The United States confronts Ebola: suasion, executive action and fragmentation

2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott L. Greer ◽  
Phillip M. Singer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
Ebola Virus ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Politics ◽  
Variable Capacity ◽  
The Media ◽  
Executive Action

AbstractThe United States’ experience with the Ebola virus in 2014 provides a window into US public health politics. First, the United States provided a case study in the role of suasion and executive action in the management of public health in a fragmented multi-level system. The variable capacity of different parts of the United States to respond to Ebola on the level of hospitals or state governments, and their different approaches, show the limitations of federal influence, the importance of knowledge and executive energy, and the diversity of both powerful actors and sources of power. Second, the politics of Ebola in the United States is a case study in the politics of partisan blame attribution. The outbreak struck in the run-up to an election that was likely to be good for the Republican party, and the election dominated interest in and opinions of Ebola in both the media and public opinion. Democratic voters and media downplayed Ebola while Republican voters and media focused on the outbreak. The media was a key conduit for this strategic politicization, as shown in the quantity, timing and framing of news about Ebola. Neither fragmentation nor partisanship appears to be going away, so understanding the politics of public health crises will remain important.

scholarly journals The role of race and scientific trust on support for COVID-19 social distancing measures in the United States

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0254127
Author(s):  
Sara Kazemian ◽  
Sam Fuller ◽  
Carlos Algara
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Institutional Trust ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
The Media ◽  
Racial Lines ◽  
Novel Coronavirus

Pundits and academics across disciplines note that the human toll brought forth by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States (U.S.) is fundamentally unequal for communities of color. Standing literature on public health posits that one of the chief predictors of racial disparity in health outcomes is a lack of institutional trust among minority communities. Furthermore, in our own county-level analysis from the U.S., we find that counties with higher percentages of Black and Hispanic residents have had vastly higher cumulative deaths from COVID-19. In light of this standing literature and our own analysis, it is critical to better understand how to mitigate or prevent these unequal outcomes for any future pandemic or public health emergency. Therefore, we assess the claim that raising institutional trust, primarily scientific trust, is key to mitigating these racial inequities. Leveraging a new, pre-pandemic measure of scientific trust, we find that trust in science, unlike trust in politicians or the media, significantly raises support for COVID-19 social distancing policies across racial lines. Our findings suggest that increasing scientific trust is essential to garnering support for public health policies that lessen the severity of the current, and potentially a future, pandemic.

Public Service Announcements and Promoting Face Masks During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Steven Greene ◽  
Marc Hetherington ◽  
Rahsaan Maxwell ◽  
Timothy J. Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Public Service ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Public Service Announcements ◽  
The Other ◽  
Randomized Experiment ◽  
Health Advice ◽  
The Media

ABSTRACT Wearing face masks to combat the spread of COVID-19 became a politicized and contested practice in the United States, largely due to misinformation and partisan cues from masking opponents. This article examines whether Public Service Announcements (PSAs) can encourage the use of face masks. We designed two PSAs: one describes the benefits of using face masks; the other uses a novel messenger (i.e., a retired US general) to advocate for them. We conducted two studies. First, we aired our PSAs on television and surveyed residents of the media market to determine if they saw the PSA and how they felt about wearing face masks. Second, we conducted a randomized experiment on a diverse national sample. Both studies suggest that exposure to our PSAs increased support for face masks and induced greater compliance with public health advice. These findings have implications for how governments might fight pandemics.

scholarly journals Reclaiming the House of the Representatives from Republicans: Case Study of Districts TX-32 and NJ-3

2019 ◽  
pp. 37-54
Author(s):  
Norbert Tomaszewski
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
Racially Diverse ◽  
Midterm Elections ◽  
Social Media Tools ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Changing Demographics

2018 midterm elections in the United States allowed more ethnically and racially diverse candidates to become members of the Congress. The use of social media tools helped them to reach out to their community and get out the vote, which is especially important in Democratic campaign tactics. The article, by focusing on Colin Allred's and Andy Kim's Congressional bids, focuses on how their issue-oriented campaigns helped to mobilize the liberal voters. Furthermore, by analysing the rapidly changing demographics, it tackles the crucial question: do they mean the doom of the Republican Party?

scholarly journals An Analysis of the Media Messages during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election: A Thematic Comparison between CNN News and Donald Trump’s Tweets

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Zeinab Ghasemi Tari ◽  
Zahra Emamzadeh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Republican Party ◽  
The United States ◽  
Selective Exposure ◽  
Critical Periods ◽  
Donald Trump ◽  
American Media ◽  
The Media

In the last presidential election of the United States (2016), the interaction between the Donald Trump and the American media was remarkable and unprecedented from both political and communication perspectives. The present paper is interested in observing the interactions between then the Republican Party candidate, Donald Trump, and the media of the United States. As there were major verbal confrontations between Trump, and some media, specifically CNN, this paper observes how Trump campaign reacted to CNN that turned out to be one of his biggest opponents. The relations and reactions are explained using “agenda setting” and “selective exposure” as theories and “thematic analysis” as the research methodology. The paper analyzes CNN videos from October 7 to October 31, and Trump’s tweets during the same period. The reason for conducting the research during October is that this month is regarded as one of the most critical periods in US presidential election, known as “October surprise”. Then a thematic analysis of the data is conducted to extract all accusations and allegations against Trump. Research results show that President Trump did not react to most of the accusations and attacks raised by CNN. Apparently Trump had decided that ignoring and not responding is a better strategy. There was an exception to this rule: Trump’s treatment toward women. He did address that issue frequently and tried to justify himself and apologize. Accordingly, Trump’s presidential campaign aim was to ignore accusations, keep attacking, and answering accusations only if they are already known to too many people.

Mediating Racism

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepa Kumar
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Structural Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
First Century ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Ground Zero ◽  
Concrete Case ◽  
Mainstream Media ◽  
The Media

The far right in the United States has ratcheted up anti-Muslim racism in the twenty-first century. However, they are not alone in creating and circulating the discourses of Islamophobia. In this paper, I set out to situate the far right, who I call the ‘new McCarthyites’, within the broader context in which they operate. I argue that they are part of a larger matrix of Islamophobia which includes the liberal establishment. I start with a concrete case study of the ‘Ground Zero Mosque’ controversy, in order to demonstrate how various discourses of Islamophobia co-exist and fuel one another. I contend that even while the new McCarthyites were responsible for the hysteria generated, their arguments were enabled by liberals/realists. I then unpack the various agents who make up a coalition of the new McCarthyites and outline how they propagate their troglodyte racism. Finally, I offer a matrix that illustrates where Islamophobic ideologies are produced and how they are circulated in the mainstream. Such a structural analysis necessarily decenters the mainstream media since the media are one set of institutions, among others, that serve both as conduit and creator of anti-Muslim racism.

Vernacular epistemologies of risk: The crisis in Fukushima

2016 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Celine-Marie Pascale
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Power Plant ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nuclear Radiation ◽  
Public Health Risks ◽  
The Media ◽  
Media Practices ◽  
Fukushima Disaster

On 11 March 2011, an earthquake of a 9.0 magnitude and the consequent tsunami destroyed Japan’s Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant. Known as 3/11 in Japan, the effects of this triple disaster will continue for decades. How did the media covering the catastrophe articulate issues of risk to the general public? This article is a textual analysis of accounts about the Fukushima disaster published between 11 March 2011 and 11 March 2013 in four of the most prominent media outlets in the United States. In particular, the analysis explores the practices through which these US media constructed the presence and meaning of public health risks resulting from the nuclear meltdown. The article illustrates how systematic media practices minimized the presence of health risks, contributed to misinformation, and exacerbated uncertainties. In the process, the study demonstrates how the media created vernacular epistemologies for understanding and evaluating the health risks posed by nuclear radiation. The article concludes by weighing the implications of the vernacular epistemologies deployed by media.

Break Point: A Case Study of How Globalization and Technology Led to New Tennis Media Gatekeepers in the United States

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-141
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Gruber
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Break Point ◽  
The United States ◽  
Broadcast Networks ◽  
Organizational Theories ◽  
Professional Tennis ◽  
The Media ◽  
Global Coverage ◽  
First Time

This article presents a case study of the developments in media gatekeeping in the last 10 years, focusing on the launch of the Tennis Channel and the ascendance of ESPN as the major network for professional tennis in the United States. The U.S. broadcast networks NBC and CBS have ceded the exclusive television rights for 2 of the Grand Slam tournaments (Wimbledon, U.S. Open) to ESPN for the first time in over 40 years. Meanwhile, the Tennis Channel, despite its independence from the media conglomerates, has carved out a niche for fans with its extensive global coverage of tournaments and for advertisers with its lucrative audience demographics. This change in dominance after the broadcast networks reigned for over 4 decades underscores the globalization of the sport and the abundance of early-round tournament matches available to fans. Organizational theories are used to analyze what has occurred and to predict what will happen next for tennis media gatekeeping in the United States.

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