News Sources and Framing of Responsibility on Devolution in Kenya, 2013–2017

The present research examines two aspects of newspaper coverage of devolution during a 4-year period between March 27, 2013, and May 28, 2017: first, through the lens of attribution of responsibility, who the news media most blamed for problems facing devolution; second, whether reliance on official sources in reporting of devolution mirrors the indexing hypothesis. Findings show that the most-blamed actor and dominant news source on devolution is the county executive. Journalists continue to rely on the elite as their main news source and as a result they shape the discourse on devolution.

Integrating Power and Gradual Institutional Change in Public Relations History: The Case of the People’s University in North Carolina After the Civil War

Drawing on the theory of gradual institutional change, this study analyzed the post-Civil War college reform efforts in North Carolina, integrating power with public relations history. Reformers worked under harsh institutional circumstances where resident elites held high veto power, while reformers had a low level of discretion for interpreting college education. Notwithstanding, reformers adopted layering tactics, introducing new rules of education for all alongside existing ones of education as legacy, for gradual institutional change. Specifically, reformers maintained a calm and objective tone, focusing on the universal value of education, both publicly and through anonymous publications in hostile press venues.

Effects of Exposure to COVID-19 News and Information: A Meta-Analysis of Media Use and Uncertainty-Related Responses During the Pandemic

This meta-analysis integrates 47 empirical studies, comprising 89,826 participants from 21 countries, to examine the cumulative effects and potential moderators of exposure to COVID-19 news and information on attendant emotions, appraisals, and behaviors. Overall media exposure indicated only small positive effect sizes on adverse psychological reactions, though it was moderately and positively associated with disease concern and preventive measures. Social media exposure was associated with all these responses, but traditional news media exposure was only associated with disease concern. The associations between overall media exposure and adverse psychological reactions were moderated by COVID-19 experience, healthcare profession, and country type.

COVID-19 and the Fourth Estate: Asian American Journalists’ Gendered Racial Harms and Racial Activation During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Through in-depth interviews, this study explored the voices of Asian American journalists who faced unprecedented stresses due to the racist discourse of Asian Americans as carriers of disease during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Socialized to de-emphasize their vulnerabilities in their professional work, Asian American reporters generally claimed they did not experience racist harms, but further probing revealed indirect harms. Women reporters discussed internalized harms such as elevated anxiety and fear, whereas men reporters referenced only external harms such as racial microaggressions. Women reporters also manifested greater self-reflexivity. The importance of analyzing race and gender in White masculine newsrooms is discussed.

Understanding the Present Through the Past: A Comparison of Spanish News Coverage of the 1918 Flu and COVID-19 Pandemics

Through a comparative analysis of Spanish newspaper coverage of the 1918 flu and COVID-19 pandemics, this article explores the parallels between them, their roles in reflecting and facilitating public perceptions of infectious diseases, the national dialogues they incite, and the search for solutions in a global health crisis. I use qualitative analysis to interpret media themes of contagion as they shift from societal complacency to panic as disaster unfolds. In weaving together Philip Strong’s model for epidemic psychology and Jim A. Kuypers’s rhetorical approach to news framing, I analyze how newspapers communicate changing assumptions about epidemiologic risks during pandemics.

Signaling News Outlet Credibility in a Google Search

This study extends the literature on how transparency influences news credibility perceptions by examining trust signals at the news outlet level, rather than at the story level, as earlier research has done. Experiments in the United States ( n = 1,037) and Germany ( n = 1,000) found that exposure to trust signals in a Google search about a known news brand, rather than an unknown brand, and the German cultural context increased news credibility perceptions. Participants were more likely to click on trust signals that gave background about the news brand or offered ways to engage with a news outlet.