Entre política, mídia e saúde: a mediação da politização da pandemia de covid-19 pelo jornal nacional e o jornal da record

Abstract

A public health crisis of Covid-19 has highlighted not only the relevance of public authorities in coordinating public health but also the influence of their stances and discourses that guide information consumption and consequently population attitudes and behavior. While studies have analyzed the influence of ideologies on information consumption during the pandemic, there is still a need to explore the impacts of the politicization of the pandemic, directly and indirectly mediated by exposure to the two main Brazilian television news programs, Jornal Nacional and Jornal da Record, on the attitudes and behaviors of Brazilians related to the control and prevention of Covid19. We used the Ideological Health Spirals Model (IHSM) to underpin our investigation, which examines the influence of media on the development and maintenance of individual attitudes and behaviors. The analytical strategy was based on structural equation analysis and mediation. The results reaffirm that the politicization of the pandemic by former President Bolsonaro significantly influenced population attitudes and behaviors. They also indicate that a substantial part of this influence was mediated by exposure to the country's two main television news programs. These conclusions underscore the need to consider the intersection of health, politics, and media when facing health crises, highlighting the media's role in shaping collective attitudes during the pandemic.