News reports turn older Covid victims into ‘casualties of conflict’

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-04-01 03:00

New Zealand

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Scientists analysing media reports say that COVID-19 has made the deaths of older New Zealanders newsworthy. They say it’s a departure from the typical sentiment 'if it bleeds it leads', which sees more news reporting on younger and traumatic deaths. The authors conclude that journalists played an important role in justifying the ‘go hard and go early’ approach through compassionate coverage of older people’s deaths.