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key findings and analysis","","Examines how U.S. mainstream news coverage of the novel coronavirus developed during the first 100 days of 2020, describing three distinct waves from an initially distant account in China to coverage of a virus reaching the United States and finally a broad “news tsunami.” Uses a large dataset of 125,696 stories from 66 outlets to map peaks and valleys, links coverage magnitude to Covid-19’s wide impact and demand for updates, and frames the work as reclaiming information agency amid overwhelming media attention.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/the-shape-of-the-coronavirus-news-story-key-findings-and-analysis/586637/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/the-shape-of-the-coronavirus-news-story-key-findings-and-analysis/586637.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Angel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-06","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What were the three waves of U.S. coronavirus coverage during the first 100 days of 2020?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Coverage shifted from an early, distant problem in China, to reporting once the virus reached the U.S., and then to a later period characterized as a broad “news tsunami” across many sectors.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Which news websites published the most stories early in 2020?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Business Insider, Fox News, CNN, The Washington Post, and New York Post were among the most active outlets, and Business Insider published about twice as many coronavirus stories as The New York Times in the early months.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How was the analysis of coverage conducted?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The study used a three-step research process and analyzed 125,696 news stories from 66 outlets from January 1 to April 9, 2020, plotting story counts over time to visualize the wave pattern.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},586637,1792208840,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},687207412472,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","The shape of the coronavirus news story  \nAlison J. Head, Steven Braun, Margy MacMillan, Jessica Yurkofsky, and Alaina C. Bull  \nKEY FINDINGS  \n1. U.S. news coverage about the novel coronavirus developed in three distinct waves during the 􀁿rst 100 days of 2020: as a distant problem about a mysterious disease in China, as a virus that had reached the U. S. , and lastly, as a news tsunami in the 􀁿elds of business, health, politics, sports, and entertainment.  \n2. The news websites posting the most stories about the coronavirus included Business Insider, Fox News, CNN, The Washington Post, and New York Post. Suprisingly, Business Insider published twice as many coronavirus stories as The New York Times during the early months of 2020.  \n3. The magnitude of the coronavirus coverage is attributable to the far-reaching impact of Covid-19 on Americans and their hunger for updates and answers. As news outlets responded to the demand for news and the coverage evolved, stories spread across a vast and varied news landscape and were, in turn, ampli􀁿ed and re-circulated on social media platforms and by other news outlets.  \nIntroduction  \nThe 􀁿rst month of 2020 was dominated by news about the U. S. Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, bush􀁿res in Australia, and the death of basketball great Kobe Bryant. Buried deeper in the news 􀂀ow were reports of a mysterious 􀂀u spreading through China, turning urban landscapes into strangely empty places. To the Americans who followed this story, this threat seemed safely distant.  \nBut by the end of March, Covid-19 had struck New York City and wreaked havoc across the country.1 Stories about outbreaks 􀂀ooded social media and news sites as shelter-in-place orders brought the [U.S. to](U.S. to) a halt. The pandemic consumed our attention as we struggled to make sense of a story that was both global and immediately personal. For many news consumers, the constant coverage proved both overwhelming and di}cult to follow.2  \nIn this two-part series from Project Information Literacy (PIL), we [explore U.S. media](explore U.S. media) coverage of the Covid-19 outbreak during the 􀁿rst 100 days of 2020. In the 􀁿rst report, we examine the shape and 􀂀ow of coronavirus coverage across time and digital spaces by using a large sample of stories from a range of news sources; in the second, we analyze how a sample of photos from 12 news outlets visually represented the story.  \nThe purpose of this special series is to examine how mainstream news outlets responded to a rapidly changing story as it exploded into the largest global health crisis in a century. The coronavirus story has continued to unfold as newsrooms are shrinking, and news organizations across the country have announced pay cuts, furloughs and layo|s, making it more di}cult for journalists and photojournalists to cover the story,3 and for the public to access reliable information that it needs.4  \nUltimately, our series is about reclaiming information agency: The ability to exert some control over the torrent of news about Covid-19 in order to remain critically informed at a time when one’s life may depend on it. We present empirical 􀁿ndings for examining how news stories and visuals shape our understanding of the world, and how  \nmedia messages – the written word and visual storytelling – in􀂀uence what we see and learn, what we think, and 6  \nwho we are.5 Learning resources accompany these reports as ways to build news and visual literacy competencies.  \nThe shape of news  \nThe mainstream news coverage of Covid-19 followed a pattern similar to that of many major international stories. It began with a few short items about a faraway problem, gained momentum as the economic and public health e|ects began to hit home, and eventually eclipsed all other news. The news story about what medical o}cials 􀁿rst called a “novel coronavirus” has continued to loom larger than other disaster stories.  \nAt the time of publishing this report (mid-Septemb","cbCairFntb0Xy14a","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCairFntb0Xy14a","pdf",5227504,17,"English","# Key findings\n## Three waves of U.S. coverage in the first 100 days of 2020\n## Major news outlets and coverage magnitude\n## Why the coverage grew and spread\n# Introduction\n## From distant threat to nationwide disruption\n## Purpose of the two-part series\n# The shape of news\n## How the story evolved over time","[{\"question\":\"What were the three waves of U.S. coronavirus coverage during the first 100 days of 2020?\",\"answer\":\"Coverage shifted from an early, distant problem in China, to reporting once the virus reached the U.S., and then to a later period characterized as a broad “news tsunami” across many sectors.\"},{\"question\":\"Which news websites published the most stories early in 2020?\",\"answer\":\"Business Insider, Fox News, CNN, The Washington Post, and New York Post were among the most active outlets, and Business Insider published about twice as many coronavirus stories as The New York Times in the early months.\"},{\"question\":\"How was the analysis of coverage conducted?\",\"answer\":\"The study used a three-step research process and analyzed 125,696 news stories from 66 outlets from January 1 to April 9, 2020, plotting story counts over time to visualize the wave pattern.\"}]","The shape of the coronavirus news story - key findings and analysis | PDF",1792058695,43]