Public Information, Traditional Media and Social Networks during the COVID-19 Crisis in Spain

Antonio Baraybar-Fernández, Sandro Arrufat-Martín and Rainer Rubira-García
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Antonio Baraybar-Fernández: Ciencias de la Comunicación y Sociología, Campus de Fuenlabrada C.P., Rey Juan Carlos University, Camino del Molino 5, 28942 Madrid, Spain
Sandro Arrufat-Martín: Ciencias de la Comunicación y Sociología, Campus de Fuenlabrada C.P., Rey Juan Carlos University, Camino del Molino 5, 28942 Madrid, Spain
Rainer Rubira-García: Ciencias de la Comunicación y Sociología, Campus de Fuenlabrada C.P., Rey Juan Carlos University, Camino del Molino 5, 28942 Madrid, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-14

Abstract: This research presents a diachronic study of the information given about COVID-19 by the main Spanish mass media through their accounts on social networks. The time frame of the analysis ranges from 1 March to 21 June 2020. Data were collected from the days prior to the proclamation of the state of alarm in Spain, in order to observe the growth in the demand for information about COVID-19, and ended on the day that the Spanish government allowed mobility between provinces and, consequently, the expiration of the alarm. It begins with a quantitative and qualitative analysis, the results of which allow us to explain the demand for public information, the degree of interest in the news and the level of interaction that developed. By adapting the Kübler-Ross model, it has been possible to identify the different stages of this public health and communication crisis in relation to public information and media sustainability. It has established the effectiveness of Facebook as an information platform with direct links to news, superior to other networks; the users’ predilection for issues of a social nature over political and technical–health issues; or the relationship found between the rate of publication of messages and the number of deaths from COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; mass media; news consumption; pandemic; public debate; social media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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