Educate, Empower And Protect People Through Timely Authentic Information: Explore How Bangladeshi Newspapers Response To COVID-19 Pandemic

This study analyzed the coverage of the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) news by three prominent Bangladeshi dailies named The Daily Star, The Daily Kalerkantho, and The Daily Ittefaq. The research aimed to explore the attention cycle of the selected newspapers about this ongoing outbreak. It also identified the significant differences in framing and used sources in the news stories by respective daily newspapers. The study period was 10 weeks from February 1 to April 10, 2020, considering the Global Health Emergency declaration by the World Health Organization on January 30, 2020, and the announcement of the pandemic on March 11, 2020. This research applied the content analysis method on 761 news articles. The study shows that these three newspapers gave more attention after the pandemic announcement. This study also revealed that The Daily Star emphasized on attributing responsibility to the government and statistical data frames. On the other hand, The Daily Kalerkantho highlighted the individual's responsibility frame. The Daily Ittefaq concentrated on the economic consequence frame. Regarding the news sources, The Daily Star significantly used more sources from government officials. In contrast, The Daily Kalerkantho relied more on experts, and The Daily Ittefaq frequently used international sources. Due to time limitations, this study only covered the early stage of COVID-19 in Bangladesh. So more samples with a more extended period might clearly illustrate the focus of print media regarding this pandemic. Journalism and media studies students, academicians, and journalists will be most beneficiaries of this study. As appropriate framing helps to build awareness and in-depth knowledge of the community as well as policymakers, print media should pay more attention to proper framing.