ABSTRACT

The COVID-19 pandemic currently ravaging the world has brought massive disruptions to every facet of life. However, a crisis can present revolutionary change and growth opportunities for both individuals and institutions. This study is a cross-country study that examines the disruptions and opportunities that the pandemic has wrought to mainstream news reporting practices. Utilising data from Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe, we seek to answer the question: in what ways did the pandemic disrupt news production, and what opportunities to the mainstream media did the pandemic open? To answer this question, we utilise in-depth interviews with practising journalists and draw on the interaction of Schudson‘s sociological view of news production and Bourdieu‘s field theory. We note that the pandemic disrupted news sourcing routines in ways that compromised the quality of news production. Paradoxically, amidst this disruption, we notice that media–state relations and trust in mainstream media improved dramatically. This makes us argue that the pandemic represented an opportunity for mainstream media to “reset” their existential purpose, considering how they revitalised their relations and how they reclaimed declining trust in them. We conclude that COVID-19 may have breathed a new lease of life into a declining journalism industry.

摘要

目前席卷全球的 COVID-19 大流行给生活的方方面面带来了巨大的破坏。然而，危机可以为个人和机构带来革命性的变革和成长机会。这项研究是一项跨国研究，调查了大流行对主流新闻报道实践造成的破坏和机会。利用博茨瓦纳、南非和津巴布韦的数据，我们试图回答这个问题：大流行以何种方式扰乱了新闻生产，大流行为主流媒体带来了哪些机会？为了回答这个问题，我们利用对执业记者的深入采访，并借鉴舒德森的新闻生产社会学观点和布迪厄的场域理论的相互作用。我们注意到，大流行以损害新闻制作质量的方式扰乱了新闻采购程序。矛盾的是，在这种混乱中，我们注意到媒体与国家的关系和对主流媒体的信任显着改善。这使我们认为，考虑到他们如何重振他们的关系以及如何恢复对他们日益下降的信任，这场流行病代表了主流媒体“重置”其存在目的的机会。我们得出的结论是，COVID-19 可能为衰落的新闻业注入了新的活力。考虑他们如何重振他们的关系，以及他们如何恢复对他们日益下降的信任。我们得出的结论是，COVID-19 可能为衰落的新闻业注入了新的活力。考虑他们如何重振他们的关系，以及他们如何恢复对他们日益下降的信任。我们得出的结论是，COVID-19 可能为衰落的新闻业注入了新的活力。