Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 12, 2026

Bridging the Technology Divide in the COVID-19 Era: Using Virtual Outreach to Expose Middle and High School Students to Imaging Technology
Published on: September 28, 2022
Making Structural Violence Visible: Assessing the Role of the US News Media in Communicating COVID-19-Related
Shamshad Khan1, Kimberly N Kline1
1Department of Communication, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, USA.
None:
The COVID-19 pandemic revealed stark racial and ethnic disparities in illness and death, exposing decades of neglect and discrimination. While the news media has played a crucial role in calling attention to these disparities, it is important to examine how this information has been conveyed. Drawing on structural violence and news framing analytical frameworks, we qualitatively analyzed early COVID-19 coverage of racial health disparities in two major US regional newspapers: Los Angeles Times (California) and Dallas Morning News (Texas), representing states led by different political parties. An inductive thematic analysis of 75 news articles revealed three key themes: (1) the urgency and demands for comprehensive COVID-19 data disaggregated by race to make visible the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities enabling timely interventions; (2) the pervasive web of structural inequities and systemic racism that functioned as underlying structural drivers of these disparities; and (3) the influence of state-level pandemic policies and the varied public responses shaped by differential access to privilege and race/ethnic identity. Overall, our analysis shows that, despite limited coverage of the COVID-19's impact on racial minorities, both newspapers prioritized community concerns and lived experiences, departing from typical color-blind framing. These findings emphasize the potential of local journalism to amplify marginalized voices and address health crises in their communities (and beyond), while highlighting the persistent need to challenge the ideological foundations of structural racism.
Related Concept Videos
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
Causality in Epidemiology
Principles of Disease Surveillance
Steps in Outbreak Investigation
Barriers to Effective Communication II
Cultural barriers:
Differences in values, beliefs, religion, knowledge, and tradition can significantly impact communication. Awareness of nonverbal cues is critical, especially when conversing with a patient from a different culture. What appears appropriate in one culture may be inappropriate in another.
Semantic barriers:
As a result of their tendency to use...
Investigation of Disease Outbreaks