"Only a Plane Ride Away": Toward a Comprehensive Model of News Coverage of Epidemics

• In Event: Risk Communication and Health

Abstract

In the face of increasing need to study news coverage of serious disease epidemics as they travel from continent to continent, the purpose of this paper is to review three existing models of epidemic news coverage. The models include various conceptualizations of how stages of epidemic coverage evolve and change (e.g., Adelman & Verbrugge, 2000; Ungar, 2008; Wald, 2008). Moreover, most offer the vital consideration of how blame is ascribed, which is crucial in understanding how audiences may be able to allay some of their fear or distance themselves from the epidemic. In reviewing existing models, I suggest how closely related concepts included in each might be modified to develop a more parsimonious framework for examining media coverage of disease outbreaks. Such a model could be useful for journalists, public health practitioners, and policymakers to better convey messages about epidemics in the future.

Author

• Julie L. Andsager, U of Tennessee