Research design for a comparative analysis of the media coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic

Resumen

This paper presents the design of a comparative research project on the media reporting of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the first phase, the research will compare the contents of different types of media outlets based on their ownership structure and ideology (both traditional media and social networks) in four countries (USA, UK, Spain and the Netherlands). In the second phase, it will compare the results of media reporting between countries. The project is based on the theoretical perspectives of the pragmatics of the public sphere and the political economy of communication. A systematic method of content analysis has been designed to identify the problems that the media address in terms of the causes, management and consequences of the pandemic. In addition, the protocol of content analysis will allow studying the framing of these problems. The sampling procedure is also described in the paper.