Expert voices in the news reporting of the coronavirus pandemic: A study of UK television news bulletins and their audiences

Abstract

The study examines the role of experts in UK television news at the start of the coronavirus pandemic by analysing both how they were used in coverage and perceived by news audiences. Our systematic content analysis of sources ( N = 2300) used in the UK’s flagship evening news bulletins found a reliance on political sources, principally from the government’s perspective. We also discovered health and scientific experts received limited coverage and were only occasionally used to scrutinise public health policy. Yet, our six-week online diary study with 175 participants identified a strong preference for expert views about how the pandemic was being handled. It showed audiences favoured a range of expert sources in routine reporting – balancing government appointed and independent experts – to provide evidence-based scrutiny of the executive’s decision-making. Overall, our findings contribute to a greater understanding of audience expectations, opinions, and experiences with broadcast news during a major public health crisis.

Los fact-checkers españoles: rutinas y competencias contra la desinformación

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‘We need to start building up what's called herd immunity’: Scientific dissensus and public broadcasting in the Covid‐19 pandemic

“…For instance, Staniland and Smith (2013) examined 13 studies looking at how media reported the 2009 H1N1 'swine flu' pandemic across a range of countries and found that public health officials and scientists dominated media frames. However, as Morani et al (2022) note most sourcing studies tend to just present quantitative data on the prevalence of experts. Few explore what experts say, how patterns of source access translate into the dominance of certain arguments or how journalists chose to foreground, downgrade or endorse the perspectives of experts.…”

“…However, as Morani et al. (2022) note most sourcing studies tend to just present quantitative data on the prevalence of experts. Few explore what experts say, how patterns of source access translate into the dominance of certain arguments or how journalists chose to foreground, downgrade or endorse the perspectives of experts 1 .…”

“…1 1 For examples of studies that do adopt a more granular approach see Berry, 2019, Morani et al., 2022 or Wahl‐Jorgensen et al., 2013. …”