Role of the Media

The unquestionable function of the media to inform truthfully, parallel to everyone's right to information, could be qualified in cases of pandemics for reasons of health and social stability. Both politicians and health professionals could confuse the social function of the media with the need to reassure the population, resorting to the concealment of certain facts. Crespo and Garrido (2020), however, remind us that, in crisis communication, although it may be a temptation for those in power to minimize the scope or seriousness of the situation in order not to cause alarm or panic among the population, it is usually the wrong strategy. The media, for their part, in line with politicians, can present the facts with frames that favor alarm or tranquility, and not only for reasons of public health, as we shall see, but also for political reasons and even against public health.

The important role of conventional media in health campaigns and in the Covid-19 crisis has been sufficiently demonstrated (Brown, 2020; Feo-Acevedo & Feo-Istúriz, 2013). Digital media are also considered to be very useful: the European Commission, in its recommendation adopted on April 8, 2020, proposes the convenience of using social networks as complementary communication channels to traditional media such as television and the press, the two media of reference in other health crises (Costa-Sánchez & López-García, 2020). 66.84% of the total news about Covid-19 appeared in Spain (indexed in the My news database) were published in digital media (Lázaro-Rodríguez & Herrera-Viedma, 2020).

There is no doubt about the current importance of digital environments as scenarios for journalistic work and the representation of public health issues (Cano-Orón, Vengut-Climent, & Moreno-Castro, 2020). The main traditional media have their different pages on the Internet, and in Spain we have prestigious digital native media, but the urgency required on the network and the tendency to respond to the demands of immediacy and traffic generation, can jeopardize the confirmation of veracity of the news and compliance with the quality protocol (Lotero-Echeverri, Romero-Rodríguez, & Pérez-Rodríguez, 2018). Numerous authors warn not only of misinformation (misinformation) on Covid-19, due to carelessness or incompetence, but also of disinformation with intent to mislead (disinformation) in digital native media and social networks (O'Connor and Murphy, 2020; Pennycook et al., 2020; ) (Montesi, 2020; Tasnim, Hossain, & Mazumder, 2020).

Infodemia, or the situation of fear and insecurity generated by overexposure to news (whether false or true), in the coronavirus crisis (Giménez et al., 2020; ) (Cinelli et al., 2020; Hu, Yang, Li, Zhang, & Huang, 2020) constitutes fertile ground for disinformation and political propaganda at the international (Gradoń, 2020; Kosmehl, 2020; Sukhankin, 2020) and national (Branco, 2020; Mayor-Ortega & Pardo-Torregrosa, 2020; News, 2020) levels.

The role of the Spanish media in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic was discussed at the virtual meeting of Dircom (Association of Communication Managers) convened by Nacho Cardero, director of El Confidencial (Dircom, 2020). There it was made clear that information saturation and the proliferation of hoaxes and fake news hinder its function of distributing rigorous and truthful information, considered of prime necessity. Cardero admitted, however, that in Spain, although at first there was a kind of cordiality when it came to covering information, in which the media focused on the health crisis, as the days went by, they became somewhat indolent and shifted the focus of attention to the economic crisis, focusing on the thousands of unemployed, to later prioritize coverage of the political crisis.

A similar trend has been verified in our study focused on three national print media: El País, El Mundo and La Vanguardia. It compares the front pages of the three newspapers during March and April 2020 to analyze how each one approaches the Covd-19 crisis; whether it conveys a sense of alert or of unjustified calm, and to what reasons the possible bias in the framing may be due.

Framing in the coverage of the crisis

Framing theory is, according to McCombs, Shaw, and Weaver, directly related to agenda setting theory, and could be considered as an extension of it (Scheufele, 1999). Framing can be defined as a process in which some aspects of reality are selected and given greater emphasis or importance, so that the problem is defined, its causes are diagnosed, moral judgments are suggested, and appropriate solutions and behaviors are proposed (Entman, 1993). This framing process is accomplished by careful selection of the vocabulary and syntax used in discussions, or by presenting contexts (visual or informational) that will elicit certain interpretations by the audience. (Dobson & Knezevic, 2018). In the case of the press, this careful selection of text and images is even more evident on the front pages, hence our choice for this study.

According toArdèvol-Abreu (2015) the development of framing research in Spain has undergone a rapid evolution from the mid-sixties to the present. Framing not only places the analysis on the issuers of information, but the framing is located in four elements of the communication process: the sender, the receiver, the (informative) text and the culture. Along the same lines, Muñiz Muriel states that when we are working with the Agenda Theory, it tells us why certain topics are selected or not, when we are working with the Framing Theory what it tells us is why we transfer to the citizenship and public opinion one vision and not another of that topic, why we emphasize one point of view and not another, why we propose one approach and not another, why we emphasize one framing and not another. We agree with Muñiz Muriel that framing does not stop at the news production process, but allows us to go much deeper into the understanding of the content that is being conveyed to the public and allows us to detect the real impact it is having (Muñiz-Muriel, 2014).

Framing theory, which was born in the context of psychology and interpretative sociology (Sádaba, 2001), is predominantly applied in communication studies to the informative function of the media, and more specifically to political and electoral information.Carter (2013) analyzes the research carried out on frames and framing and offers us examples of three areas where the use of framing is most common: in politics, in sports and in epidemics. In cases of pandemics, such as the one we are dealing with here, the sensationalist bias of the tabloids and social media is joined by the bias induced by emotion in the audience. According to DeStefano (2020), fear makes us more susceptible to believing false statements and adopting potentially problematic, hostile or fearful attitudes towards those around us, statements and attitudes that in turn reinforce our fear and increase the cycle.

Lerner, Gonzalez, Small, and Fischhoff (2003) already demonstrated how fear and hatred change our beliefs and attitudes about issues of national interest, something that seems to have been taken well into account lately in political campaigns such as Brexit and the election of Trump (Gabbatt, 2016; Norris & Inglehart, 2019).

In public health crises it is not so easy to distinguish the line between informing and frightening, it is not so easy to know when the news helps, harms or alarms (Chechik, 2020). Professionals wonder how to convey relevant information without falling into sensationalism or causing panic, and how to combine frames that convey the seriousness of the situation with those that aim to attract attention (Civeris, Watkins, Rashidian, & Thielman, 2020).

The news treatment of Covid-17 in the sensationalist media has given rise to an epidemic of hoaxes and alarmist rumors that exponentially feed the pandemic of disinformation in the era of post-truth, fake news, deep fakes and "alternative truths", to the point of leading UN Secretary General António Guterres, when recently presenting the Verified initiative, to state: "We cannot cede our virtual spaces to those who traffic in lies, fear and hate" (News, 2020).

Regarding the coronavirus, AGiménez et al. (2020) have identified three types of fake news: those related to health and supposed advice to prevent or cure the disease (the majority); political news, referring to supposed government measures or specific actions of a leader; and those related to supposed administrative decisions that affect the daily life of the population. Let us remember that disinformation does not necessarily obey someone's intention to deceive the audience, but can also be involuntary, depending on the values, beliefs and the conceptual framework from which the issuers look at and frame the world (Nogués, 2018).

We live, according to Amorós (2020, p. 20), "immersed in the crossfire of a war of fake news that battles to impose a vision of the world while, from journalism and thought, we try to fight against them". News -according to the author- has ceased to be an instrument for the dissemination of knowledge and the construction of a story according to facts and not opinions. News that contribute to "the construction of emotional narratives that frame reality according to an ideology and prejudices" (ibidem) predominate.

Also other authors, such as Qin (2015), observe important differences between the way an event is framed in traditional media, with more control by professionals, and the way it is framed by social media, while others such as Elias (2018), for example, faced with Trump's victory despite his "bad press", wonder whether traditional media, which mostly spoke out against the candidate, will not have lost power in the face of the networks.

Dobson and Knezevic (2018) maintain that one and the other feed back, reinforce and, therefore, the same discourse is reproduced, including stereotypes. In any case, the interrelation and mutual influence is unquestionable. It is easy to see how any trending topic or news that triumphs in social networks is usually also picked up by the media. In this sense, it could be said that the impact of social networks on the population conditions the topics and agenda of the media, but it should also be borne in mind that much of the information gathered and disseminated on social networks is taken from the media.

On few occasions is the social responsibility of both the media and social networks more evident than in the coverage of crises, disasters and emergencies, since in times of confusion and infoxication the public may give the same credibility to hoaxes as to official sources (Mayo-Cubero, 2020). It is up to the most prestigious media not only to maintain their credibility but to counteract the negative influence of fake news with public service information based on contrasted facts and framing as objective as possible. Since the onset of this health crisis, news has become a valuable resource for citizens and the traditional media have regained prominence. According toCasero-Ripollés (2020) government agencies and media news inspire more confidence in the audience than information from social networks, where scientists are not usually found among influencers.

Nor can one fall into the error of associating hoaxes with social networks, and assume that the most truthful information is found in official sources and the media.Hao and Basu (2020) caution that, although social media contribute to misinformation, they have also been an important source of verified information about Covid-19. Social media in China, with its anecdotes and reports, has served journalists around the world to get a more accurate picture of what is happening in China, while also serving to force the government itself to improve reporting. A similar role is played by the networks in the case of Hungary, where the government, in a new attempt to put an end to freedom of expression, has used the coronavirus as an excuse to suppress the independent media and turn the pro-government media into an instrument of propaganda in its favor (Urbán, 2020). In Venezuela, according to Canelón- Silva and A (2020), the Government has created a favorable narrative in the pro-government media that influences the perception of facts by appealing to the emotions of the audience.

The evaluative nature of the news

The first approach to objectivity in the treatment of information is carried out by analyzing the evaluative nature of the news. As shown in Table 3, neutrality is present in half of the news items analyzed (50.5%), in 36% of the cases the evaluation is negative and the remaining 13.4% positive. When deciphering the thematic areas in which there is more neutrality in their treatment, we find international news, as would be expected, with 70.6% located in impartiality. In this same sense, the news about the government's management stands out, with a greater neutrality than that obtained by the sample as a whole. In the negative section, the economic news items stand out with a higher proportion, and in the positive section, the news items on the progress of the virus.

Source : Own elaboration.

Next, we test whether all the newspapers have maintained the same margin of impartiality in their news treatment. For this purpose, we compare the evaluative nature of the set of news in the three newspapers. As can be seen in Table 4, the position maintained by the three newspapers analyzed differs from each other, and the differences are statistically significant (Chi-square = 52.660; l.g.=4 sig. =.000). The newspaper El País maintains a higher proportion of a positive assessment of the events than the other two newspapers, while showing less of the negative side of the news. On the other hand, the newspaper El mundo clearly maintains a greater negative view of the contents covered on its front pages, to the detriment of the news with a neutral approach. La vanguardia maintains a greater proportion of neutral stance and less presence of negative approaches, as does the newspaper El país.

Source: Own elaboration.

Approaches present in the news

The incidence of the approaches used in the content analysis is described below, the results of which are shown in Table 5. 46.5% of the news items analyzed were subjective in nature. The comparison between media evidences a clear association of sensationalism in the newspaper El Mundo, six out of ten news items published in this newspaper contain at least two elements linked to this interpretative framework. Meanwhile, La Vanguardia stands out for making a significantly more moderate use of this resource.

Within the alarmist framework, a third of the news items (29.6%) are framed, in which, once again, the newspaper El mundo stands out with the highest incidence of emergency calls in the treatment of information (42.1%). Once again, the newspaper La vanguardia resorts less frequently to this threatening framing.

The reassuring tone of the messages is found in 15.5% of the news items, with El País being the newspaper that most frequently resorts to calls for calm (26.6%), as opposed to El Mundo, which less frequently adopts these positive keys in its messages.

The attribution of responsibility to the government is evident in 21.7% of the news items. In this approach, El Mundo stands out significantly with a frequency of 37.9%, while both El País and La Vanguardia significantly lower this level of attribution.

Finally, the defense of the government is identified in 11.5% of the information analyzed and there are no statistically significant differences between the three newspapers, although there is a tendency in El País to address more frequently this defensive stance towards the management of the Executive.

Source: Own elaboration.

It was found that the alarmist approach appears more frequently linked to economic news, 56.9% of the economic news evoke messages associated with fear; this relationship is statistically significant (Chi-square = 44.145; l.g.=7 sig. =.000). In contrast, the reassuring approach is more associated with news about the advance of the virus; although this relationship does not reach statistical significance, this tendency can be seen in Table 6.

Source: Own elaboration.

In order to examine whether the messages are constructed in an alarming or reassuring tone with the intention of harming or favoring the government, a contingency analysis was carried out to test the simultaneous concurrence of both approaches. To this end, we identified how many of the news items classified as alarmist coincide in attacking the Government (block 6), and how many of the reassuring ones reflect, in turn, a defense of the Government (block 7). This analysis has been carried out independently in each newspaper.

News with an alarmist approach is significantly associated with attacks on the government in the newspaper El Mundo, and in 55.7% of the news items with this approach there is also some reference to the government as being responsible. The Contingency coefficient obtained is 0.298, indicating a moderate and statistically significant association between both interpretative frameworks. In the other two newspapers, the independence of the attribution of responsibility to the executive and the alarm key is observed. On the other hand, when the news adopt the reassuring approach, there is also a defense of governmental decisions; this relationship is significant in the three newspapers. The contingency coefficient is 0.235 for El País, 0.392 for La Vanguardia and 0.481 for El Mundo.

Source: Own elaboration.

The veracity of the alarm and the tranquility in news with the same approach

The study is completed with a qualitative evaluation of the facts narrated in the news items treated with alarm or tranquility in order to assess the need for such framing. It is observed that some of the news items that the three media have treated with alarmism include negative and extraordinary facts that could justify such framing, such as the situation of Spanish hospitals -especially the collapse of ICUs-, the paralysis of all essential activity, the loss of 900,000 jobs in Spain, the over 10,000 deaths and the numerous fatalities in old people's homes.

News about contagions among health workers, the situation of workers and companies, the decline in GDP or the lack of an educational agreement to manage the paralyzation of schools also coincide in the alarmism. Figure 1 shows an example of the alarm story in the three media, highlighting (as mentioned above) the contribution of photographs to its construction.

Source: El país, El mundo, La vanguardia.

The seriousness may not be justified in news about the conflicts between Pedro Sánchez and Pablo Casado, in the criticism of the opposition and autonomous regions to the Government or in the pro-independence attitude of Quim Torra in the face of the crisis.

The news events recorded in the three newspapers always with a reassuring approach are: the arrival of retired doctors and students to reinforce the health system, the announcement of the Government's subsistence plan in the face of economic collapse, the decrease in hospitalizations, the increase in the number of recovered patients and the successive relief of the ICUs, as well as the announcement and the release of children to the streets and the reactivation of professional activity. All of these could be considered good news.

Figure 2 shows how the optimistic recovery figures highlighted by the three media are overshadowed by the cover images chosen:

Source : El país, El mundo, La vanguardia.

The veracity of alarm and reassurance in news stories with different focus

The qualitative evaluation ends with a comparison of the news in which at least one media outlet presents an alarmist or reassuring frame, while another presents an approach contrary to the first or of a neutral nature.

As can be seen in Figure 3, the problems of sanitary material are dealt with calmly in El país, differing from El mundo. This tendency is repeated in El Mundo, which opts for a frame of indignation, and in La Vanguardia, which advocates neutrality. El país includes, in general, few references to the lack of sanitary material. It is noteworthy that on its March 18 front page it blames "La sanidad, incapable of carrying out the necessary tests", alluding to the professional sector and not to the Ministry of Health, as does La vanguardia: "Sanidad rectifica y volverá a hacer pruebas a casos leves" and, with greater insistence, El mundo.

The country also offers peace of mind when dealing with the circumstances of workers, unlike La vanguardia (Figure 3). This polarization does not justify any approach.

Source: El país, El mundo, La vanguardia.

El País reflects positively the polemic CIS of April "88% of those polled by the CIS ask for support to the Government" and El Mundo denounces the questions of the study, with the headline: "The Government uses the CIS to justify the censorship of the media". None of the frames is objective.

It can be seen that El País also unnecessarily reflects alarm in other news items, such as the distribution of patients among autonomous regions: "The autonomous health systems do not help each other to relieve the ICUs" as opposed to the neutrality employed by La Vanguardia: "Sanidad se plantea el reparto de pacientes entre autonomías" (Health system considers the distribution of patients among autonomous regions).

El Mundo reveals, as noted above, a sensationalist tendency in its alarm messages that reflects more indignation and anger than fear towards the events, as seen in its communication of the "ALARM IN DEFERRED" status on March 14, focused on the criticism of Pedro Sánchez and 8-M, while the other media pick up the measure.

If El País focuses on the hospital crisis with few references to the delay of protective material: "Spain exceeds 1000 deaths with ICUs in Madrid overflowing"; El Mundo insists on blaming the Government, placing itself in the alert and, again, in indignation: "The ICUs collapse but Health still does not guarantee the material", or "Treasury helps the Autonomous Communities in the face of the logistic chaos of Health". Days later, the same trend will be adopted with the imposition of masks in the so-called "economic unhibernation".

The evolution of the virus is objectively reported in El País: "The epidemic spreads", and La Vanguardia: "The virus leaves the streets deserted", but is transformed by El Mundo into an explicit attack on the Government for the late response to the coronavirus: "45 days of lack of foresight and passivity that allowed the virus to strike. The Government's management step by step. Doctors alerted on January 30 and there was no reaction". It vindicates (Figure 4) the official mourning and reflects differences with El País in its account of the pact between the Government and the Partido Popular.

Source : El país, El mundo, La vanguardia.

The avant-garde reflects, on occasions, more forceful approaches than those chosen by the other media, without any harmful or beneficial reference to third parties, but also without a justified treatment of gravity.