media’’ as something alien, brings to mind the
‘third-person eect’, (Davison, 1983), well-characterised in previous studies into professional journalism, for example, an
ethnographic paper on Spanish scientic journalists as a collective (Cortiñas-Rovira et al., 2014). is phenomenon postulates
doxa.comunicación |
nº 36, pp. 65-85
|
January-June of 2023
Bertran Salvador-Mata and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
79
that individuals tend to overestimate certain eects in others and underestimate them in themselves. On one hand, journalists
perceive the work of other media as a potential threat, whilst assuring –or implying- that their medium is free of such vices. By
extension, if this were true and all journalists acted as they say they do, all mala praxis would have disappeared from the media.
3.10. Aggrandisement of the issue and an excess of political voices
In light of the volume of items dedicated to the pandemic, it is worth wondering if the issue has been overstated, as other
authors have described in previous crises and even in the case of Covid-19 (Lázaro-Rodríguez & Herrera-Viedma, 2020). Due
to the type of research carried out in this study, we do not possess sucient data to respond to that question. We can only state
that the pandemic occupied almost all the front pages over the 31 days analysed and took up most of the editorials. It should
also be recognised that, unlike previous health crises, this one has had an impact unheralded in recent times, both on purely
health aspects –the spread of the illness, speed of propagation, mortality, the extreme measures of connement, restrictions
on mobility–, and on others –economic, political and social crises–.
It is precisely because of this last point that this study has detected an excess of political voices in the dailies analysed, going
against the usual recommendations that greater weight should be given to the voices of experts and technicians. is excess
has been more evident in some newspapers than in others. In
El Mundo
, the politicisation of the question was a constant, while
the phenomenon was also seen in
El País
, but to a lesser degree.
El Periódico
and
La Vanguardia
did not present signicant
excesses. ese results are coherent with previous research. For example, after analysis of almost 4000 news items published
in relation with the H1N1 inuenza crisis, Duncan (2009) identied politicians as the most cited gures. Consistent with this
discovery, in a news sample analysed by Zanetti et al. (2012), more politicians were found to be cited than health authorities.
4. Discussion
is research studied four of the main generalist dailies in Spain for a month to identify which were the commonest dysfunctions
and how they were generated. e study’s attention was focused on front pages and editorials, two of the most inuential parts
of a newspaper (the former, as a business card and the hall door of information; the latter, as they dene the approach and line
of the medium in question).
e main results of this study indicate that there are up to eight dierent types of dysfunctions in the Spanish generalist
media. ese are concentrated on the front page of the newspapers, where 26% of the samples analysed contain one or more
dysfunction. A total of 63 dysfunctions were identied, on the 124 front pages analysed. e commonest were the use of
exaggerated language, the creation of fear and social alarm and a contribution to sensationalism.
e editorials, which are opinion pieces, display less dysfunctional content, tending towards calls for calm and with greater
deontological rigour. Only 14% of the editorials analysed contain dysfunctions, 22 dysfunctions amongst the 151 items analysed.
Unlike the front pages, in the editorials, only two types of dysfunctions were identied: the use of bellicose or catastrophic
language and that of deliberately exaggerated language. Half of the dysfunctions identied were from the newspaper
El Mundo
,
partly because that daily published a larger number of editorials associated (in general politically) with Covid-19, and partly
because it demonstrated a greater tendency to political polarisation.
80
| nº 36, pp. 65-85 |
January-June of 2023
Spanish press coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. When front pages alarm and editorials reassure
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
doxa.comunicación
ese results are coherent with studies from other crises, as seen from the case of SARS 2003, where Lewison (2008) points
out that the articles with the highest ‘level of scariness’ were to be found on the front page and not inside the newspaper. e
dissociation between front pages and editorials becomes more intense in terms of alarmism and sensationalism. e examples
of alarmism and sensationalism in this study were only detected on the front pages of the media analysed and not in the
editorials.
e front pages become the epicentre of the journalistic dysfunctions typical of a health crisis. With the intention of drawing
the reader’s attention, a more emotive, more sensational tone is adopted. is eect is especially clear in the choice of
photographs for the front page, where the image may come to congure a “simulation of reality” (Baudillard, 2003), which may
at times abdicate from its informative role. A paradigmatic example of this is the front page of Díaz Ayuso, visibly sorrowful
and in strict mourning in
El Mundo
(10/05/2020). at image holds a tremendous symbolic weight, highly emotive, far from
any purely informative intention.
e results of this study serve to verify some heuristic theories previously propounded, with the added objective of discussing
and improving them. It was seen during the Inuenza A crisis that news identied in an editorial is more truthful, rigorous and
accurate than that to be found on the front page of the same medium. e following theorem was propounded at the time: “
In
a serious health crisis, with unpredictable consequences, the reader will nd enough in the editorials to know the basic facts and
to take the necessary decisions in a balanced way
” (Cortiñas-Rovira, Pont-Sorribes & Alonso-Marcos, 2015).
is study shows a similar pattern: editorials, despite being opinion pieces, contain within them all the essential information
concerning developments in the news deriving from a health crisis. A reader, having read the editorial, apart from hearing
a substantiated opinion about the matter, has gained the most relevant data and information, with the added advantage of
having gained them in the most deontologically appropriate form, in comparison with front pages (free from sensationalism or
alarmist messages). e theory could be improved with the following corollary: “e less politicised a health crisis is, the more
applicable the theory of the supremacy of the press editorial, as opposed to front pages, proves to be”.
In spite of the dysfunctions observed, the results of this study give room for hope. e generalist press possesses methods to
deal with these dysfunctions, as can be seen from the content of the editorials. e balance between transmitting scientic
information and informing about risks in an uncertain situation is found more ethically and fairly in editorials than on front
pages. e media’s duty in crisis situations, part of which is to transmit information, guarantee the quality of the same and to
establish a relationship of trust with the public (O’Malley; Rainford; ompson, 2009), is performed and consolidated in the
editorials.
Among the additional challenges worthy of mention in coverage of health crises is that the scientic community does not
churn out certainties at the pace that content is consumed, so that the media may tend to ll the uncertainties with other types
of content (Bjorkdahl; Carlsen, 2018), which causes an explosion of poorly-crafted and alarmist information. In the case of
Covid-19, this situation was aggravated by the other ‘pandemic’ of scientic output (Torres-Salinas, 2020), a fact which meant
that many news items could not be lled by scientic facts and so fell more easily into textual or visual alarmism.
e relationship between journalism and the scientic community during health crises is truly complex. Keli, Schönhöfer and
Spelsberg (2011) point out that the information problem detected in the media during the H1N1l u crisis cannot be imputed
doxa.comunicación |
nº 36, pp. 65-85
|
January-June of 2023
Bertran Salvador-Mata and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
81
to the media alone. e scientic community, with its own interests and occasionally divergent testimonies, may share part of
the blame for making the eective communication of risks more dicult. In addition to this, the lack of reviews of some of the
scientic studies published, as well as their hasty production, supposed a major challenge which contemporary journalism
faced in less than perfect conditions, due to the sta cuts occasioned by continually falling sales.
Furthermore, two evils that are now all but endemic in scientic journalism in particular must be added: (1) the lack
of specialised science reporters, and (2) the scant scientic knowledge, except for a few exceptions, in the higher ranks of
newspapers, that is, in the control room of the dailies, precisely where strategic decisions are taken concerning the front page.
Another strength of the quality press has been that of keeping pseudoscience o the pages studied. Following the analysis,
we can state that the so-called quality press was an adequate lter against pseudoscience and disinformation, which has
not always been the case (Cortiñas-Rovira & Salvador-Mata, 2022). is fact is particularly relevant as pseudoscience has
circulated in abundance on other channels (instant messaging, social networks, webs of doubtful reliability). Previous studies
had indicated the role of other channels in the expansion of pseudo-scientic discourse (Salvador-Mata & Cortiñas-Rovira,
2020).
In a certain sense, it can be stated that the quality press successfully performed its role as gatekeeper against hoaxes and
disinformation, a challenge not to be scorned at a time of such confusion at every level.
5. Conclusions
is study has analysed a total of 124 front pages and 151 editorials published over a month at the height of the Covid-19
pandemic. It has been concluded that it is on the front pages where the greatest profusion of journalistic dysfunctions occurs:
26% of those analysed contained some type of dysfunction. Up to eight types of journalistic dysfunctions were detected on
them. at turns the front pages, one of the principal elements of a newspaper, and one of those with most impact, into carriers
of alarmist and sensationalist messages and creators of fear to a degree not to be taken lightly.
When comparing the messages found on front pages with those published in editorials, a change of tendency is observable.
While 63 dysfunctions were listed for front pages, only 22 were detected in editorials (even though 27 more editorials were
analysed) and in all cases these were of a linguistic nature, without directly being alarmist, sensationalist, using the language
of fear, invading privacy or dealing unethically with vulnerable collectives. Most cases of dysfunctions in the editorials were of
a political nature or related to political polarisation.
In conclusion, in terms of news and education, the editorials analysed show the media’s ability to share moderate, pertinent,
and trustworthy messages. Such behaviour has not been observed as strictly on the front pages, more given to sharing
sensationalist or alarmist news or that which contributes to the language of fear. erefore, it is conrmed that editorials
include, in the context of a pandemic, information less tainted by journalistic dysfunctions and of greater information value
than front pages.
e crisis constituted a state of emergency which pushed professional journalists to the limit and where there was a higher
risk of committing news dysfunctions. However, these can be avoided or minimised. e fact that editorial content was more
82
| nº 36, pp. 65-85 |
January-June of 2023
Spanish press coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. When front pages alarm and editorials reassure
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
doxa.comunicación
moderate and precise allows one to suppose that the newspapers are able to inform without being alarmist. e front pages
are the shop window for a newspaper and therefore should strengthen their informative character and avoid journalistic
dysfunctions as much as possible. To this end, the production processes followed in the drawing up of editorials should be
taken as an example, and should, as much as possible, be carried over into the rest of the newspaper.
6. Acknowledgements
is article has been translated from Spanish by Brian O’Halloran.
7. e specic contributions of each author
Name & surname
Conception & designBertran Salvador-Mata, and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
Methodology
Bertran Salvador-Mata, and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
Compilation & analysis of dataBertran Salvador-Mata, and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
Discussion & conclusionsBertran Salvador-Mata, and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
Writing, format, checking & approval of versionsBertran Salvador-Mata, and Sergi Cortiñas-Roviracum
8. Bibliographical references
Abraham, T. (2011). Lessons from the pandemic: the need for new tools for risk and outbreak communication.
Emerging Health
reats Journal
, 4(1).
https://doi.org/10.3402/ehtj.v4i0.7160
Altheide, D. (2002).
Creating Fear. News and the construction of crisis
. Aldine de Gruyter.
Anderson, L. y McGuire, W. (1965). Prior reassurance of group consensus as a factor in producing resistance to persuasion.
Sociometry
, 28(1), 44–56.
https://doi.org/10.2307/2786084
Ardèvol-Abreu, A. (2015). Framing o teoría del encuadre en comunicación. Orígenes, desarrollo y panorama actual en España.
Revista Latina de Comunicación Social
, 70, 423-450. DOI: 10.4185/RLCS-2015-1053
Baudillard, J. (2003).
Power Inferno
. Arena Libros.
doxa.comunicación |
nº 36, pp. 65-85
|
January-June of 2023
Bertran Salvador-Mata and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
83
Beck, U., Lash, S. y Giddens, A. (1997).
Modernización reexiva. Política, tradición y estética en el orden social moderno
. Alianza
Editorial.
Beck, U. (2006).
La sociedad del riesgo global
. Siglo XXI editores.
Bjorkdahl, K. y Carlsen, B. (2019). Introduction: Pandemics, Publics, and Politics- Staging Responses to Public Health Crises en:
K. Bjørkdahl y B. Carlsen (Eds),
Pandemics, Publics, and Politics
(pp- 1-19). Palgrave Pivot.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-2802-2_1
Camacho, I. (2009). La ‘gripe A’, en la prensa española.
Revista Latina de Comunicación Social
, 64, 827-843.
Cassany-Viladomat, R., Cortiñas-Rovira, S. y Elduque-Busquets, A. (2018). Comunicar la ciencia: El perl del periodista cientíco
en España.
Comunicar
, 26(55), 9-18.
https://doi.org/10.3916/C55-2018-01
Chan, CY, Jin, B., Rousseau, R., Vaughan, L. y Yu, Y. (2003). Newspaper coverage of SARS: a comparison among Canada, Hong
Kong, Mainland China and Western Europe.
Cybermetrics
, 6/7(1).
Cortiñas-Rovira, S., Alonso-Marcos, D., Pont-Sorribes, C. y Escribà-Sales, E. (2014). Science journalists’ perceptions and attitudes
to pseudoscience in Spain.
Public Understanding of Science
, 24(4), 450-465.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662514558991
Cortiñas-Rovira, S., Pont-Sorribes, C. y Alonso-Marcos, F. (2015). Simulating and dissimulating news: Spanish Media Coverage of
the Swine Flu Virus.
Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management
, 23(3), 159-168.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.12063
Cortiñas-Rovira, S. y Salvador-Mata, B. (2022). e suggestive nature of words. Media coverage of homeopathy, acupuncture, reiki
and Bach ower remedies in Spanish press 2011-2016.
Journal of Biosocial Science,
1-15. doi:10.1017/S0021932022000384
Duncan, B. (2009). How the media reported the rst days of the pandemic (H1N1) 2009: results of EU-wide media analysis. Euro
Surveillance:
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
, 14(30), 19286.
https://doi.org/10.2807/ese.14.30.19286
Galindo, J. (2015). El concepto de riesgo en las teorías de Ulrich Beck y Niklas Luhmann,
Acta Sociológica
,67, 141-164.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acso.2015.03.005
Hardt, M. y Negri, A. (2000).
Empire
. Harvard University Press.
Jonas, H. (1995).
El principio de responsabilidad. Ensayo de una ética para la civilización tecnológica
. Editorial Herder.
Jones, S., Waters, L., Holland, O.; Bevins, J. y Iverson, D. (2010). Developing pandemic communication strategies: Preparation
without panic.
Journal of business research
, 63(2), 126-132.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2009.02.009
Keil, U., Schönhöfer, P y Spelsberg, A. (2011). e invention of the swine-u pandemic.
European Journal of Epidemiology
, 26(3),
187-190. DOI: 10.1007/s10654-011-9573-6
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>
84
| nº 36, pp. 65-85 |
January-June of 2023
Spanish press coverage of the Covid-19 crisis. When front pages alarm and editorials reassure
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
doxa.comunicación
Lázaro-Rodríguez, P. y Herrera-Viedma, E (2020). Noticias sobre Covid-19 y 2019-nCoV en medios de comunicación de España:
el papel de los medios digitales en tiempos de connamiento.
El profesional de la información
, 29 (3), e290302.
https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2020.may.02
Lewison, G. (2008). e reporting of the risks from severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in the news media, 2003-2004.
Health, risk and society,
10(3), 241-262.
Liuccio, M., Amorese, V., Miconi, A., Romano, V. y Toscano, E. (2012). New” virus and “old” risks. Reections on H1N1 pandemic
in the newspapers in Italy, France and UK.
La Clínica Terapeutica
, 163 (5), e339-48.
O’Malley, P., Rainford, J. y ompson, A. (2009). Transparency during public health emergencies: from rhetoric to reality.
Bulletin
of the World Health Organization
, 87 (8), 614‐618. doi:10.2471/BLT.08.056689.
Pont-Sorribes, C. y Cortiñas-Rovira, S (2011). Journalistic practice in risk and crisis situations: Signicant examples from Spain.
Journalism
, 12 (8), 1052-1066.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884910388233.
Reynolds, B. y Seeger, M. (2005). Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication as an Integrative Model.
Journal of Health
Communication
, 10, 43-55.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10810730590904571
Salvador-Mata, B. y Cortiñas-Rovira, S. (2020). Pharmacists’ Attitudes to and Perceptions of Pseudoscience: How Pseudoscience
Operates in Health and Social Communication.
Social Work in Public Health
, 35 (5), 321-333.
https://doi.org/10.1080/19371918.2020.1785983.
Toppenberg-Pejcic, D., Noyes, J., Allen, T., Alexander, N., Vanderford, M. y Gamhewage, G. (2019). Emergency Risk Communication:
Lessons Learned from a Rapid Review of Recent Gray Literature on Ebola, Zika, and Yellow Fever.
Health Communication
, 34 (4),
437-455.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2017.1405488
Torres-Salinas, D. (2020). Ritmo de crecimiento diario de la producción cientíca sobre Covid-19. Análisis en bases de datos y
repositorios en acceso abierto.
El profesional de la información
, 29(2), e290215.
https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2020.mar.15
Trucchi, C., Domnich, A. y Casabona, F. (2011). Communication strategy during the A/H1N1v inuenza pandemic in Italy.
Journal of Preventive Medicine and Hygiene
, 52 (3).
https://doi.org/10.15167/2421-4248/jpmh2011.52.3.278
Sandman, P. (1993). Responding to community outrage: Strategies for eective risk communication. American Industrial Hygiene
Association.
Seeger, M. (2006). Best Practices in Crisis Communication: An Expert Panel Process.
Journal of Applied Communication Research
,
34(3), 232-244.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00909880600769944
doxa.comunicación |
nº 36, pp. 65-85
|
January-June of 2023
Bertran Salvador-Mata and Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira
ISSN: 1696-019X / e-ISSN: 2386-3978
85
World Health Organization (2005a).
Eective Media Communication during Public Health Emergencies.
WHO handbook and eld
guide
. https://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/WHO_CDS_2005_31/en/
World Health Organization. (2005b).
Outbreak Communication. Best practices for communicating with the public during an
outbreak.
https://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/WHO_CDS_2005_32/en/
World Health Organization. (2017a).
Communicating risk in public health emergencies A WHO guideline for emergency risk
communication (ERC) policy and practice.
https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/259807
World Health Organization. (2017b).
Rapid Grey Literature Evidence Review to Support the Guideline on Emergency Risk
Communication. Final Report.
https://www.who.int/risk-communication/guidance/process/Final-Report-Rapid-Grey-Lit-Review.pdf?ua=1
Zanetti, A.; Vercellesi, L.; Pariani, E. y Laccisaglia, FB. (2012). Analysis of a pandemic in the Italian newspapers: the A (H1N1)
experience.
Italian Journal of Public Health
, 9(2), 84-92.
https://doi.org/10.2427/6343
<p>[Enlace de URL / hc (has AS)]</p>