COVID-19 Media Coverage Analysis

March – April 2020

Key Findings
This report analyzes weekday media coverage on COVID-19 for March and April of this year. It relies on
38,600 media reports, both text and TV/radio. The results are displayed as five-day rolling averages. Key
findings highlighted below:
• Discussion has shifted from closures to openings in recent weeks. In early March, media coverage
focused heavily on the closure of borders, businesses, and schools as the scope of the pandemic became
apparent. This coverage has dropped off in the past month and been replaced by a focus on plans for re-
opening the economy.
• Concern about loans, rent, and jobs has increased over time. Talk of an economic recession has
been significant and surged in late March as businesses were forced to close.
• A spike in concern about ventilator supply has tailed off in the past month. Discussion of masks and
social distancing measures, in contrast, have remained steady and continue to be notable topics in
COVID-19 coverage.
• Discussion of testing has been steadily increasing in recent weeks. As focus shifts to reopening,
there is a renewed focus on the need for adequate testing to prevent future spikes in COVID-19 cases.

1
Discussion Of Opening Has Surpassed Discussion Of Closing
MENTIONS IN MEDIA (WEEKDAYS, 5-DAY ROLLING AVERAGE) OPEN CLOSE

300

250

200

150

100

50

0
03/08 03/15 03/22 03/29 04/05 04/12 04/19 04/26
DATE
SOURCE: FLAG MEDIA ANALYTICS 2
Mentions Of Loans, Rent, And The Economy Are Increasing

MENTIONS IN MEDIA (WEEKDAYS, 5-DAY ROLLING AVERAGE) RENT LOAN ECONOMY

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0
3/8 3/15 3/22 3/29 4/5 4/12 4/19 4/26

SOURCE: FLAG MEDIA ANALYTICS DATE 3

Recession Concerns Remain Elevated

MENTIONS IN MEDIA (WEEKDAYS, 5-DAY ROLLING AVERAGE) RECESSION DEPRESSION

120
110
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
03/08 03/15 03/22 03/29 04/05 04/12 04/19 04/26
DATE
SOURCE: FLAG MEDIA ANALYTICS 4
Discussion Of Ventilators Has Decreased Sharply, After
Spiking At The End Of March
MENTIONS IN MEDIA (WEEKDAYS, 5-DAY ROLLING AVERAGE) VENTILATOR
MASK
160
SOCIAL DISTANCE
140

120

100

80

60

40

20

0
03/08 03/15 03/22 03/29 04/05 04/12 04/19 04/26

SOURCE: FLAG MEDIA ANALYTICS

DATE 5
After Peaking In Early April, Concerns About Hospital Bed
Availability Have Declined
MEDIA MENTIONS OF HOSPITAL BEDS (WEEKDAYS, 5-DAY ROLLING AVERAGE)

22
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
03/08 03/15 03/22 03/29 04/05 04/12 04/19 04/26
DATE
SOURCE: FLAG MEDIA ANALYTICS 6
The Conversation On Testing Is Trending Back Up After
Falling In Late March
MEDIA MENTIONS OF TESTING (WEEKDAYS, 5-DAY ROLLING AVERAGE)

200

150

100

50

0
03/08 03/15 03/22 03/29 04/05 04/12 04/19 04/26
DATE
SOURCE: FLAG MEDIA ANALYTICS 7
About Us
• Hamilton Place Strategies (HPS) is an analytical public affairs consulting firm with offices in
Washington, D.C., New York, and California.

• We integrate substantive analysis with communications and believe a deep understanding

of business and economics leads to more effective public engagement and better
outcomes for our clients.

• Our approach combines analytical rigor, topical expertise, and creative thinking to improve
understanding of the issues facing our clients.

• Flag Media Analytics (FLAG) is a next-generation news monitoring service designed to

inform the decision-making cycle for media engagement and improve planning, feedback,
and reporting for public affairs and communications teams.

• FLAG delivers real-time alerts directly into the inboxes of those engaging and responding
to media every day. Our team of dedicated media analysts is trained in the latest media
aggregation tools and conducts hands-on analysis to deliver the news and insights clients
need to make more informed decisions.

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