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Why Is All COVID-19 News Bad News?

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  • Bruce Sacerdote
  • Ranjan Sehgal
  • Molly Cook

Abstract

We analyze the tone of COVID-19 related English-language news articles written since January 1, 2020. Ninety one percent of stories by U.S. major media outlets are negative in tone versus fifty four percent for non-U.S. major sources and sixty five percent for scientific journals. The negativity of the U.S. major media is notable even in areas with positive scientific developments including school re-openings and vaccine trials. Media negativity is unresponsive to changing trends in new COVID-19 cases or the political leanings of the audience. U.S. major media readers strongly prefer negative stories about COVID-19, and negative stories in general. Stories of increasing COVID-19 cases outnumber stories of decreasing cases by a factor of 5.5 even during periods when new cases are declining. Among U.S. major media outlets, stories discussing President Donald Trump and hydroxychloroquine are more numerous than all stories combined that cover companies and individual researchers working on COVID-19 vaccines.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruce Sacerdote & Ranjan Sehgal & Molly Cook, 2020. "Why Is All COVID-19 News Bad News?," NBER Working Papers 28110, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28110
    Note: EH LS POL
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    Cited by:

    1. Philipp Bagus & José Antonio Peña-Ramos & Antonio Sánchez-Bayón, 2021. "COVID-19 and the Political Economy of Mass Hysteria," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-15, February.
    2. Gabriella Y. Meltzer & Virginia W. Chang & Sarah A. Lieff & Margaux M. Grivel & Lawrence H. Yang & Don C. Des Jarlais, 2021. "Behavioral Correlates of COVID-19 Worry: Stigma, Knowledge, and News Source," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-15, October.
    3. Cao, Andy & Lindo, Jason M. & Zhong, Jiee, 2023. "Can social media rhetoric incite hate incidents? Evidence from Trump's “Chinese Virus” tweets," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    4. Aassve,Arnstein & Capezzone,Tommaso & Cavalli,Nicolo’ & Conzo,Pierluigi & Peng,Chen, 2022. "Trust in the time of coronavirus: longitudinal evidence from the United States," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 202203, University of Turin.
    5. Andersson, Ola & Campos-Mercade, Pol & Meier, Armando N. & Wengström, Erik, 2021. "Anticipation of COVID-19 vaccines reduces willingness to socially distance," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    6. Peter Boettke & Benjamin Powell, 2021. "The political economy of the COVID‐19 pandemic," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 87(4), pages 1090-1106, April.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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