A Content Analysis Of Reports On The COVID-19 Pandemic In China Daily From The Perspective Of Solutions Journalism

The novel coronavirus pandemic was the most worrying public health incident in early 2020,People are always afraid of the unknown,especially at that time when the medical community knew little about COVID-19.At the beginning of the pandemic outbreak,all kinds of information appeared frequently,social opinions were complex,and negative emotions were widespread in the public.Society had an urgent need for professional information,risk warning,policy interpretation,and guidance to positive emotions.Therefore,it has been very important for Chinese media,especially the mainstream ones,to give reports about the public health emergency quickly and accurately.As a news framework focusing on solving social problems,solutions journalism is dedicated to providing solutions to the public instead of just giving superficial explanations.This paper studied the contents presented in the COVID-19 pandemic reports in China Daily from the perspective of solutions journalism.Subsequently,some suggestions were put forward for Chinese media to report public health emergencies.Content analysis was used as the main research method in this paper,and the period of study started on December 8,2019,and ended on December 8,2020.A total of 510 valid report samples related to the COVID-19 pandemic in China Daily were analyzed from five aspects,including quantity,sources,themes,genres,and locations.Then four categorial criteria of solutions journalism were applied to assess the sample reports,namely consciousness to solve problems,the relevant measures,the solutions’effects,and solutions core.Results showed that China Daily exhibited a certain awareness of solving problems when reporting the COVID-19 pandemic,and practical solutions were addressed as the core of these reports.However,these samples were unsatisfactory in terms of the effects of the proposed solutions.This imported theory is better understood for its feasibility in China by studying China Daily,one of the mainstream media in China,from the perspective of solutions journalism.Besides,other Chinese media could benefit from the reports of Ch ina Daily when reporting similar public health emergencies.