Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 2020 May 21;14(5):e0008256. doi: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0008256. eCollection 2020 May.
In public health emergencies, local media are important sources of information for the public. Not much is known about the professional and personal roles and experiences of Sierra Leonean journalists during the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak between 2014-2015.
METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: This qualitative study is based on semi-structured interviews with 13 Sierra Leonean journalists based in urban Freetown and rural Waterloo in February and March 2016. The majority of the journalists worked for radio stations. The mostly male journalists represented national, regional and local radio stations. Transcripts of the interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. The analysis was inspired by previously reported journalist roles and agenda-setting theory, which state that the media filter what is happening, making a few core issues more salient. Sierra Leonean journalists shifted from being sceptical monitors in the beginning of the outbreak, to collaborative instructors towards the end. While they adapted to different roles, journalists struggled with their own fears for the virus, which hampered their work. They indicated that the training they received about Ebola helped them overcome their fear. Being trained gave a sense of security that helped them carry out their jobs. By turning into instructors, journalists stepped away from their journalistic professional detachment-potentially exacerbated by their personal experiences.
CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The first months of the outbreak were marked by passive agenda-setting roles of Sierra Leonean journalists. It took several months before the outbreak became a core issue in local media. In health emergencies, efforts should be made to partner with local media to use their platforms for local, trusted journalists and leaders to disseminate public health messages. Whereas this might hamper journalists' credibility and can be challenging in areas with problematic press freedom, Sierra Leonean journalists experienced the outbreak as a driver of necessary change in their profession.
在公共卫生突发事件中，地方媒体是公众获取信息的重要来源。在 2014-2015 年埃博拉病毒病（EVD）爆发期间，塞拉利昂记者的职业和个人角色与经历鲜为人知。
方法/主要发现：本定性研究基于对 2016 年 2 月至 3 月在弗里敦市和滑铁卢农村地区的 13 名塞拉利昂记者进行的半结构化访谈。大多数记者在广播电台工作。大多数男性记者代表国家、地区和地方广播电台。访谈记录采用主题分析进行分析。分析受到先前报道的记者角色和议程设置理论的启发，该理论指出媒体过滤正在发生的事情，使少数核心问题更加突出。塞拉利昂记者在疫情爆发初期从持怀疑态度的监督者转变为后期的协作教育者。在适应不同角色的同时，记者也对病毒感到恐惧，这阻碍了他们的工作。他们表示，接受的埃博拉培训帮助他们克服了恐惧。接受培训给了他们一种安全感，帮助他们开展工作。通过转变为教育者，记者摆脱了他们的新闻专业分离——这可能因他们的个人经历而加剧。
结论/意义：疫情爆发的头几个月，塞拉利昂记者的议程设置角色是被动的。几个月后，疫情才成为地方媒体的核心问题。在卫生突发事件中，应努力与地方媒体合作，利用他们的平台让当地、可信赖的记者和领导人传播公共卫生信息。虽然这可能会损害记者的信誉，并且在新闻自由存在问题的地区具有挑战性，但塞拉利昂记者认为疫情是他们职业必要变革的驱动力。
