Read on Twitter
NEW COVID-19 research: Our news diary study found widespread public confusion with the UK ‘s lockdown measures across nations and a need for journalists to provide more explicit references to devolved powers: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/covid19/2020/05/22/different-lockdown-rules-in-the-four-nations-are-confusing-the-public/ Thread 1/
Since the UK went into lockdown, 4 nations have managed pandemic differently. In England people are allowed to exercise more freely, with schools possibly opening from 1 June and public health guidance changed from staying home to staying alert. 2/
Since many people across the four nations, especially Wales, continue to rely on either UK-wide or English-produced media for news, the devolved governments have attempted to clarify their health guidance compared to England: https://twitter.com/fmwales/status/1259889777983344641?s=20 3/
Yet our research shows many people remain confused by what social distancing measures they should be following. While we found TV news bulletins accurately communicated the distinction between England and the other nations, many newspapers did not. 4/
Our ongoing study of just under 200 participants asked them whether the UK government, or the UK government and devolved administrations, were in charge of the UK’s lockdown measures. We found half of all respondents incorrectly said the UK government. 5/
We then explored their understanding of UK lockdown measures. We found that most respondents – eight in ten - realised schools could open from 1 June in England. And three in four participants knew they could meet one other friend in a public place in England. 6/
But… although new measures in England allow people to use their car to exercise, six in ten participants did not know that in Scotland and Wales they had to remain in local environment. Nearly a quarter of respondents thought rules about exercising were UK-wide. 7/
We also showed participants the UK government’s new guidance to “stay alert” rather than “stay home” for people in England. In the other nations, the message to stay home remained unchanged, as a politician in Wales pointed out. https://twitter.com/Amanwy/status/1259423349853294592?s=20 8/
And yet, we found only 11 in 20 respondents correctly identified the advert as being relevant to England-only. Almost a third thought it was UK-wide government guidance. 9/
More generally, we asked participants if they felt confident media was giving them correct info about decisions that affect their community. Many acknowledged journalists tried to be informative, but said they felt the media could do more to reflect their local environments. 10/
However, some said unclear government messaging – not media reporting – was responsible for confusion. As one respondent put it: “…the media are only reporting on the information they have been given by the government.” 11/
Many respondents admitted they struggled to understand the UK’s devolved powers. One said: “I am finding it confusing with there being different rules for different areas of the UK so I am not sure if the news I am receiving is totally correct”. 12/
Another observed: “Distinguishing between rules for different parts of the UK has been difficult, with reporters sometimes omitting which rules apply where. These rules should be stated explicitly as to who they apply to.” https://twitter.com/ITVWales/status/1262433287609503744?s=20 13/
Our study also examined how the UK evening bulletins reported different lockdown measures the day after PM’s announcement. All broadcasters carefully used the words “in England” in coverage of the lockdown measures and compared health guidance across nations. 14/
But differences between nations was sometimes subtly rather than explicitly communicated. For example, when ITV News at Ten reported that the PM was relying on British, or should that be English, common sense to maintain a safe social distance 15/
By contrast, many English-produced newspapers reported lockdown measures by either not referencing a nation within the UK, or stating “Britain” or “the UK” without pointing out any differences across the devolved administrations in the headlines. https://twitter.com/DailyMailUK/status/1259585827472117762?s=20 16/
Our previous research showed that when journalists make implicit references to devolved powers, such as “in England”, news audiences do not necessarily realise there are differences across other nations. They needed explicit refs to devolved powers: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1464884917746560 17/
This suggests the news media need to repeatedly and explicitly communicate how different governments across the UK are handling the health crisis in order to enhance public understanding. 18/
Research carried out with @sniksw @Maria_Kyriakid and @mari_morani at @CardiffJomec @cardiffuni @Cardiffuninews and is funded by @ahrcpress 19/ Thread Ends
