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Exploring the use of constructive journalism techniques in Covid-19 health reporting by Bhekisisa and Spotlight (February to December 2020)
Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
2026
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| _version_ | 1867614010478690304 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Hoek, Sarah Ruth |
| author2 | Jordaan, Marenet |
| author_browse | Hoek, Sarah Ruth Jordaan, Marenet |
| author_facet | Jordaan, Marenet Hoek, Sarah Ruth |
| author_sort | Hoek, Sarah Ruth |
| collection | Thesis |
| dc_rights_str_mv | Stellenbosch University |
| description | Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/136065 |
| institution | Stellenbosch University (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:45:13.990Z |
| license_str | Other — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| publisherStr | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | SUNScholar — Stellenbosch University Repository |
| spelling | oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/136065 Exploring the use of constructive journalism techniques in Covid-19 health reporting by Bhekisisa and Spotlight (February to December 2020) Hoek, Sarah Ruth Jordaan, Marenet Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Dept. of Journalism. Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2026. Hoek, S. R. 2026. Exploring the use of constructive journalism techniques in Covid-19 health reporting by Bhekisisa and Spotlight (February to December 2020). Unpublished masters thesis. Stellenbosch: Stellenbosch University [online]. Available: https://scholar.sun.ac.za/items/b05b53ff-43ed-4b03-9e88-647113bdfe77 Health journalism plays a vital role in the public’s understanding of health issues. During a health crisis, people rely on health journalism that provides accurate information that can inform their behaviour and decision-making. During the Covid-19 pandemic, health journalists were tasked with informing the public about the progression of the virus, prevention and treatment measures, and the pandemic’s impacts on society. Negative news has been shown to have negative effects on mental health and cause news avoidance. Constructive journalism is an approach to newsmaking built on positive psychology that seeks to mitigate these negative effects while remaining true to journalism’s main functions. The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of and need for health journalism that does not simply report but empowers audiences in the face of a global crisis. Considering this, this study explored how constructive journalism may be used to report responsibly in a public health crisis. This study explored how health journalists from two South African health publications, the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism and Spotlight, reported constructively on the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Data were gathered from articles on the Covid-19 pandemic published by these publications during 2020 and semi-structured interviews with five journalists whose articles on the pandemic had been published by Bhekisisa or Spotlight during 2020. The articles and interviews were qualitatively analysed. Constructive journalism was employed as a theoretical framework and used to analyse the data. Six constructive journalism elements were identified in the articles to various extent. Constructive journalism elements were particularly noted in the communication of Covid-19 prevention, the translation of science into lay terms, and the inclusion of human narratives. The interviews with journalists contextualised their approaches to health reporting, and constructive journalism elements were observed in these discussions. The journalists highlighted the extraordinary circumstances they were working in and the importance of their work, and their responses reflected a need for constructive journalism elements. Based on the findings of this study, the inclusion of constructive journalism elements in health reporting is recommended, as well as further investigation into audience responses to such journalism. Masters 2026-04-21T12:51:43Z 2026-04-21T12:51:43Z 2026-03 Thesis https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/136065 en Stellenbosch University 101 pages : ill. application/pdf Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| spellingShingle | Hoek, Sarah Ruth Exploring the use of constructive journalism techniques in Covid-19 health reporting by Bhekisisa and Spotlight (February to December 2020) |
| title | Exploring the use of constructive journalism techniques in Covid-19 health reporting by Bhekisisa and Spotlight (February to December 2020) |
| title_full | Exploring the use of constructive journalism techniques in Covid-19 health reporting by Bhekisisa and Spotlight (February to December 2020) |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the use of constructive journalism techniques in Covid-19 health reporting by Bhekisisa and Spotlight (February to December 2020) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the use of constructive journalism techniques in Covid-19 health reporting by Bhekisisa and Spotlight (February to December 2020) |
| title_short | Exploring the use of constructive journalism techniques in Covid-19 health reporting by Bhekisisa and Spotlight (February to December 2020) |
| title_sort | exploring the use of constructive journalism techniques in covid 19 health reporting by bhekisisa and spotlight february to december 2020 |
| url | https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/136065 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hoeksarahruth exploringtheuseofconstructivejournalismtechniquesincovid19healthreportingbybhekisisaandspotlightfebruarytodecember2020 |