Media, Social Proximity, and Risk: A Comparative Analysis of Newspaper Coverage of Avian Flu in Hong Kong and in the United States

This study uses the psychometric paradigm (Renn Slovic, 1992 Slovic , P. ( 1992 ). Perception of risk: Reflections on the psychometric paradigm . In S. Krimsky & D. Golding (Eds.), Social theories of risk (pp. 117 – 152 ). Westport , CT : Praeger . Google Scholar) as an analytic framework to analyze the risk dimensions being conveyed in media coverage of Avian flu in Hong Kong and in the United States between 2003 and 2007. A quantitative content analysis of The New York Times and South China Morning Post stories showed different patterns of avian flu related risk content coverage. The differences revealed that dimensions related to dreadfulness, catastrophic potential, uncertainty, and unfamiliarity were more emphasized in The New York Times than in South China Morning Post. The authors discuss the implications.