One area of opportunity for research is to gain a more precise understanding of how these communications evolve in the hands of public health professionals like those at the CDC and how they evolve into fragmented news media—which scientists see as one of the most persuasive publicly available sources of health information (Gunther, 1998; Viswanath & Emmons, 2006; Lee & Basnyat 2013). Although political parties in power may shape or influence authoritative strategy, speed, or velocity of communication (visible in the Trump administration's silencing and undermining of the CDC in the midst of COVID-19) (Desikan, MacKinney, & Goldman, 2020; Weiland, 2020), health authorities— as opposed to the media—is best served by prioritizing strong relationships and rebuilding trust between the public and the media with an emphasis on transparent, science-based messaging (Pollard & Davis, 2021). But to understand how these messages "mutate" in the communication process between the authorities and the media, a review that examines how the messages are translated into reporting is crucial.
Moreover, the frames used by journalists in covering the news varied based on the specific epidemic and focused mainly on conflict (in the case of mad cow disease, due to the geopolitics of affected countries negotiating economic bans) or security (also in the case of mad cow, likely as a result of the proximity of potential health effects to beef consumers in the United States, as well as political attention from the beef industry) (Ibid). One of the earliest examples, a 2009 study in the International Journal of Public Opinion Research, analyzed "frame flow" between the U.S. This presents an opportunity for future research to gain a more complete understanding not only of .. the communication pipeline or “flow frame” between health authorities and the news media, but also on the specific effects of polarization both on health messages in the news media and on the perception of public health authorities and expert guidance.
Media advisories, in CDC's use, are specifically provided to the media as advance notice of future information dissemination via live telebriefing.
RESULTS
- Relying on Science and Data (149 total uses): The CDC relies on scientific evidence and data in its decision making about the COVID-19 vaccine
- Communicating Timely, Reliable Information (84 total uses): The CDC
- Using Phased Approaches (53 uses): The CDC uses an iterative, phased approach in its guidance, recommendations and orders/policies related to the pandemic and COVID-19
- Not Communicating Effectively (18 total uses): The CDC at some point bungled or continued to bungle communication to the American public about the COVID-19
- Misinterpreting or Misrepresenting Science (10 total uses): The CDC at some point misinterpreted or misrepresented scientific evidence or data in messaging to the
- Creating Vaccine Barriers (8 total uses): The CDC at some point actively contributed to vaccine hesitancy, anti-vaccination sentiment, or other barriers to vaccination
Box Title Core Key Message Example Phrases/Terms Addressing Health Disparities CDC Addresses and Solves. Protection of Public Health CDC considers the protection of public health in its mission and activities. Relies on science and data (149 total uses): CDC relies on scientific evidence and data in its decision-making about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Using phased approaches (53 uses): The CDC uses an iterative, phased approach in its guidance, recommendations, and orders/policies related to the pandemic and COVID-19 guidance, recommendations, and orders/policies related to the pandemic and COVID-19 vaccination rollout. The CDC did not issue contradictory frames in its own press release; Thus, conflicting frames were only found in articles published by CNN or Fox News. Not Communicating Effectively (18 Total Uses): The CDC has at some point botched communications to the US public about the COVID-19 or continued to confuse communications to the US public about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Misinterpreting or misrepresenting science (10 uses total): The CDC at some point misinterpreted or misrepresented scientific evidence or data in communications to the misinterpreted or misrepresented scientific evidence or data in communications to the. Creating Vaccine Barriers (8 uses total): The CDC has at some point actively contributed to vaccine hesitancy, anti-vaccination sentiment, or other barriers to vaccination. To understand how these key messages mutated between CDC press communications and news media coverage, Tables 4 and 5 present a frequency analysis of positive and negative key message frames organized by communicating group.
Total frame usage per article reflects the total number of frame applications divided by the total number of cases analyzed across all groups. In Table 5, CDC articles are not included—because no CDC content contained negative messages about CDC. Frequency of Negative Key Message Frames by Frame Title Communication Group CNN (N=54) Fox News (N=39) All (n=93).
DISCUSSION
To further dissect these top-line findings, I categorized an in-depth reading of the text by dominant frame, or key message, used by the CDC. Contextually, the CDC used "hope" as a method to manage public expectations in response to its messages related to its reliance on scientific evidence. The second most dominant frame categorized CDC's emphasis on strategically communicating to the American people timely guidelines and recommendations relevant to the COVID-19 vaccine.
For example, multiple releases included promises that the CDC “will continue to provide more guidance…” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021b). At events such as school guidance, CNN also quoted experts or quoted officials on opinions that the CDC's communication was not effective. However, some key items captured by the search parameters were markedly and surprisingly different in tone, highlighting the lack of trust in the CDC and the disagreements held by outside experts.
Through this analysis, one of the most common devices used by the CDC in it. In its announcements and statements, the CDC often used phrases such as "interim guidance" or referred to the "prime phase" of the pandemic in which the U.S. most directly, the CDC would frame its messaging about the vaccine explaining that certain strategies were .
This type of warning framework is evident in the CDC's release marking the one-year anniversary of the pandemic, shortly after the release of evidence-based guidance for being fully vaccinated. An interesting finding from this in-depth content analysis was the discovery of a common motivational phrase used by the CDC in many of these releases and statements, often involving language referring to the "end of the pandemic." But the CDC has routinely used "end of the pandemic" language to contextualize its key messages, including in the release marking the one-year anniversary of the outbreak, in which Director Walensky notes, "This pandemic will end.
CONCLUSION
In fact, this study found that direct encouragement or advocacy from the CDC was relatively uncommon. Since public relations tactics are judged as effective based on the extent to which these tactical messages are picked up by the intended recipient, it appears that the CDC was largely effective in spreading its framing in the news media, regardless of partisan leanings. In terms of the most frequently applied dominant positive frames, CNN matched the order of the most common dominant frames created by the CDC.
This suggests a more synchronous relationship between the CDC and the left-leaning news media, compared to Fox News — which showed a slight preference for prioritizing safe school reopening over specifics in Using Phased Approaches, and published stories with about twice as many negative frames as CNN . Most of the negative key messages released by Fox News were related to the CDC not communicating effectively or misinterpreting or misrepresenting science about the COVID-19 vaccine. In terms of limitations and suggestions for future research, this study only examined time-limited online content from CNN and Fox News that was directly correlated with press releases.
Future research would benefit from studying a broader, more contextual analysis of the news coverage of the COVID-19 vaccine or the external CDC press releases about the vaccine (such as in news briefings or press appearances unrelated to officially recorded press releases). In addition, the CDC Morbidity and Mortality Report (MMWR) would be a rich source for future analysis given its frequent citations in news media not included in this analysis. Finally, this study is also limited to content published within 5 days of a corresponding CDC news release, with the rationale of favoring short-term news coverage over long-term references to past guidance, given how often CDC frequently updated its guidance and recommendations related to The COVID-19 vaccine.
From a theoretical perspective, this study used Framing Theory by examining framing devices, categories and codes as they emerged in CDC communication – and not as they emerged in the news media (which downstream communication through the CDC could have influenced). Future work that builds on the concept of two-way frame changes between authorities and the news media will provide valuable context for this study. As noted, this study relied on an inductive coding approach rather than a deductive application of preexisting framing devices in the literature.
Redfield on the signing of the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee's recommendation for the use of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine in people 16 years of age and older.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Walensky, MD, MPH, Observing the Pandemic's One-Year Milestone.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC and NIH make self-testing for COVID-19 available to residents in two locations.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC issues updated travel guidance for fully vaccinated persons | CDC Online Newsroom | CDC." Www.cdc.gov. FDA and CDC Lift Recommended Ban on Use of Johnson & Johnson's (Janssen) COVID-19 Vaccine After Full Safety Review." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Director's Statement on Pfizer's Use of COVID-19 Vaccine in Adolescents Age 12 and Older." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC Vaccine Advisors Vote to Recommend Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine in United States.” CNN. The effect of generating gains versus losses on economic and health prospects of different COVID-19 interventions: trial integration. CDC's Walensky Pressed on School-Distancing Guidelines: 'You Have to Do It Now.'” Fox News.
Promoting vaccination against COVID-19: The interplay of message framing, psychological uncertainty, and public agency as a message resource. Scientific communication. Declining Trust in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Www.Rand.Org. Effect of Framing and Communication of Risks of COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effects on Adult Vaccine Intentions in the UK and US: A Structured Review of a.
