Reporting from the Front Line: The Role of Health Workers in UK Television News Reporting of COVID-19

Who works on the ‘frontline’? comparing constructions of ‘frontline’ work before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“…The frequent association of front*line with healthcare roles may also explain why some of the benefits afforded to healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic - such as extended shopping hours - were not accessible to critical workers more generally ( Kinsella et al., 2021 ). This finding is consistent with other research that has identified a media focus on critical healthcare roles during the pandemic ( Kyriakidou et al., 2021 ; Musheno et al., 2021 ). Such findings provide a counterpoint to arguments that the pandemic led to a greater awareness of the critical nature of ‘low-skilled’ labour such as cleaning and retail jobs, and the difficulties faced by workers in these roles ( Musheno et al., 2021 ; Creech et al., 2022 ).…”

The print press and its politicization of public health: The case of COVID-19

“…The reality is that most people tend to dismiss mis/disinformation or conspiratorial messaging and are instead more confused by the inconsistent messaging from government officials about emerging new rules and media miscommunication about the true impact of the pandemic or the uncritical reporting of official claims without scrutiny (Kyriakidou et al, 2020; Nielsen et al, 2020). Indeed, a UK Parliament report (2020) reveals the concerns of over 1100 experts over inaccurate reporting by the mainstream media or a dilution of official messages which were already conflicting and unclear.…”

A question of sustainability

“…The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of accurate, reliable and impartial news. PSBs (and the regional news they offer) were among the most used, and trusted, sources of reliable information across all ages (Cushion, 2019(Cushion, , 2020Carter, 2020;Cushion et al, 2020;Kyriakidou et al, 2020;Sambrook and Cushion, 2020;Ofcom, 2021aOfcom, , 2021b.…”