INSIGHT ON COVID-19 PHENOMENA IN THE INITIAL PHASE MAINSTREAM INDIAN VS. PAKISTANI NEWSPAPERS

Abstract

The mysterious COVID-19 phenomenon has become an infodemic. This study aims to understand the communication phenomenon of the devious virus critically. Employing thematic analysis and framing theory, the study analyzed the editorials of Dawn and the Hindustan Times published from March 1, 2020, to March 31, 2020. After rigorous mining of the data, using open and axial coding, four major themes came out, which are (1) Shutting down the country, (2) COVID-19 and economic trauma, (3) Health management challenges, and (4) countering the infodemic. The findings indicated that most editorials added to people's knowledge about COVID-19. The editorials informed the policy-makers and citizens on pandemic issues like the need for lockdown, severeness of infectious disease, drastic consequences on the global economy. This study is an addition to the COVID-19 communication literature that helped decode the COVID-19 communication phenomenon from Pakistani and Indian newspapers' perspectives.