Taking a stand on not taking a stand: media bias in the online reporting of COVID-19

Abstract

This thesis was written to examine the digital communication strategies of three major news organizations when reporting on COVID-19 in the U.S. for bias. The research looked at social media posts, online article counts and themes, main websites of each organization and audio/visual broadcast segments from all three organizations posted online. This research used an advocacy approach, examining the tension between entertainment and journalism ethics by holding news organizations to journalism standards to see how they compare. Results showed that NPR and Fox News produced more online articles than MSNBC and linked to their own articles on twitter more. The audiovisual content from MSNBC and Fox News did not follow the code of ethics created by the Society of Professional Journalists. All three organizations used biased methods for providing information to the public, during a time period where public knowledge is key to managing a pandemic.