Framing the Covid-19 pandemic in news media: A comparative analysis between Albania and the United States.
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2022-06-24
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en
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The Covid-19 outbreak began in December 2019 and was declared a global pandemic in March 2020. Different news outlets throughout the world have given a great deal of coverage. Because the general public relies on the media for information, the latter could influence opinions by utilizing multiple frames that portray the coronavirus differently. Furthermore, certain cultural values have been connected to how different cultures may respond to health crises. The present study provides a cross-cultural comparison (Albania vs. the USA), on how Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, specifically collectivism, power-distance, and uncertainty avoidance, could potentially affect Covid-19 framings. Utilizing the framework of Semetko and Valkenburg (2000), it was found that morality frames were the most employed during the health crisis, as well as there was no difference between the two sources in terms of news diversity. However, Albania's Morality frames featured collectivistic values more often. These results failed to replicate findings of past health crises framing research. Nonetheless, this study contributes to the literature on the role and impact of cultural values in framing of health crises.
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Faculteit der Letteren