“…Both online news and search interest show the same upward trajectory beginning Jan. 21, but news coverage increases faster and does not peak until Feb. 2, two full days after the searches peak. News mentions of masks surge again on Feb. 21, but it is not until two days later that searches experience a similar surge. In turn, television news mentions of mask sales do not increase dramatically until Feb. 26, the day after web searches began surging rapidly.
Putting this all together, the graphs above suggest that the media’s wall-to-wall coverage of the coronavirus outbreak played a measurable role in driving public attention to the virus and likely worsening behaviors such as panic buying. The television media appear to have been late to the game, picking up on both the virus’ spread and the shortages of masks long after they were stories.
Most importantly, the strong association of coronavirus coverage with Donald Trump in the U.S. and the economy globally suggests the outbreak is being contextualized as a political and economic story — delivering a dose of panic in the process — rather than a public health emergency that requires clinical and dispassionate reporting…”
