The New York Times’ Coverage of the Coronavirus Economy

Undergraduate Honors Thesis

Citations

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/undergraduate_honors_theses/1v53jz139

Abstract

This study employed a content analysis of 414 New York Times articles to better assess how the elite news media has covered the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. While prior studies have reviewed economic coverage in the midst of recessions, this study focuses exclusively on the unique COVID-19 circumstances, and how the prominent New York Times newspaper has framed the issue. The study seeks to identify the ways in which the New York Times economic coverage reflects the public’s concerns by looking at the macroeconomic variables that are reported the most frequently—particularly unemployment rates and stock market performance. By exploring the disconnect between the state of the economy, economic news, and the public’s perceptions of the economy, the goal of this project is to seek a better understanding of the news media’s role in society, and, specifically, whether or not they fulfill their duties to their publics during times of crisis. The findings suggested that New York Times coverage of the COVID-19 economy has been largely negative and disproportionally focused on discussion of unemployment.

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