Framing risk and responsibility: Newspaper coverage of COVID-19 racial disparities

Abstract

In early April 2020, as states began to release demographic data related to COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, it became clear that Black individuals in the United States were disproportionately impacted by the virus. The current research is a content analysis of stories about racial disparities related to COVID-19 published by U.S. newspapers between April and June 2020 (N = 181) conducted to examine framing patterns. Specifically, the study examined how relative risk was communicated and the causes attributed to the disparity. The overall results suggest mixed progress in terms of how racial health disparities are communicated to the public.