This study investigates the public perception of whether there is enough coverage of COVID-19 vaccine complications by government agencies and the media. The theoretical rationale is the roles of the hostile media effect and social responsibility theory in the public's perception of the media coverage of COVID-19 vaccine complications. The central question is whether the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the CDC, local health departments, and the major media (cable news, TV news, newspapers, social media) have provided enough information about the COVID-19 vaccine complications to the public. The research method includes three surveys. The first two were administered before the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved the same questions. The first was a November 2022 Qualtrics survey of adults (N = 156) in two politically different counties, Democratic-dominant Dallas County and Republican-dominant Collin County. The second was a paid survey using Survey-Monkey with a national sample of US adults (N = 210) in June 2023. The third survey included adults (N = 130) and used Qualtrics after IRB approval using a university listserv and the Nextdoor app for Collin County, again striving for balance between Republicans and Democrats. Both the Qualtrics surveys were also posted on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter). All three surveys showed dissatisfaction with the government and the media and suggested both a hostile media effect that crossed party lines and a counter-hostile media effect. The conclusion is that the public needs and wants more information, and the media needs to better address its social responsibility for government oversight.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc2332613 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Miller, Geoffrey Marc |
| Contributors | Mueller, James, Paul, Newly, Loftis, Randy |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | Text |
| Rights | Public, Miller, Geoffrey Marc, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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