“They Are Not Expendable”: Older Adults in British Columbia News Media During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
Ever since the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 pandemic, public health has featured prominently in news coverage. Older adults, who face disproportionate physical and psychological risks from the virus, have received considerable media attention. The current study thematically analyzed 62 text-based articles from British Columbia news outlets during a two-year period (January 2020 - January 2022). Social theories of ageism were used to examine results. Both indirect ageism and anti-ageist oppositions were observed. Older people were rarely interviewed, and very few racialized individuals were represented in reports. Intergenerational relationships and programs designed to increase social connections appeared regularly in the sample. Media organizations should continue to eliminate ageism from its content and educate the public on its impacts, as well as improve diversity in coverage.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Published articles are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, adaptation, and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited. The author retains copyright of their work. By submitting the work to this journal, the author agrees to grant the journal a non-exclusive right to publish the submission.