Pandemic News Experience: COVID-19, News Consumption, Mental Health, and the Demand for Positive News

COJO for COVID Recovery is a UKRI/AHRC-funded rapid COVID-19 response research project that addresses the role that constructive journalism (COJO), particularly solution-focused journalism, can play in the pandemic recovery. The research set out in this report details the findings of the project’s initial in-depth interviews and survey with UK news audiences. Four key sets of findings regarding COVID-19 news consumption and experience emerge from this analysis. 1. The high interest in COVID-19 news was associated with the need to monitor and navigate the uncertain evolution of the pandemic as it affected audiences. 2. There was a clear fluctuation that followed “an inverse Bell curve” (up-down-up) pattern of COVID-19 news consumption which was in parallel with the severity of the pandemic and its associated lockdown restrictions. 3. Many of our participants reported switching off from the news or avoiding it for reasons linked to mental and emotional health, including negativity, repetitive reporting and information overload. 4. Participants demanded the media provide more positive news that helps to lift the mood of the public and/or offers ways out of the pandemic