The representation of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the Chinese media

Postpandemic Nightmare: A Framing Analysis of Authorities and Narcolepsy Victims in Swedish Press

“…The deductive analysis was informed by the starting point that the importance of certain framing devices was not determined by representativeness, but rather that the use of a specific framing device even a small number of times could constitute an interesting pattern (cf. Heffernan, Misturelli & Thomson, 2011). We chose to focus our analysis on a certain set of framing devices highlighted in previous research and described in the theoretical section: episodic and thematic framing, storytelling, responsibility and blame frames, stereotyping and anchoring.…”

“…The reason behind the selection of these devices for the analysis was that they constitute generic frames in media reporting and are used to frame general news events and complex social problems as well as phenomena related to crisis events. For example, a number of studies have investigated the use of anchoring with regard to previous health hazards (Abeysinghe & White, ; Heffernan et al., ) and the question that can be raised, also with regard to the other framing devices, is whether and how they are used also in this specific case of narcolepsy.…”

Printing the Pandemic: An Analysis of H1N1 Vaccine News Coverage

“…Similarly the globalization of the disease was presented through portrayals of risk being detailed in relation to other countries. Similar themes of reassurance and blame were also present with responsibility mainly attributed to Asian countries, without mentioning China specifically (Heffernan, Misturelli, & Thomson, 2011). The newspapers were even promoting the creation of a vaccine that was being produced by Chinese researchers to help immunize animals.…”

“…The theme "back to nature" was mobilized in coverage describing vaccines as poisonous chemical cocktails and in which alternative natural health interventions were introduced as more effective and safer than vaccination (Leask & Chapman, 1998) (Leask & Chapman, 2002) (Kata, 2010). with a focus on reassurance (Heffernan, Misturelli, & Thomson, 2011). In later years, the coverage shifted to focus more on stories of uncertainty about the virus and the efficacy of the vaccine.…”

“…The authors note that this vaccine was then being stockpiled by the government, promoting the message that the Chinese government was doing all it could to actively protect its' citizens. Furthermore, the mass creation and distribution of the vaccine produced by China was used to present themes of control over, and prevention of the influenza (Heffernan, Misturelli, & Thomson, 2011).…”