It’s an axiom of the news industry that bad news sells, and over the past year, there’s been plenty of bad news about COVID-19. But a study has found that news coverage of the pandemic has been consistently more negative in the U.S. than elsewhere.
A team of researchers led by a Dartmouth College economics professor examined tens of thousands of articles about COVID, and found nearly 90 percent of U.S. originating material had a negative tone, compared to 50-60 percent of articles with their origins in scientific journals or international outlets. He called the results “depressing.” Courtesy WBUR/Boston.