Obviously I don't, can't and won't read every single news article about COVID in ZA.

But it occurs to me that both the Sunday Times + other Tiso publications, *and* News24 & M24 publications, seem aligned to some extent in the 're-open the economy' narrative.

What are the consequences when large commercial media outlets core COVID narratives align around:

- Finding -ve stories about the gov's policies/actions (eg: white-owned businesses being discriminated against, the authoritarian nanny state, smoking/alcohol)

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- Or, undermining the state's data and or data transparency by continually promoting counter-narratives or suggesting 'counter experts' (usually pundits not experts) on the science etc...

I'm busy teaching media effects to two groups of students right now. So it's at the fore of my mind anyway. But there really is a pattern in terms of the dominant narrative Tiso and Media24 platforms are pushing. Independent and the TV stations I think are slightly different.

The only text (print) platforms I see with alternative narrative frameworks are @Bhekisisa_MG (I think very factual and motivated by content not another agenda), and @GroundUp_News (which has a social justice motive – not a bad thing and v. necessary).

The @mailandguardian is a mixed bag for me, slightly undermined perhaps by the early scare-graphs – so I might have been less open to noticing later, better work. I should probably go and check it out more.

There are, sometimes, justifiable reasons for a homogenous media narrative about a critical issue – like when the science is in agreement (eg climate change, or vaccines saving lives). But we don't often see that irl. We see capitalist interests driving meta narratives.

It is also dangerous for many reasons when dominant media appear ideologically aligned in the representation of capitalist interests, rather than say on the side of science and public health (to the extent that they create counter-experts to position their ideology as public)

Anyway:

I am noting this & seeing it as problematic.
I am also wondering what motivates the ideology: is it because business models are under threat? Or because they feel individually threatened, and their (middle class, capitalist) bias is leaking out more prominently?

The other danger of this is that people see this narrative framing repeated and prominently, and then people then start to think that this *is* the most important take on the issue & this is the most important framing. (This is textbook media theory, cultivation + agenda setting)

There have been threads/tweets recently from (I think) @doctorow & @comradesipho pointing out that the groups who are pushing a 're-open the economy' narrative are the ones for whom re-opening is low-risk & high return. Whereas, for many others this may be the opposite.

Anyway: I am not seeing the same large media alignment (i.e. all pushing to re-open) in other regions in the same way - maybe in Australia. I think it is worrying, and the imbalance is only going to become more prominent as independent media shut down as $$$ goes.

One of the effects of a hegemonic 'open up the economy' media narrative is that almost all of the COVID reporting we are seeing from these outlets in one way or another supports this objective.

And so we are NOT seeing a whole bunch of other COVID stories.

This was another discussion I had with my students this week: what are the COVID stories we are *not* seeing? And this (to a large extent) answers why we are not seeing them.

Because nuance, in poverty, health/illness, community etc does not really serve the 'open up' agenda.

One of the ways media can provide balance is through diversity of news stories & subjects. We are not seeing this. We are seeing a myopic set of repeats:

- The crowded poor in lines for food.
- Black market cigarettes and booze.

These are stories that support one agenda