1st Edition
Covering Covid-19 The Coronavirus Pandemic as a Critical Moment for Digital Journalism
This book explores the profound impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, framing it as a “critical moment” for digital journalism, examining how journalistic practices, content and audiences were shaped by the crisis.
Featuring a global range of original research projects, using an array of research methods, the volume shows that the pandemic has transformed digital journalism in both temporary and lasting ways. In terms of the practices of journalists, remote working shifted journalists away from on-the-ground reporting, increasing dependence on elite and state sources. Press freedom faced growing threats, particularly in authoritarian contexts. In terms of news content, data journalism gained increased salience as a source of journalistic authority, while sourcing patterns shifted as official sources and health experts came to predominate. For audiences, several studies published here demonstrated increased consumption of TV, social media, and online news. Audience responses to the crisis ranged from extensive news-seeking to news avoidance. Social media became a key news source, but also fostered "dark participation" on fringe platforms like 8kun and Gab, creating a parallel information ecosystem dominated by low-credibility actors.
This volume is essential reading for scholars and students in media and journalism studies seeking a comprehensive understanding of how the pandemic reshaped digital journalism.
The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Digital Journalism.
Introduction: The Coronavirus Pandemic as a Critical Moment for Digital Journalism
Thorsten Quandt and Karin Wahl-Jorgensen
1. Does a Crisis Change News Habits? A Comparative Study of the Effects of COVID-19 on News Media Use in 17 European Countries
Peter Van Aelst, Fanni Toth, Laia Castro, Václav Štětka, Claes de Vreese, Toril Aalberg, Ana Sofia Cardenal, Nicoleta Corbu, Frank Esser, David Nicolas Hopmann, Karolina Koc-Michalska, Jörg Matthes, Christian Schemer, Tamir Sheafer, Sergio Splendore, James Stanyer, Agnieszka Stępińska, Jesper Strömbäck and Yannis Theocharis
2. Journalism as Usual? Managing Disruption in Virtual Newsrooms during the COVID-19 Crisis
Jose A. García-Avilés
3. Sourcing Pandemic News: A Cross-National Computational Analysis of Mainstream Media Coverage of COVID-19 on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Claudia Mellado, Daniel Hallin, Luis Cárcamo, Rodrigo Alfaro, Daniel Jackson, María Luisa Humanes, Mireya Márquez-Ramírez, Jacques Mick, Cornelia Mothes, Christi I-Hsuan LIN, Misook Lee, Amaranta Alfaro, Jose Isbej and Andrés Ramos
4. News Avoidance during the Covid-19 Crisis: Understanding Information Overload
Kiki de Bruin, Yael de Haan, Rens Vliegenthart, Sanne Kruikemeier and Mark Boukes
5. Data “Objectivity” in a Time of Coronavirus: Uncovering the Potential Impact of State Influence on the Production of Data-Driven News
Shangyuan Wu
6. Conceptualizing “Dark Platforms”. Covid-19-Related Conspiracy Theories on 8kun and Gab
Jing Zeng and Mike S. Schäfer
7. ‘Lockdown’ on Digital Journalism? Mapping Threats to Press Freedom during the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis
Lambrini Papadopoulou and Theodora A. Maniou
8. “Flatten the Curve”: Data-Driven Projections and the Journalistic Brokering of Knowledge during the COVID-19 Crisis
Christian Pentzold, Denise J. Fechner and Conrad Zuber
9. The Reconfiguration of News Work in Southern Africa during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Phillip Santos and Admire Mare
10. Competing Frames and Melodrama: The Effects of Facebook Posts on Policy Preferences about COVID-19
Sebastián Valenzuela, Ingrid Bachmann, Constanza Mujica, Daniela Grassau, Claudia Labarca, Daniel Halpern and Soledad Puente
11. Making Sense of Pandemic-Induced Changes in Journalism and Beyond
Eun-Ju Lee
Biography
Thorsten Quandt is Professor of Communication Studies and Dean, Faculty of Education and Social Sciences at the University of Münster, Germany. He (co)published more than 200 scientific articles and several books. Quandt is a Fellow of the International Communication Association (ICA). His research and teaching fields include online communication, media innovation research, digital games and journalism.
Karin Wahl-Jorgensen is Professor in the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Culture and serves as University Dean of Research Environment and Culture. Her research focuses on journalism and citizenship, and she has authored or edited ten books. Recent books include Emotions, Media and Politics (2019), Digital Citizenship in a Datafied Society (2019, with Arne Hintz and Lina Dencik), and Handbook of Journalism Studies, 2nd edition (2020, Routledge, co-edited with Thomas Hanitzsch).
