Communication Research

Political, Social, and Cultural Determinants of Mainstream Media Activity in the COVID-19 Crisis

Document Type : Crisis Communications

Author

mansour saei

Assistant of Prof.in ihcs, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22082/cr.2025.2042477.2741
Abstract
The aim of the article is to identify and analyze the political, social, and cultural determinants of media activism in the Corona pandemic crisis through analyzing the narratives, experiences, and perspectives of journalists present in the field of the Corona pandemic crisis. This research was conducted with purposive sampling and using a case study method with a semi-structured in-depth interview technique. In-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 30 journalists involved in the Corona crisis. Thematic analysis and Claise coding methods were used to analyze the data from the interviews. The results showed that the political and socio-cultural determinants of mainstream media activism in the Corona crisis are complex and multifactorial. In the political dimension, the macro determinants include three components: "gradual and cumulative social distrust of the efficiency and ability of governance in crisis management", "denial, normalization, and downplaying of the crisis by the government", and "reduced decision-making capacity and lack of timely and effective government response to the crisis", and in the social and cultural dimension, they include: "social media becoming the axis of information and information seeking on the Corona", "transfer of media authority on the crisis to transnational Persian-language media", and "the prevalence of infodemics and widespread information anomalies in social media".

Keywords

Corona pandemic
crisis communication
crisis management
political determinants
social and cultural determinants
mainstream media
Subjects

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  • Receive Date 05 October 2024
  • Revise Date 12 January 2025
  • Accept Date 10 March 2025

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