Abstract

This article studies the news coverage of the pandemic generated by Covid-19 in public broadcasting in Spain and France. Through analysis of the headlines, sources used and a study of their statements, it reflects on the mediatization of this crisis during its first wave in two Mediterranean countries. The study of the news coverage of this global health crisis in two public media responds to the importance of the media in a time of infopandemic. The corpus, comprising news on Covid-19 or coronavirus on RTVE.es (17 031) and Francetvinfo.fr (14 492), broadcast between January 15 2020, and 15 June 2020, was selected through quantitative analysis. Once counted, 70 units were randomly selected in each medium for in-depth content analysis. The results show that, in both cases, coverage of the pandemic in the first wave conveyed a large amount of information every day. However, the increase in news items does not always coincide with the increase in deaths or infections but rather responds to specific events related to the pandemic (such as states of alarm, de-escalation, etc.). For preference, government sources are used, alternating, especially in the French environment, with expert and health sources. The story, both from sources and that of the journalists, varies depending on the evolution of the pandemic.

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