What We Convey When We Talk About Public Health Crisis: A Case Study of Global Media Coverage of COVID-19 Using Big Data Approach

This article addresses the urgent need for a comprehensive understanding of the global media coverage of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by conducting a massive-scale analysis using the Global Database of Events, Language, and Tone. With a dataset encompassing 53,967,878 news items from 4,708 online news sources across 67 countries, the study spans the entire trajectory of the pandemic from the first reported case on December 31, 2019, to September 11, 2020. The analysis aims to surpass the limitations of previous research by offering a worldwide perspective on COVID-19 media coverage over a significant timeframe. Additionally, the paper explores the intricate relationships between media portrayals and the epidemiological situations in primary countries. By examining the media's impact on public perceptions, the study contributes valuable insights to the ongoing discourse on COVID-19, addressing the limitations of prior research and emphasizing the importance of a nuanced and expansive approach to understanding the role of media in the context of global health crises.