School of Public Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
BMC Public Health. 2011 Mar 24;11:181. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-181.
Health officials face particular challenges in communicating with the public about emerging infectious diseases of unknown severity such as the 2009 H1N1(swine 'flu) pandemic (pH1N1). Statements intended to create awareness and convey the seriousness of infectious disease threats can draw accusations of scare-mongering, while officials can be accused of complacency if such statements are not made. In these communication contexts, news journalists, often reliant on official sources to understand issues are pivotal in selecting and emphasising aspects of official discourse deemed sufficiently newsworthy to present to the public. This paper presents a case-study of news communication regarding the emergence of pH1N1.
We conducted a content analysis of all television news items about pH1N1. We examined news and current affairs items broadcast on 5 free-to-air Sydney television channels between April 25 2009 (the first report) and October 9 (prior to the vaccine release) for statements about [1] the seriousness of the disease [2] how the public could minimise contagion [3] government responses to emerging information.
pH1N1 was the leading health story for eight of 24 weeks and was in the top 5 for 20 weeks. 353 news items were identified, yielding 3086 statements for analysis, with 63.4% related to the seriousness of the situation, 12.9% providing advice for viewers and 23.6% involving assurances from government. Coverage focused on infection/mortality rates, the spread of the virus, the need for public calm, the vulnerability of particular groups, direct and indirect advice for viewers, and government reassurances about effective management.
Overall, the reporting of 2009 pH1N1 in Sydney, Australia was generally non-alarmist, while conveying that pH1N1 was potentially serious. Daily infection rate tallies and commentary on changes in the pandemic alert level were seldom contextualised to assist viewers in understanding personal relevance. Suggestions are made about how future reporting of emerging infectious diseases could be enhanced.
卫生官员在就未知严重程度的新发传染病（如 2009 年 H1N1（猪流感）大流行（pH1N1））与公众进行沟通时面临特殊挑战。旨在提高认识并传达传染病威胁严重性的声明可能会被指责为危言耸听，而如果不发表此类声明，官员们可能会被指责为自满。在这些沟通背景下，新闻记者通常依赖官方消息来源来了解问题，在选择和强调官方话语中被认为具有足够新闻价值向公众呈现的方面方面发挥着关键作用。本文介绍了 pH1N1 出现的新闻传播案例研究。
我们对所有关于 pH1N1 的电视新闻进行了内容分析。我们检查了 2009 年 4 月 25 日（第一份报告）至 10 月 9 日（疫苗发布前）期间在 5 个免费播出的悉尼电视频道播出的新闻和时事节目，了解有关[1]疾病严重性的声明[2]公众如何最大程度地减少感染[3]政府对新信息的反应。
pH1N1 是 24 周中的 8 周的主要健康新闻，20 周中排名前 5。确定了 353 个新闻项目，产生了 3086 个分析语句，其中 63.4%与情况的严重性有关，12.9%为观众提供建议，23.6%涉及政府的保证。报道重点是感染/死亡率、病毒传播、公众保持冷静的必要性、特定群体的脆弱性、直接和间接为观众提供的建议以及政府对有效管理的保证。
总体而言，澳大利亚悉尼对 2009 年 pH1N1 的报道通常不是危言耸听的，同时表明 pH1N1 可能很严重。每日感染率统计数据和对大流行警戒级别变化的评论很少被置于上下文中，以帮助观众了解个人相关性。就如何加强对新发传染病的未来报道提出了建议。
