Introduction: Global Perspectives on Journalism and the Coronavirus Pandemic

ABSTRACT

The coronavirus pandemic has cast a shadow over the lives of everyone in the world during the past two years. It has brought about dramatic and sudden changes in the ways we live and work across all realms of society, including in journalism. In this introductory article, we contextualise the special issue on “Global perspectives on journalism and the coronavirus pandemic.” The special issue reflects the rich global diversity of responses and experiences of journalism to the coronavirus pandemic. It encompasses contributions reflecting journalists’ and audiences’ experiences in Belgium, Eastern Europe, Germany, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Russia, Slovenia, Sweden, and the UK. Taken together, the contributions published in this special issue demonstrate the resilience of journalism and its adaptability to change. Yet they also show that if the pandemic constituted a critical moment, it was one which amplified threats to journalism that were already present. But the pandemic also showed the continued importance of journalism, as news organisations furnished audiences with vital information and helped to facilitate cohesion and solidarity.

KEYWORDS:

• Coronavirus
• Covid-19
• global
• international
• journalism
• journalism practice
• pandemic

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.