Swine flu and hype: a systematic review of media dramatization of the H1N1 influenza pandemic
- 20 June 2014
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Journal of Risk Research
- Vol. 19 (1), 1-20
- https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2014.923029
Abstract
Highly disconcerting at the time, in retrospective, the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic looks like much ado about nothing. As a consequence, many accused the media of having created an artificial hype or hysteria around the new virus, thus contributing to unwarranted public fear. The current paper set out to examine the validity of such accusations. We integrated empirical findings on whether the media dramatized H1N1 on a global scale through systematically reviewing prior content-analytic studies. We developed a coding scheme specifying three indicators of dramatized media coverage that – together – inform about how mass media coverage about H1N1 may amplify risk perceptions in the public: (a) the volume of media coverage, (b) the media content presented, particularly an overemphasis of threat while neglecting measures of self-protection and (c) the tone of coverage. Results show that media attention was immense, that news content stressed threat over precautionary measures, while the pattern of coverage tonality remained nebulous due to conflicting findings. The present review also revealed a critical gap in existing knowledge about the tone of media coverage on H1N1, and discusses implications for future research on dramatization of public health risks by the media.Keywords
This publication has 39 references indexed in Scilit:
- H1N1 – the social costs of élite confusionJournal of Risk Research, 2011
- The Use of Twitter to Track Levels of Disease Activity and Public Concern in the U.S. during the Influenza A H1N1 PandemicPLOS ONE, 2011
- What the Public Was Saying about the H1N1 Vaccine: Perceptions and Issues Discussed in On-Line Comments during the 2009 H1N1 PandemicPLOS ONE, 2011
- Communicating uncertainty - how Australian television reported H1N1 risk in 2009: a content analysisBMC Public Health, 2011
- UK newspapers' representations of the 2009-10 outbreak of swine flu: one health scare not over-hyped by the media?Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2010
- Pandemics in the Age of Twitter: Content Analysis of Tweets during the 2009 H1N1 OutbreakPLOS ONE, 2010
- 1918 Influenza: the Mother of All PandemicsEmerging Infectious Diseases, 2006
- News in an Age of Competition: The Case of Sensationalism in Dutch Television News, 1995–2001Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 2005
- Researching risk and the mediaHealth, Risk & Society, 1999
- Fear control and danger control: A test of the extended parallel process model (EPPM)Communication Monographs, 1994