Death with COVID-19 Symptoms? Framing of Coronavirus news in Bangladeshi
Newspapers
Abstract
This study examines how Bangladeshi media responded in the time of
coronavirus crisis focusing on the issue death with COVID-19 symptoms.
This study analyses the content of 169 Bengali news article from 5
different newspaper published within the timeline of
20th March to 30th May 2020 using
framing theory as the theoretical framework. With the quantitative
content analysis of news reporting this study also discover how media
frame this Corona virus (COVID-19) situation with the words COVID-19
symptoms and some specific symptoms (fever, cough, breathing problem,
isolation etc.). The result suggested that there was not enough
information to link a person death with coronavirus rather it was the
public agenda which media tried to portray with a particular frame. This
study questioned the objectivity and accountability of journalist and
newspaper on the issue of covering news on death with COVID-19 symptoms.
This study also questioned all the statistical record of death with
COVID-19 symptoms in Bangladesh where primary source of data was
newspaper reports published between 20th March to
30th May 2020.