Metaphorical framing of the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan: A corpus driven critical analysis of war metaphors in news media.

Metaphors are an essential part of how humans process and understand the world. Cognitive linguistics does not view metaphors as merely linguistic or rhetorical devices; rather, they are conceptual in nature and are central to the thought process. Therefore, the present research investigates the metaphorical depiction of the Covid-19 health emergency through the conceptual metaphor of WAR in three renowned Pakistani English Newspapers i.e. Dawn, The Express Tribune, and The News. Critical Metaphor Analysis (CMA) is specifically selected to uncover the covert and possibly unconscious intentions of language users in Newspaper discourse. Fifty (50) editorials on the subject of Covid-19 are specifically chosen and their language is meticulously observed by making a specialized Corpus PakNCovid-19. The size of the corpus is 17621 words. Moreover, Monoconc Corpus Tool is utilized to analyze the metaphorical depiction of Covid-19 as a WAR in Pakistani Newspaper discourse. The study highlights the explicit deployment of military concepts like BATTLE, ENEMY, WAR, SOLDIERS, FIGHT, and VICTORY to create the conception of WAR and to create SELF Vs OTHER distinctions between the Pakistani people and the medical illness of Covid-19. The inquiry demonstrates that to create a sense of urgency and to mobilize masses against the deadly virus, the metaphors of War have been used deliberately. The military concepts have been purposely employed to present Covid-19 as an 'alien', 'outsider', as well as an 'enemy' entity.

Newspaper Representation of Mandatory Vaccination Against COVID-19 for Healthcare Workers in England: A Qualitative Framing Analysis.

In 2021, vaccination against COVID-19 became mandatory for healthcare workers in England. The media coverage of the mandate was extensive and became an issue of public interest. This study aimed to understand the United Kingdom (UK) debate on mandatory COVID-19 vaccination through a framing analysis of UK media coverage. Articles written between November 2021 and April 2022 were identified from UK national newspapers: The Daily (and Sunday) Telegraph, the Times (and Sunday Times), the Guardian (and the Observer), the Independent, the Daily Mail (and Mail on Sunday), the Daily Mirror, the Daily Express, and the Sun. Articles were selected using eligibility criteria before framing analysis was undertaken. The sample included 204 articles. Safe Staffing, Treatment of Staff, Change in Covid Context, and Protect Patient Safety were identified as frames used to stimulate debate on the mandatory vaccination policy. Such frames established three broader concepts in the media: civil liberty theory, duty-based ethics, and social-vulnerability theory. This study analyzed how mandatory COVID-19 vaccination for healthcare workers in England was framed in the UK national media. The broader concepts built in the media heightened debate on the policy, creating a voluminous amount of coverage and criticism that may have played a role in the mandate's reversal.

Health, human rights and freedom at stake? A critical discourse analysis of the Swedish media debate on the national COVID-19 pandemic strategy.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to, in the Swedish media debate, explore the discursive constructions of challenges in human rights and freedoms following the national spatial strategy for health and survival during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: The study, inspired by a critical discourse analytic approach, focused particularly on the issues addressed, subject positions, relations and rhetoric. Seventeen opinion articles published in Swedish national newspapers December 2019 - February 2022 were analysed. RESULTS: The main contents were threats to democracy, threats to the freedom and rights of specific groups, and threats to the debate itself. Contents were expressed through three discourse dichotomies: contribution vs interjection, documented vs alarmistic, and active on the stage vs commenting from the balcony. CONCLUSIONS: Striking about the results is the absence of dialogue, the one-way communication, and the absent politicians. It seems that the analysed debate on the challenges of the Swedish COVID-19 pandemic strategy, based on its impact on overall freedoms and rights, has not been the focus of decision-makers during the pandemic. They have neither addressed the threats highlighted in the articles, nor contributed to the discourse. This is worrying for the long-term maintenance and development of a healthy democracy.

Analysis of issues related to nursing law: Examination of news articles using topic modeling.

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to analyze proposed Korean nursing legislation as depicted in newspaper articles, to highlight issues related to the legislative process for this potential law, and to better understand social awareness regarding this matter. METHODS: The study focused on articles from 11 leading newspapers in Korea, published between February 2020 and August 2023, that pertained to nursing legislation. The articles were retrieved from the BigKinds database. Following text preprocessing, analytical methods including term frequency-inverse document frequency were employed, along with latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), for word and topic modeling analysis. Additionally, LDA was applied across time periods to examine temporal changes in topics. RESULTS: Following preprocessing, a total of 7,967 words were extracted from the 991 articles selected for analysis. The primary themes identified in newspaper articles concerning the nursing legislation were organized into three main topics: 1) the necessity and impact of enactment of the nursing law, 2) the political context surrounding enactment of the law, and 3) the conflicts between and actions of healthcare organizations related to enactment of the law. CONCLUSIONS: The findings confirmed that media coverage regarding the proposed nursing legislation primarily concentrated on the political and social conflicts associated with the law's passage, rather than its necessity and substance. More compelling evidence must be presented concerning the influence of the nursing workforce and the work environment of nurses on patient safety and health outcomes. Additionally, strategies should be devised to improve public comprehension of the nursing law's provisions.

Unveiling viewpoints on national food environment policies in the Dutch newspaper discourse: an interpretative media content analysis.

BACKGROUND: National food environment policies can contribute to the reduction of diet-related non-communicable diseases. Yet, their implementation in the Netherlands remains low. It has been hypothesized that the media can play a pivotal role in inducing spikes in policy attention, thereby shaping political action. The aim of this study was to examine the discourse on food policies in Dutch newspaper articles between 2000-2022, by analyzing arguments used by various actors. METHODS: A systematic search in Nexis Uni was used to identify newspaper articles that covered national-level Dutch food environment policies published in seven Dutch national newspapers between 2000-2022. Covered policies were classified into six domains including food composition, labeling, promotion, prices, provision and retail and into the four stages of the policy cycle; policy formulation, decision-making, implementation, and evaluation. A grey literature search was used to identify food policies implemented during 2000-2022. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize coverage of policies over time, policy type and policy stage. An interpretive content analysis was performed on a random subsample of the newspaper articles to determine the actors, viewpoints and arguments of the food policies. RESULTS: We identified 896 relevant newspaper articles. The coverage of food policies in newspapers was initially low but peaked in 2018/2021/2022. Through grey literature search we identified 6 food policies which were implemented or adjusted between 2000-2022. The majority of the newspaper articles reported on food pricing policies and were discussed in the policy formulation stage. Academics (mainly supportive) were the most and food industry (mostly opposing) the least cited actors. Supportive arguments highlighted health consequences, health inequalities and collective responsibility, whereas opposing arguments focused on unwanted governmental interference and ineffectiveness of policies. CONCLUSIONS: Dutch newspaper articles covering food policies represented a variety of actors and arguments, with individual versus collective responsibility for food choices playing a central role in the arguments. These insights may serve as a basis for further research into why certain arguments are used and their effect on policy attention and implementation.

United States newspaper and online media coverage of artificial intelligence and radiology from 1998 to 2023.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the frequency and content of media coverage pertaining to artificial intelligence (AI) and radiology in the United States from 1998 to 2023. METHODS: The ProQuest US Newsstream database was queried for print and online articles mentioning AI and radiology published between January 1, 1998, and March 30, 2023. A Boolean search using terms related to radiology and AI was used to retrieve full text and publication information. One of 9 readers with radiology expertise independently reviewed randomly assigned articles using a standardized scoring system. RESULTS: 379 articles met inclusion criteria, of which 290 were unique and 89 were syndicated articles. Most had a positive sentiment (74 %) towards AI, while negative sentiment was far less common (9 %). Frequency of positive sentiment was highest in articles with a focus on AI and radiology (86 %) and lowest in articles focusing on AI and non-medical topics (55 %). The net impact of AI on radiology was most commonly presented as positive (60 %). Benefits of AI were more frequently mentioned (76 %) than potential harms (46 %). Radiologists were interviewed or quoted in less than one-third of all articles. CONCLUSION: Portrayal of the impact of AI on radiology in US media coverage was mostly positive, and advantages of AI were more frequently discussed than potential risks. However, articles with a general non-medical focus were more likely to have a negative sentiment regarding the impact of AI on radiology than articles with a more specific focus on medicine and radiology. Radiologists were infrequently interviewed or quoted in media coverage.

Ethical and Policy Issues Arising in Crowdfunding for Solid Organ Transplantation: A Content Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Recipient and Donor Fundraising Campaigns.

BACKGROUND: Solid organ transplantation improves the quality of life for patients but has significant out-of-pocket expenses for donors and recipients in the USA, leading many to utilize crowdfunding for donations to cover expenses. We sought to characterize crowdfunding for transplant patients and to identify ethical and policy issues. METHODS: We obtained newspaper articles that described crowdfunding campaigns for organ transplant patients from Nexis-Uni. Using Nvivo, we identified and analyzed article details, patient characteristics, features of campaigns, additional fundraisers, and policy and ethical issues related to crowdfunding. RESULTS: Most sources were published between 2015 and 2020. Of 231 patients identified, 43% were thoracic organ recipients and 42% were kidney recipients. GoFundMe was the most popular platform. 78% of patients reported at least one intended use of crowdfunding; medical expenses were the most cited reason. Ten percent of articles described at least one ethical or policy consideration related to crowdfunding for organ transplant. Concerns included violations of federal laws prohibiting donors from receiving "valuable consideration" for an organ, taxation of funds, loss of Medicaid or disability benefits, accountability for fund usage, and crowdfunding requirements for organ waiting list placement. In several cases, transplants were delayed due to crowdfunding concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings reveal crowdfunding characteristics and financial barriers present among transplant patients. Furthermore, our study suggests that the ethical and policy implications for crowdfunding in the transplant population are not yet adequately assessed. National regulations and transplant center policies may need to be modified to address issues raised by patient crowdfunding.

[Medical related content in Macao Newsprint in the Late Qing Dynasty].

Macao Newsprint, which was an important tool for Lin Zexu to get acquainted with foreign affairs, was the first translated newspaper in Chinese history. The translation and compilation of news information related to Western medicine in Macao Newsprint was an active attempt by Chinese people to open their eyes to Western medicine. The two pieces of news related to Western medicine in Macao Newsprint, which presented the medical ethics, medical skills and doctor-patient relationship in the Western medicine, are precious historical materials on the exchange of Chinese and Western medicine. The expressions in the two pieces of translated news in which the foreigners might have praised their own medicine had a certain influence on the medical views of the late Qing scholars represented by Lin Zexu, and thus had a positive impact on the dissemination of Western medicine in China.

Furthering racial liberalism in UK higher education: The populist construction of the 'free speech crisis'.

In this article we analyse the constructed 'free speech crisis' associated with higher education (HE) in the United Kingdom (UK). We examine the media discourses from 2012 to 2022 which led to the establishment of a sense of crisis around speech in universities and, ultimately, to the Freedom of Speech Act in May 2023. We undertake a critical discourse analysis focused on the constructions of universities and university students in two major right-wing broadsheet newspapers, The Times and The Telegraph, and in the right-wing magazine The Spectator. We conceptualise the 'free speech crisis' as a discursive formation which is part of broader political efforts of conservative elites to maintain hegemony in Britain. Drawing on populism theory and race critical analyses, we argue that the 'free speech crisis' is an expression of racial liberalism and a placeholder for a deeper white anxiety over the social reproduction of elites in university spaces, and thus over (cultural) hegemony in the public sphere. We understand the desire to regulate 'free' speech in HE as an effort to prevent the emergence of an elite and (counter)hegemony different to the status quo. We make contributions to two emergent and interrelating bodies of literature: firstly, the study of populism in (post)Brexit Britain, and secondly, the study of culture wars, including iterations of the 'free speech crisis' and 'the war on woke'.

First British and Irish Press Reports of Surgical Etherization.

In mid-December 1846, British and Irish newspapers reported the news of surgical etherization far more extensively than previously described. Reports about etherization had appeared at least 20 British and Irish newspapers in the days before Robert Liston's first operations under etherization on December 21, 1846. These reports were based on four separate accounts, 2 of which could be traced to New York, and 1 account had been published in a Parisian newspaper Galignani's Messenger on December 9, 1846.

Representation of older adults in Turkish newspaper reports during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This research investigates the representation of older adults in Turkish newspaper reports during the first national lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey in order to understand the representation and reinforcement of ageism in this context. To this end, fifty newspaper reports from five top-selling Turkish newspapers at the time were selected randomly and analysed using critical discourse analysis for the text producers' linguistic choices in the representations of older adults. The findings show that the older adults were represented predominantly in relation to the lockdown measures and as members of a homogeneous group. They were mainly evaluated negatively as a vulnerable, passive, and at risk group who lacked truthfulness and exhibited unusual behaviour. They were also found to be not among the intended readers of the newspaper reports. This resulted in the infantilisation of older adults and the removal of their agency. Our findings point to the linguistic choices realising these discursive practices in the Turkish context. We argue that these findings follow a trend of representation of older adults in discursive practices and that these practices are instrumental in forming ageist stereotypes and reinforcing age-related bias.

A produção sobre Ciência Aberta na área de Ciência da Informação no Brasil: análise no mapa temático das publicações da Brapci ­ 2015 a 2019 / The production on Open Science in the Information Science area in Brazil: analysis on the thematic map of Brapci publications ­ 2015 to 2019 / La producción sobre Ciencia Abierta en el área de Ciencias de la Información en Brasil: análisis sobre el mapa temático de las publicaciones de Brapci ­ 2015 a 2019

O texto discorre sobre relações entre a Ciência da Informação e o movimento da Ciência Aberta, sob a ótica de artigos científicos identificados na Base de Dados Referenciais de Artigos de Periódicos em Ciência da Informação. Objetiva determinar dimensões, campos e movimentos que se relacionam, estabelecendo um panorama dessa relação com as pesquisas brasileiras no período entre 2015 e 2019 no domínio da comunicação científica. A metodologia é a revisão narrativa de literatura, por meio da aplicação da análise de títulos, resumos e palavras-chave dos artigos selecionados. O campo empírico é composto pelos resultados obtidos pela busca na base, totalizando 36 resultados. Conclui-se que a Ciência da Informação está se relacionando com a Ciência Aberta, observando-se a prevalência de estudos sobre temáticas de dados de pesquisa abertos e sobre repositórios, de acordo com o período observado, como maneiras de aperfeiçoar os fazeres científicos.

The text discusses the relationship between Information Science and the Open Science movement, from the perspective of scientific articles identified in the Referential Database of Journal Articles in Information Science. The objective is to determine the dimensions, fields, and movements related, establishing an overview of this relationship with Brazilian research between 2015 and 2019, in the domain of scientific communication. The methodology employed is the narrative literature review, through the analysis of titles, abstracts, and keywords of selected articles. The empirical field consists of the results obtained through the search in the database, totaling 36 results. It is concluded that Information Science is relating to Open Science, with a prevalence of studies on open research data and repositories, according to the observed period, as ways to enhance scientific practices.

El texto discute la relación entre la Ciencia de la Información y el movimiento de la Ciencia Abierta, desde la perspectiva de artículos científicos identificados en la Base de Datos Referencial de Artículos de Revistas en Ciencia de la Información. El objetivo es determinar dimensiones, campos y movimientos relacionados, estableciendo una visión general de esta relación con la investigación brasileña entre 2015 y 2019, en el ámbito de la comunicación científica. La metodología es la revisión narrativa de literatura, a través del análisis de títulos, resúmenes y palabras clave de artículos seleccionados. El campo empírico consiste en los resultados obtenidos mediante la búsqueda en la base de datos, con 36 resultados. Se concluye que la Ciencia de la Información se relaciona con la Ciencia Abierta, con una prevalencia de estudios sobre datos de investigación abiertos y repositorios, según el período observado, como formas de mejorar las prácticas científicas.

Investigações sobre a visibilidade dada ao usuário de drogas durante a ditadura militar brasileira no acervo da Folha de S. Paulo / Research on the visibility given to drug users during the Brazilian military dictatorship in the Folha de S. Paulo archive / Investigación sobre la visibilidad dada a los usuarios de drogas durante la dictadura militar brasileña en lo acervo de la Folha de S. Paulo

Este artigo traz reflexões com base no acervo virtual da Folha de S.Paulo, identificando representações do usuário de substâncias psicoativas veiculadas pelo jornal no período da Ditadura Militar brasileira, anos notáveis por aspectos políticos, culturais, jurídico-legais e médicos diretamente associados às drogas. Nesse contexto, foram selecionadas notícias sobre o assunto veiculadas pela Folha, dada a sua ascensão nacional, na década de 1960, pela fusão da Folha da Manhã e da Folha da Noite, e como empresa de mídia aliada do governo ditatorial. Para isso, foram feitas consultas ao repositório virtual do jornal usando adjetivos que referenciam quem utiliza substâncias psicoativas: "drogado", "toxicômano", "usuário de drogas", "usuário de entorpecentes", "viciado em drogas" e "dependente químico"). Surgiram duas categorias: saúde e crime. Delas derivam as representações do usuário de drogas. Ao longo do texto, reflete-se sobre os processos de sua visibilidade e estigmatização e a maneira como isso impacta atualmente. Reflete-se ainda sobre o caráter democrático do acesso ao repositório digital do jornal, bem como sobre os atuais movimentos nostálgicos do ufanismo existente no período ditatorial e seus impactos nas políticas de drogas.

This article reflects on the virtual archive of Folha de S.Paulo, identifying representations of psychoactive substance users published by that newspaper during the Brazilian Military Dictatorship, years notable for the political, cultural, legal and medical aspects directly associated with drugs. In this context, news on the subject published by Folha was selected, given its national rise in the 1960s through the merger of Folha da Manhã and Folha da Noite, and as a media company allied with the dictatorial government. To do this, the newspaper's virtual repository was searched using adjectives that refer to those who use psychoactive substances: "drugged", "drug addict", "drug user", "illegal narcotics user", "hooked on drugs" and "chemical dependent"). Two categories emerged: health and crime. The representations of drug users derive from these. Throughout this text, we reflect on the processes of their visibility and stigmatisation and the way in which this has an impact today. We also reflect on the democratic nature of access to the newspaper's digital repository, as well as the current nostalgic movements for chauvinism that existed during the dictatorial period and their impact on drug policies.

Este artículo aporta reflexiones basadas en el acervo virtual de la Folha de S.Paulo, identificando las re-presentaciones de los usuarios de sustancias psicoactivas publicadas por el periódico durante la Dictadura Militar brasileña, años destacados por los aspectos políticos, culturales, jurídicos y médicos directamente asociados a las drogas. En este contexto, fueron seleccionadas noticias sobre el tema publicadas por la Folha, dada su proeminencia nacional en la década de 1960 a través de la fusión de Folha da Manhã y Folha da Noite, y como medio de comunicación aliado del gobierno dictatorial. Para hacerlo, se realizó una búsqueda en el repositorio virtual del periódico utilizando adjetivos que hacen referencia a quien consume sustancias psicoactivas: "yonqui", "toxicómano", "usuario de drogas", "usuario de estupefacientes", "dro-gadicto" y "químicamente dependiente"). Surgieron dos categorías: salud y crimen. De ellas se derivan las representaciones de los usuarios de drogas. A lo largo del texto, reflexionamos sobre los procesos de su visibilidad y estigmatización y la forma como esto repercute en la actualidad. También reflexionamos sobre el carácter democrático del acceso al repositorio digital del periódico, así como sobre los actuales movi-mientos nostálgicos del ufanismo que existió durante la dictadura y su impacto en las políticas de drogas.

Reports on sexual violence published in an online Chinese newspaper: A new frame research.

The leading role of the media is very important in the new media era to build the reporting system and framework of sexual violence crimes, guide people's awareness and public opinion, and improve society's vigilance on sexual crimes. This study took People's Daily Online, a representative online media in China, as a research object to analyse the reporting of sexual crimes over the past 15 years. We conducted relevant searches for specific keywords set in the Python crawler and used IBM SPSS Statistics 19 software to analyse the frequency of relevant content. The results of the research show that, firstly, there have been significant changes in the number of news stories about sexual crimes. Second, the majority of sexual crime news stories are from mainland China. Third, the focus of the news stories and people is relatively concentrated on the perpetrators. Fourth, the People's Daily Online's coverage of sexual crimes focuses on blaming the perpetrators. Fifth, sexual crimes show that the framework is more episodic. This paper examines changes in the coverage of sexual crimes in China and captures how the media cover socially relevant issues, providing important insights for future social health, psychological awareness and diversion, and media policy.

The portrayal of antimicrobial resistance in Bangladeshi newspapers during 2010-2021: Toward understanding the narrative.

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global public health crisis and around the last decade, newspapers were one of the main sources of public dissemination of information for so. This study highlights how Bangladeshi mainstream newspapers represented AMR-related news and how they created the narrative of AMR in Bangladesh. METHODS: We conducted both quantitative and qualitative content analysis on 275 AMR-related news articles published in the twelve highest circulated dailies (January 2010 to September 2021). We divided the articles into report, opinion, and editorials and analyzed how their contents built the narrative of AMR in Bangladesh. RESULTS: Bangladeshi newspapers reported misuse of antibiotics by the consumers the most (32.2%), followed by selling without prescriptions (29%), and over-prescription by the health providers (26.1%). There were hardly any news reports describing the impact of pharmaceutical companies in prescribing and selling antibiotics. Around 45% of the news articles were event-oriented. Moreover, they suggested inadequate recommendations to battle AMR. CONCLUSION: Valid, consistent, and reliable AMR news coverage can play a crucial role in creating mass awareness, making providers accountable, and supporting national action plan in mitigating AMR threat. The Bangladeshi journalists interested in reporting AMR-issues should focus on disseminating more Bangla articles with scientific information, and reporting causes and recommendations responsibly.

Neutrality and impartiality in Midwestern U.S. newspapers: community-oriented newspaper journalists reporting of environmental water problems in agricultural and ranching states.

BACKGROUND: U.S. journalists embedded in rural and agricultural communities could adversely affect the health of residents if they avoid alerting and engaging their readers - farmers, ranchers, and community members - on environmental and health issues. We expected reporters would maintain community status quo and inaction by framing local water pollution and quality issues neutrally deemphasizing threats and solutions to maintain their own credibility as unbiased informational sources. METHOD: In a content analysis of local water quality newspaper articles from five farming and cattle ranching states in the west central U.S. Midwest, we employed seven variables to investigate whether journalists practiced neutral, detached forms of journalism (i.e. dissemination versus interpretative role enactment, government-frame) as well as whether they deemphasized water pollution as a concerning issue (i.e. problem, threat), water pollution solutions, and readers' efficaciousness. RESULTS: The results showed these journalists relied heavily on government-driven narratives presenting water quality issues from an impartial, straight reporting lens in which they primarily followed the journalistic dissemination role enactment, while neglecting to provide readers with interpretative, threat, efficacy, or solution's information. CONCLUSIONS: The study seeks to help communicators understand the information diet people living in this part of the country likely receive on environmental and health risks in the context of water pollution. Communicators seeking to reach and affect audiences in this region should understand local information practices to navigate how to craft culturally specific public health messages.

Media depictions of primary care teleconsultation safety: a thematic analysis of UK newspapers.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the widespread roll-out of teleconsultations across primary care services in the UK. The media's depiction of remote consultations, especially regarding their safety, is not well established. These insights are important: newspapers' coverage of healthcare-related news can influence public perception, national policy, and clinicians' job satisfaction. AIM: To explore how the national newspapers in the UK depicted both the direct and indirect consequences of the remote-first approach on patient safety. DESIGN AND SETTING: We performed thematic analysis of newspaper articles that discussed patient safety in primary care teleconsultations, which were published between 21 January 2021 and 22 April 2022. METHOD: We identified relevant articles using the LexisNexis Academic UK database. We categorised data from these articles into codes before developing these into emergent themes through an iterative process. RESULTS: Across the 57 articles identified, the main safety concern identified was missed and/or delayed diagnoses over tele-appointment(s), while isolated cases of inappropriate prescribing were also reported. The media reported that the transition to a remote-first approach reduced the accessibility to primary care appointments for some groups (especially patients with lower digital literacy or access) and heightened the burden on other healthcare services; in particular, there were reports of patient care being compromised across NHS emergency departments. CONCLUSION: The print media predominantly reported negative impacts of remote consultations on patient safety, particularly involving missed and/ or delayed diagnoses. Our work highlights the importance of further exploration into the safety of remote consultations, and the impact of erroneous media reporting on policies and policymakers.

Discursive trends in New York Times coverage of Evusheld access: A case study in the social production of ignorance.

English-language reporting on the continuing difficulties in accessing Evusheld reflects the marginalization of immunocompromised people in discussions about the public policy response to Covid-19. Moreover, the lack of available data on global Evusheld access, particularly in low-income countries, has emerged as a key form of nonknowledge that must be redressed within public health research. Through examining how knowledge about domestic and global barriers to Evusheld access circulates, and does not circulate, within The New York Times, this paper identifies a case study of the social production of ignorance related to a key issue in the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on science and technology studies, the history of science and media studies, I situate these trends in the context of longer explanatory histories of nonknowledge. First, through a critical discourse analysis of the New York Times' reporting on Evusheld access in the U.S., I trace the individualizing framework evident in many articles to longstanding trends in reporting on health and illness, and to the structural marginalization of immunocompromised people in U.S. Secondly, I argue that the near-total absence of reporting on Evusheld access in low-income countries is consistent with the longstanding structural neglect of health crises in the global south.

"One of the Grand Works of the World": Walt Whitman's Advocacy for the Brooklyn Waterworks, 1856-59.

When the Brooklyn Waterworks opened in 1859, it was one of America's most advanced water and sewer systems. Yet after Brooklyn was annexed by New York City, the waterworks' history slipped into obscurity, despite having a now-famous champion: the "poet of America," Walt Whitman, whose brother worked on the project. This article shows the Brooklyn poet's fierce, multiyear lobbying effort for the waterworks in various newspapers and introduces a wealth of newly recovered Whitman writings on the issue. As a journalist, Whitman exemplifies the nineteenth-century press as an intermediary between expert engineers and popular readers. The poet brought precise expertise, translated engineers' technical arguments into everyday language for his readers, and fought the resulting day-to-day political battles over construction in print. Whitman, then, is an underappreciated case study of the confluence of technology, public health, and local journalism.

US Nationwide Multi-City Media Coverage of COVID-19 Responses: Community Structure Theory, Belief System, and a "Violated Way of Life".

Community structure analysis compared city characteristics and newspaper coverage of state/local government responses to COVID-19 in 25 major U.S. cities, sampling all 250+ word articles from 4/4/20 to 7/6/20. The resulting 588 articles were coded for "prominence" and "direction" (favorable/unfavorable/balanced-neutral coverage), then combined into each newspaper's composite "Media Vector" (range=0.3552 to -0.5197, or 0.8749). Twenty-one of 25 newspapers (84%) displayed unfavorable coverage of local COVID-19 responses. Pearson correlations and regression analysis confirmed a muscular "violated way of life" pattern, when a community perceives itself as threatened by a "biological threat or a threat to a cherished way of life." Political and belief system polarization (in particular percent Evangelical and percent voting Republican) were strongly associated with unfavorable coverage of local pandemic responses, compared to more favorable responses linked to percent voting Democratic or percent Catholic. Vulnerability (percent uninsured) was also linked to negative coverage. Conversely, two different measures of access to healthcare (percent municipal spending on health and welfare, and physicians/100,000) were significantly linked to favorable coverage of the same local government efforts. Community structure theory's grass roots "bottom up" expectations linking community demographics to variations in reporting on critical issues were robustly confirmed.