Is media coverage of COVID-19 too negative?

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Is it possible the news coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic has been too negative? Some curious research should at least make us consider the question, Liam Mannix writes. | ANALYSIS covid19 media pandemic

Not with COVID-19. A pandemic that has killed millions has left children almost untouched. Has the reporting reflected this? Some scientists working in the area don’t think so.

“We’ve also heard some people say that there will be up to 80 deaths in children with COVID over the next six months. This will not happen. In isolation, I think I made the right call. What role is there for a science journalist if he’s not scrutinising the evidence behind a government decision? However, I ponder the story’s role in the wider coverage of the issue. Perhaps people should know that better drugs are coming?Why is news so often negative? Journalists and editors are trained to focus on negativity. Often this is good. Journalism should focus on the problems in society.

 

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This research you refer to likely doesn’t include the negative state political articles during the pandemic. Because that has rendered the age unreadable. All the positive ones they refer to would be in NSW. To put it mildly: TheAgeIsPartisanTrash mostly no longer worth reading.

If you are referring to coverage of Victoria's Covid experience, including by your paper, then sure.

Yes. No one under 20 has died. Fewerthan 30 under 40 have died. Most people who have died have been fragile or elderly but some exceptions, though most of these have turned out not to be exceptions when closely analysed. Fewer than 1500 people have died in 20 mths in Oz!!

Der.

It’s as if the media got their instructions from Joseph Goebbels himself

From your paper... Yes, but only when directed at our Labor government. TheAgeIsPartisanTrash

Is it possible that TheAgeIsPartisanTrash ?

You think? Of course it’s been nothing but negative.

So you noticed sales are down and we all hate you?

Noooooo! Ya reckon. Fuck me

Are you fucking kidding me…the negative media analysing the media so they can point the finger at everybody else

Is that a rhetorical question? 🤔 Had to stop reading the Age for this reason.

This is even a question? A daily dose of fear and gloom...much of it fear porn and click bait. The media has made the pandemic much harder on us all.

You don’t want us Victorians. You don’t have us. You’ve lost us.

Thats why (and slagging off the elected Labor Goverment) I stopped my subscription . Too late to change now The (Costello)AGE

Not too negative Too politicised

Is it possible there was any truth in any of it. The real negativity is about to come but you’ll be busy giving us the climate crisis propaganda and the next mandates we need to fix pollution to notice the jabbed are dying.

Don’t bother. Annoy half your readership and go broke. These days that would be no loss.

And you’re looking at who? TheAgeIsPartisanTrash

answer: throw some Harvey Norman front page ads - hahaha

Came here to eye roll 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄 🙄🙄 True to form The Age.

Vic 2nd wave” Dictator Dans fault” …3rd wave in NSW …Global Pandemic “Saint Gladys saves the day” … see the problem … 🤨 PartisanHacks

It’s been an attack on State Labor Premiers and CHO’s , Victoria’s in particular ….but you knew that ….your rags one of the main offenders.

Bias. The coverage is bias!! Lies n misinformation need to be called out. Bullying needs to be called out.

Glaven1994 I’m curious as to what stats say about where people’s main interaction with media is, who then is likely to have the most influence & what their reporting has been like? ie TV, papers, internet, SM?

The live COVID daily presser has shown MSM for what it is. How full of falsehoods and opinion and not based on fact. I watched every presser and when a question was debunked ans a proven falsehood the headline would be DAN DENY'S. No mentioned that he was denying rumour and lies.

Reporting has been too emotive in general. Emotional framing in either direction can seem insincere with alienation of different groups for whom trust is damaged depending on their preferred lens. Factual and transparent reporting would have best served our communal interests.

I would say that the news coverage on public health measures that have been calculated to have saved TENS OF THOUSANDS OF LIVES has been too negative.

Rich coming from you

I will never pay for a newspaper again! You've been a disgrace during the pandemic and politicised covid at every opportunity.

You have destroyed public faith in the fourth estate.

Simply The Age misjudged its readers and what they wanted, which was not negative gotcha stories but an esprit de corps to help us get through what was essentially a wartime-like period. The editors couldn’t adjust.

Yes, you are

'Much of the role the media played has been in persuading the public that COVID-19 is serious and they need to protect themselves.' What?

liammannix Yes it has been negative with extreme 'fear mongering'. Further context on underlying health conditions / deficiencies behind deaths is sorely missing. There's a Michael Crichton book which talks about imprisoning citizens in a constant 'State of Fear'. Raf_Epstein

the problem is TheAgeIsPartisanTrash only spreads negativity about Victoria and Dan. It is not even a news outlet anymore, just a Liberal propaganda machine.

Suggest you look in the mirror

TheAgeIsPartisanTrash

Is it possible news coverage has been too negative? IS IT F!!!!!G POSSIBLE? FFS!!!

Yeah the age has been terrible

Your “news” Clickbait was one of the worst offenders. Do better.

Try being bipartisan and stop playing games to win liberal votes. Your paper is a sham. Just a big editorial that could slot into The herald sun’s mid riff. dontbuytheage dontbuytheheraldsun

Oh the irony

TheAgeIsPartisanTrash 🤷🏻‍♀️

TheAgeIsPartisanTrash

No! But Murdoch/Costello/Stokes have glorified NSW & vilified Victoria. That’s not negative, it’s propaganda!

Who would know these days, so much political interference taken as gospel to suit individuals who have no science degrees, no medical doctorates, no common sense. Every news report has an agenda depending on which party the bosses belong to and want to promote, it's insane.

The gist of the article seems to be 'We looked in the mirror'.

Besides the obvious bias against Victoria, I can't see how you can put a positive spin on a pandemic that's killed millions.

On 16June 1stcase in Bondi cluster, GladysBerejiklian et al FULLY AWARE Delta highly contagious, held 2 CrisisCabinet meetings. Even though a snap lockdown was imperative, none ordered. Covid spread with catastrophic consequences. Covidnsw CovidVic GladysOutbreak COVID19

Too negative? Like trying to overthrow the Andrews government EVERY day? TheAgeIsPartisanTrash

The political journalists at the pressers showed little to no understanding of the realities of a pandemic. Their reputations have been trashed as a result. In countries where everyone pulled together they have had outstanding results: Portugal, Denmark etc.

Media coverage of the pandemic has been politically biased. I live in SA, so no-one talks about us, but I've seen the difference in coverage: NSW gets garlands and Vic gets pilloried, regardless of results. And the media actively encouraged the Vic riots, for some time beforehand

Irony...

Stuck between creating sensationalism & appeasing the political aspirations of your boss, you have been a major contributor in dividing a nation & amplifying the public health risk auspol ThisIsNotJournalism

Nice try

OMG 😱 The coverage in Victoria was incredibly damaging to our collective mental health.

WOW! the second line after the ? posed is 'The obvious answer is no...' UM... THE ANSWER IS YES. 100% YES! Most reporting includes thick opinion, and the loudening of idiot political shouters. The media have done a woeful job, SMH/AGE also guilty!

Thank goodness for the daily press conferences in Vic. Not moderated by the jaundiced politics of main stream media and political opportunism from people like Nick Coatsworth. The Age has fallen significantly- have never expected much from the Hun covid19

Negative you say. Are you trying to figure out why sales and respect for The Age has gone down in Victoria.

Totally possible - you’ve all competed for epidemic - click bait - porn.

Death is death. Facing truth is important at times.

Negative? How about BLIND. Why not try doing some flippin research to what is really going on hey? Keep up with actual science instead of your sycophant support of a deadly and lethal injection which is still in trial and maiming and killing millions of people around the world

Yes! More so the part where we try to get vaxxed. Remember how well u all went when a 1 in a gazzillion chance of a bloodclot, trashing the reputation of a vax that billions around the world happily took cause it saves lifes? Yeah, that part! 😡😡

The Age did ZERO to galvanise and strengthen, encourage or support Victorians. Actual effect, stoked division, undermined health orders, encouraged non compliance, increased the length of lockdowns and no doubt led to unnecessary deaths.

We did have a premier and CMO crying wolf all day long

Fear mongering.... that's all 🤔

the media coverage of covid has breen disgraceful, undermining us all the way....especially in Victoria and I'd say we're very unlikely to forget it too

The news is like a horror movie every day. And you’re asking , is it possible. 🤦‍♂️

YES

Yes it has been very negative. Always looking to print a bad strong and undermining the AZ amongst a few points

It has been to negative and not truthful ! That’s even worse

Does a bear shit in the woods?

Ya think? 🙄

Kate_Nancarrow One of the most enduring memories I will take from this time of Covid is how destructive much of the media coverage has been and how it has worked - consciously or not - to undermine state leaders left with most of the responsibilities to steer us through a crisis. Shameful.

No shit Sherlock.

😂doing some soul searching are you?! My Melbourne friends have been devastated by your narrative. Dan’s response has saved so many lives and all you did was bag him due to politics and Rupert. You should be ashamed of yourself.

What news coverage has there been. You have spent the past two years as the propoganda division of the Victorian Labour Party. All you did was print whatever you were told and then write opinion pieces in support of whatever you were told. Shilling is not your job

Amazing how in the same week Andrew’s backflips and starts to smile for the camera, that you, The Age snd ors try to find away back to the consumers heart after 12 + months of scaremongering and negative views that supported the political agenda.

Siri …. show me an example of ‘gaslighting’

The delicious irony.

CC: Peter Costello

When are you going to engage is some investigative journalism and enquire how Dan fell down the stairs. The average taxpayer can see a few holes in his story!

Too negative? What a ridiculous premise! There is very little to be positive about COVID19 when at least 5,000,000 people have lost their lives.

Of course it was.

Media has used covid to rabidly attack the Labor states while ignoring the Liberal states making the same decisions. The bias confirms we need 'truth in media' laws. That news 'services' in fact are just propaganda outlets for the Liberals and they employ bloggers not journalists

Given so many articles in MSM are merely reports, or regurgitated Press releases from the Gov. is it surprising when Andrews has 110 + in his media department?

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