Sixth SciCOM colloquium – 24 June 2022

Written by Corlia Meyer (PhD) and Francois van Schalkwyk (PhD)

Presented by Corlia Meyer (Stellenbosch University)

Although research has been done showing how health crises and pandemics are framed in the media, to date, no other long-term studies on the framing of the pandemic in the South African media have been found in the literature. Research has provided evidence of the inclusion of science in the media, and that scientific information plays a key role in influencing decision making and behavioural change. For the present study, a sample of 524 newspaper articles were analysed to determine how the South African print media framed COVID-19-related news stories during the first two years of the pandemic in South Africa. The results add to previous research in the field of science communication and framing analysis of health crises. The results indicate that three South African newspapers framed the COVID-19 pandemic according to three dominant themes and an overarching alarming tone, related to the impact of the pandemic on society. The findings suggest that the print media is South Africa has been more focused on the demands of the market than it has to the needs of society during the COVID-19 crisis. Further research in the area is needed for a more complete understanding of the media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially compared to other global health crises and other its coverage in other nations.

You can watch the recording here.