scholarly journals Trusting and valuing news in a pandemic: Attitudes to online news media content during COVID-19 and policy implications

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-26
Author(s):  
Terry Flew
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
News Media ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
Online News ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The Future ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
The Impact

While the global Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to significant growth in news consumption, this did not translate into either greater trust or an improved financial situation for news providers. At a time when disinformation has become a key concern with regards to public health messaging, this mistrust of mainstream news media has potentially disastrous consequences for public communication in a time of urgent public health concerns. The article explores five issues for the study of news and trust, including the impact of digital platforms, the accountability revolution, the crisis of news media business models, the power-shift within media to platforms in the time of COVID-19, and the turn to subscription-based media. The latter raises critical issues around the value of news, and the future relationship between subscriptions, advertising revenue and public funding in the future of news publication and distribution.

scholarly journals Quantifying Online News Media Coverage of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Text Mining Study and Resource

10.2196/28253 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. e28253
Author(s):  
Konrad Krawczyk ◽  
Tadeusz Chelkowski ◽  
Daniel J Laydon ◽  
Swapnil Mishra ◽  
Denise Xifara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Sentiment Analysis ◽  
News Media ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
English Language ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Online News ◽  
Topic Detection ◽  
The Impact

Background Before the advent of an effective vaccine, nonpharmaceutical interventions, such as mask-wearing, social distancing, and lockdowns, have been the primary measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Such measures are highly effective when there is high population-wide adherence, which requires information on current risks posed by the pandemic alongside a clear exposition of the rules and guidelines in place. Objective Here we analyzed online news media coverage of COVID-19. We quantified the total volume of COVID-19 articles, their sentiment polarization, and leading subtopics to act as a reference to inform future communication strategies. Methods We collected 26 million news articles from the front pages of 172 major online news sources in 11 countries (available online at SciRide). Using topic detection, we identified COVID-19–related content to quantify the proportion of total coverage the pandemic received in 2020. The sentiment analysis tool Vader was employed to stratify the emotional polarity of COVID-19 reporting. Further topic detection and sentiment analysis was performed on COVID-19 coverage to reveal the leading themes in pandemic reporting and their respective emotional polarizations. Results We found that COVID-19 coverage accounted for approximately 25.3% of all front-page online news articles between January and October 2020. Sentiment analysis of English-language sources revealed that overall COVID-19 coverage was not exclusively negatively polarized, suggesting wide heterogeneous reporting of the pandemic. Within this heterogenous coverage, 16% of COVID-19 news articles (or 4% of all English-language articles) can be classified as highly negatively polarized, citing issues such as death, fear, or crisis. Conclusions The goal of COVID-19 public health communication is to increase understanding of distancing rules and to maximize the impact of governmental policy. The extent to which the quantity and quality of information from different communication channels (eg, social media, government pages, and news) influence public understanding of public health measures remains to be established. Here we conclude that a quarter of all reporting in 2020 covered COVID-19, which is indicative of information overload. In this capacity, our data and analysis form a quantitative basis for informing health communication strategies along traditional news media channels to minimize the risks of COVID-19 while vaccination is rolled out.

scholarly journals COVID-19 as an “Infodemic” in Public Health: Critical Role of the Social Media

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debanjan Banerjee ◽  
K. S. Meena
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
The Impact

The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged as a significant and global public health crisis. Besides the rising number of cases and fatalities, the outbreak has also affected economies, employment and policies alike. As billions are being isolated at their homes to contain the infection, the uncertainty gives rise to mass hysteria and panic. Amidst this, there has been a hidden epidemic of “information” that makes COVID-19 stand out as a “digital infodemic” from the earlier outbreaks. Repeated and detailed content about the virus, geographical statistics, and multiple sources of information can all lead to chronic stress and confusion at times of crisis. Added to this is the plethora of misinformation, rumor and conspiracy theories circulating every day. With increased digitalization, media penetration has increased with a more significant number of people aiding in the “information pollution.” In this article, we glance at the unique evolution of COVID-19 as an “infodemic” in the hands of social media and the impact it had on its spread and public reaction. We then look at the ways forward in which the role of social media (as well as other digital platforms) can be integrated into social and public health, for a better symbiosis, “digital balance” and pandemic preparedness for the ongoing crisis and the future.

scholarly journals Factors Influencing Digital Marketing and Digital Payment on Consumer Purchase Behaviour

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
Monica Tiewul
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Digital Marketing ◽  
Technological Advancement ◽  
Financial Industry ◽  
Payment Methods ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Impact

The issue of whether innovation and technological advancement continually bring new phenomenon remains unpredictable, especially in the financial industry. As technology and digital services continue to ingrain themselves into more aspects of lives, the financial sector has not been immuned. New technology has given way to new services and with new services comes the gradual disruption of the old. This study researched on the influence of digital marketing and digital payment on consumer purchase behaviour in Coburg, Germany. The availability of digital marketing is enabling many companies of all sizes to embrace mobile and data while adopting a ‘cloud first’ approach to redesigning their business models. This brings about the introduction of a new ‘pay-as-you-go’ business model that enables efficiency, low-cost speed to scale and creation of new, richer customer experience. This research sort to examine the impact of digital marketing on consumer purchase behaviour, assess the factors influencing consumer to patronise digital payment and examine the future of digital payment methods. In this research, primary and secondary data are utilised. The data has been analysed using descriptive and multivariate statistical methods like factor loading analysis, correlation, cross tabulation, and chi-square. From this research, it is concluded that the availability of extensive information, variety of products, level of satisfaction and level of education are the most essential factors influencing digital marketing and digital payment and this will lead to an increase in the digital payment methods with more security in the future. Also, bitcoin will not be accepted as a future digital payment method.

Impact of Social Media and Technology Companies on Digital Journalism

2019 ◽  
pp. 147-170
Author(s):  
Şükrü Oktay Kılıç ◽  
Zeynep Genel
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
News Media ◽  
Business Models ◽  
The Other ◽  
Media Companies ◽  
Digital Journalism ◽  
The World ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media And Technology ◽  
The Impact

A handful of social media companies, with their shifting strategies to become hosts of all information available online, have significantly changed the news media landscape in recent years. Many news media companies across the world have gone through reorganizations in a bid to keep up with new storytelling techniques, technologies, and tools introduced by social media companies. With their non-transparent algorithms favoring particular content formats and lack of interest in developing solid business models for publishers, social media platforms, on the other hand, have attracted widespread criticism by many academics and media practitioners. This chapter aims at discussing the impact of social media on journalism with the help of digital research that provides an insight on what storytelling types with which three most-followed news outlets in Turkey gain the most engagement on Facebook.

Digital Divide

2016 ◽  
pp. 94-101
Author(s):  
Geoff Kaufman ◽  
Mary Flanagan
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Digital Game ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Digital Version ◽  
Digital Format ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
The Impact

With a growing body of work demonstrating the power of games to transform players' attitudes, behaviors, and cognitions, it is crucial to understand the potentially divergent experiences and outcomes afforded by digital and non-digital platforms. In a recent study, we found that transferring a public health game from a non-digital to a digital format profoundly impacted players' behaviors and the game's impact. Specifically, players of the digital version of the game, despite it being a nearly identical translation, exhibited a more rapid play pace and discussed strategies and consequences less frequently and with less depth. As a result of this discrepancy, players of the non-digital version of the game exhibited significantly higher post-game systems thinking performance and more positive valuations of vaccination, whereas players of the digital game did not. We propose several explanations for this finding, including follow-up work demonstrating the impact of platform on basic cognitive processes, that elucidate critical distinctions between digital and non-digital experiences.

Countering Hate Speech on Facebook: The Case of the Roma Minority in Slovakia

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 128-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jozef Miškolci ◽  
Lucia Kováčová ◽  
Edita Rigová
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Hate Speech ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Online News ◽  
Welfare Benefits ◽  
Quasi Experimental ◽  
Fact Checking ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Negative Sense

This article explores hate speech against the Roma in Slovakia on Facebook between April 2016 and January 2017 and the impact of fact-checking and personal experience strategies in countering hate speech through a quasi-experimental research design. It examines how the Roma were constructed and how discussion participants reacted to our pro-Roma interventions. The research sample consisted of 60 Facebook discussions (with more than 7,500 comments) on Roma-related topics posted by the profiles of various members of the Slovak Parliament and the most popular online news media outlets. Qualitative content analysis revealed that the Roma in Facebook discussions were constructed primarily in a negative sense, as asocial criminals misusing welfare benefits. This study demonstrated that Facebook discussion participants presenting anti-Roma attitudes did not use any research evidence to support their constructions. It also demonstrated that pro-Roma comments encouraged other participants with a pro-Roma attitude to become involved.

Strategies of ideological polarisation in the online news media: A social actor analysis of Megawati Soekarnoputri

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-80
Author(s):  
Jane Louise Ahlstrand
Keyword(s):  
News Media ◽  
Presidential Election ◽  
Democratic Party ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
Online News ◽  
Media Discourse ◽  
Social Actor ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Actor Analysis ◽  
The Impact

This article examines strategies of ideological polarisation in the discourse of the Indonesian online news media site, Kompas.com. Applying Van Leeuwen’s model of social actor analysis and van Dijk’s concept of the ideological square, the study focuses on the representation of Megawati Soekarnoputri, leader of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) as an icon of ideological contestation during the 2014 presidential election. Situated in the era of digital platform convergence, the analysis uncovers a pattern of strategically ambiguous representations of Megawati and her apparently transgressive actions and interactions. This practice entices readers to ‘read between the lines’ and activate their ideological repertoire to determine in-group and out-group members. It also enables Kompas.com to pursue commercial objectives and navigate journalistic constraints by obscuring explicitly ideological content. The implications are discussed in terms of the impact of online news media discourse upon democratic political engagement, and women’s political participation.

scholarly journals Public University Models for Education – from Innovation to Entrepreneurship

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Oneill ◽  
Nell Kimberley ◽  
Chih Wei Teng
Keyword(s):  
Business Models ◽  
Innovation Policy ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
Quadruple Helix ◽  
Economic Wealth ◽  
Transmission Mechanisms ◽  
New Business ◽  
Innovation Model ◽  
Innovation Approach ◽  
The Impact

The management of Australian public universities has changed dramatically over the last two decades with the decrease in public funding across teaching and research sectors. This has forced a strategic repositioning of universities and likewise a rethink on value generation and its translation into various revenue streams. The aim of this paper is to provide an analysis of current government innovation policy and university capabilities to support the translation of innovation, and in so doing explore the possibilities of a Quadruple Helix innovation approach to building new models for education. The paper begins by examining the significant role innovation plays in developing economic wealth, and a discussion of the triple helix framework that identifies the complex collaborative relationships between universities, government and industry. The development of a Quadruple Helix Innovation Model, which places the user at the centre of the relationship, highlights the importance of capabilities in the transmission mechanisms driving innovation. We argue that the measurement of appropriate capabilities formed through collaborations amongst key stakeholders will be critical to new business models. Universities are encouraged to embrace the user value driven business models to provide the innovation, execution and disruption necessary to quadruple the impact on national growth.

scholarly journals Spanish-Language News Consumption and Latino Reactions to COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9629
Author(s):  
Barbara Gomez-Aguinaga ◽  
Ana L. Oaxaca ◽  
Matt A. Barreto ◽  
Gabriel R. Sanchez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
News Media ◽  
Source Credibility ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
Media Consumption ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
News Consumption ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Impact

While the literature on infectious disease outbreaks has examined the extent to which communication inequalities during public health emergencies exacerbate negative outcomes among disadvantaged individuals, the implications of ethnic media consumption among minority groups during these crises are underexplored. Making use of the first nationally representative survey of US Latinos (N = 1200) on the impact and reactions to COVID-19, this study examines the implications of Spanish-language news media consumption on source credibility and attitude formation during the COVID-19 pandemic among Latinos and immigrants from Latin America. Through a series of statistical analyses, this study finds that ethnic news consumption is strongly associated with trust in Spanish-language journalists, whereas mainstream media consumption is not associated with trust in English-language journalists. More importantly, this study finds that source credibility, particularly in Spanish-language journalists, matters for Latinos as it is associated with more positive assessments of state and local officials providing adequate information about COVID-19. This study illuminates the importance of non-traditional media among racial minorities, who account for almost 40% of the US population, and highlights the importance of shared backgrounds in source credibility among linguistically diverse groups in the United States during a public health crisis.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document