The analysis and report below was compiled by the Media-Data Research Consortium (M-DRC) leveraging the television news annotation dataset created under the M-DRC's Google Cloud COVID-19 Research Grant "Quantifying the COVID-19 Public Health Media Narrative Through TV & Radio News Analysis.”
There are significant differences between three leading U.S. cable TV news networks in their coverage of the looming threat of the COVID-19 “UK variant” B.1.1.7. The differences are evident in the number of times the variant was mentioned in the on screen text, number of expert medical doctors interviewed and – perhaps most importantly – in the time devoted to segments with those medical experts. CNN has covered the UK variant 4x as much as its peers MSNBC and Fox News combined, with 3 times the number of interviewed medical experts, addressing what the FCC has called the critical information needs of communities.
CNN
19 Medical Doctors
3,299 seconds of segments devoted to MDs discussing UK variant
MSNBC
4 Medical Doctors
299 seconds of segments devoted to MDs discussing UK variant
Fox News
2 Medical Doctors
510 seconds of a segment devoted to a MDs discussing UK variant
The Threat Of The COVID-19 UK Variant To the US
There is rising concern that not enough attention in the U.S. is being paid to the faster spreading and currently most prevalent of the COVID-19 variants, the “UK” variant B.1.1.7. Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH in a recent podcast and interview likened the risk to the U.S. of a UK variant infection as a “Category five hurricane” and that "everything points to the threat being severe and needing preparation actions right now” with "everything governors and mayors are doing right now is going to help this virus basically take off. So my conclusion right now is not to prepare for a possible Category five hurricane would be irresponsible.”
Also in a letter to the White House, the CDC Director and Dr. Fauci, “Immediate Action is Needed to Address SARS-CoV-2 Inhalation Exposure,” Osterholm and other leading experts stated, "unless strengthened precautionary measures are implemented, the new variants will likely bring an explosion in new infections."
In addition to increasing medical risks, these new “successful” mutations are challenging policy makers to consider revising vaccination regimes and their messaging to a public already suffering exposure to a COVID-19 infodemic of false or misleading information. First Draft is empowering journalists and other public health communicators with resources to help them give citizens reliable guidance. Twitter has recently enhanced its approaches to flag or remove COVID-19 misleading information. However, little attention is being given to identifying and addressing underreporting of important public health developments. Our research flags one such void, a significant difference between cable news network coverage of the rapidly evolving potential threat of the UK variant. We also demonstrate the utility of quantitative analytic approaches, and tools, for identifying other discontinuities in reporting of consequential public health news.
Methodology
The on-screen text of every frame of every second of CNN, MSNBC and Fox News programs, from December 1, 2020 through February 26, 2021 was analyzed using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) available via the AI TV Explorer, built on top of The Internet Archive’s TV News Archive. An OCR search was made for the coincident on-screen appearance of the abbreviation “Dr” AND ("uk" or "united kingdom" or "B.1.1.7") OR either of these words ("variant" or "mutant" or "mutation" or "strain"). Search results revealed segments during which medical doctors were being interviewed about the UK variant. The words appeared in lower third text strips (Chyrons) often used to identify the name, title and affiliation of an interviewee.
The AI TV Explorer search results include the date/time of every second OCR search terms are detected, and thumbnails of each detection which are linked to relevant portions of each program playable through the TV News Archive. We inspected each occurrence and used the TV News Archive interface to mark the beginning and end of each relevant segment during which a physician was interviewed about the UK variant. Physician names and affiliations displayed in the Chyrons were recorded along with the durations of each of these precision reference quotes. See Table 1 for counts of the OCR detections (in seconds), number of individual doctors appearing and the duration of each relevant interview segment. Links to the video in the TV News Archive of each interview segment quoted are presented in Appendix I.
Results
CNN has presented more than 3 times the number of experts and 4 times the air-time devoted to medical doctor commentary regarding the UK variant than MSNBC and Fox News—combined.
| Cable TV News 12/1/20 – 2/26/21 | |||
| MD’s Commenting on SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 "UK Variant" | |||
| AI TV Explorer search 12/1/20 – 2/22/20 | seconds on-screen OCR detection of search terms | Number of Individual Dr's commenting on UK variant | Seconds of air time of segments devoted to Dr's addressing UK variant |
| CNN | 3,713 | 19 | 2628 |
| MSNBC | 131 | 4 | 229 |
| Fox News | 277 | 2 | 510 |
| Total | 4694 | 25 | 4038 |
| % of total | |||
| CNN | 79% | 76% | 82% |
| MSNBC | 15% | 16% | 6% |
| Fox News | 6% | 8% | 13% |
Matching Clips
Cable TV News 12/1/20 – 2/26/21: MD’s Commenting on SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 “UK Variant”
CNN
AI TV Explorer search query: (ocr:"UK" OR ocr:"UNITED KINGDOM" OR ocr:"B.1.1.7") AND (ocr:"VARIANT" OR ocr:"MUTANT" OR ocr:"MUTATION" OR ocr:"STRAIN") AND ocr:"DR" AND Station:CNN AND PublicationDate>=12/1/2020 AND PublicationDate<=2/26/2021 23:59:59 UTC
Dr. Sanjay Gupta CNN Chief Medical Correspondent
- 76-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210226_200000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Brooke_Baldwin/start/460/end/536.6
Dr. Mark McClellan Director, Duke-Margolis Center
- 103-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210225_150000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Poppy_Harlow_and_Jim_Sciutto/start/1101.6/end/1205.2
Dr. Anthony Fauci Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases
- 150-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210223_120000_New_Day_With_Alisyn_Camerota_and_John_Berman/start/751.8/end/902.3
Dr. Sanjay Gupta CNN Chief Medical Correspondent
- 85-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210218_130000_New_Day_With_Alisyn_Camerota_and_John_Berman/start/3110.2/end/3195.3
Dr. Anthony Fauci Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases
- 25-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210214_230000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Pamela_Brown/start/1123/end/1148.9
Dr. Peter Hotez Professor and Dean of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
- 19-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210213_090000_CNN_Newsroom_Live/start/1278.8/end/1298.5
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director
- 18-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210211_140000_The_2nd_Trump_Impeachment_Trial/start/2255.5/end/2273.5
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director; Dr. Anthony Fauci Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases; Dr. Peter Hotez Professor and Dean of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
- 40-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210208_230000_The_Situation_Room_With_Wolf_Blitzer/start/1977.2/end/2017.6
Dr. Peter Hotez Professor and Dean of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
- 148-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210208_150000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Poppy_Harlow_and_Jim_Sciutto/start/546.9/end/695
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, George Washington University
- 153-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210208_105900_New_Day_With_Alisyn_Camerota_and_John_Berman/start/3116.6/end/3270.4
Dr. Leana Wen CNN Medical Analyst
- 66-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210208_050000_CNN_Newsroom/start/1256.4/end/1322.8
Dr. Anthony Fauci Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- 102-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210205_160000_CNN_Newsroom_with_Kate_Bolduan/start/759/end/861.8
Dr. Sanjay Gupta CNN Chief Medical Correspondent
- 34-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210205_150000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Poppy_Harlow_and_Jim_Sciutto/start/1361/end/1395.9
Dr. Ashish Jha Dean, Brown University School of Public Health
- 36-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210205_140000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Poppy_Harlow_and_Jim_Sciutto/start/576.5/end/613.2
Dr. Mark McClellan Director, Duke-Margolis Center
- 14-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210204_220000_The_Situation_Room_With_Wolf_Blitzer/start/1713.3/end/1728
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director
- 18-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210204_210000_The_Lead_With_Jake_Tapper/start/1823.3/end/1841.3
Dr. Mark McClellan Director, Duke-Margolis Center
- 55-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210204_150000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Poppy_Harlow_and_Jim_Sciutto/start/1337.7/end/1393
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director
- 83-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210204_150000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Poppy_Harlow_and_Jim_Sciutto/start/1043.4/end/1127.3
Dr. Leana Wen CNN Medical Analyst
- 76-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210204_140000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Poppy_Harlow_and_Jim_Sciutto/start/1172.6/end/1249.5
Dr. Leana Wen CNN Medical Analyst
- 56-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210202_220000_The_Situation_Room_With_Wolf_Blitzer/start/2199.4/end/2255.5
Dr. Anthony Fauci Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- 28-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210202_220000_The_Situation_Room_With_Wolf_Blitzer/start/1959.7/end/1988.1
Dr. Abdul El-Sayed Epidemiologist, Former Detroit Health Commissioner
- 38-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210201_200000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Brooke_Baldwin/start/207/end/245.8
Dr. Jorge Rodriguez Internal Medicine & Viral Specialist
- 107-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210130_160000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Fredricka_Whitfield/start/530/end/637.5
Dr. Sanjay Gupta CNN Chief Medical Correspondent
- 76-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210127_170000_Inside_Politics/start/321/end/397
Dr. Anthony Fauci Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- 48-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210125_190000_CNN_Newsroom/start/2118/end/2166.4
Dr. Roshini Raj Associate Professor of Medicine, NYU Langone Health
- 168-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210125_190000_CNN_Newsroom/start/2165.8/end/2334.1
Dr. David Nicholl Consultant Neurologist, City Hospital, Birmingham, England
- 54-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210124_090000_CNN_Newsroom_Live/start/1479.8/end/1534.6
Dr. Francis Collins Director, U.S. National Institutes of Health
- 123-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210124_080000_CNN_Newsroom_Live/start/1169/end/1292
Dr. Celine Gounder Former Member, Biden-Harris Transition COVID Advisory Board
- 63-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210122_200000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Brooke_Baldwin/start/2437/end/2500.2
Dr. Ashish Jha Dean, Brown University School of Public Health
- 155-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210119_020000_Cuomo_Prime_Time/start/3142.7/end/3288.6
Dr. Ashish Jha Dean, Brown University School of Public Health
- 56-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210110_130000_Inside_Politics/start/3123.2/end/3179.5
Dr. Anthony Fauci Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
- 47-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210109_110000_New_Day_Weekend_With_Victor_Blackwell_and_Christi_Paul/start/2142.3/end/2189.6
Dr. Jorge Rodriguez Internal Medicine & Viral Specialist
- 63-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210102_210000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Ana_Cabrera/start/2840.2/end/2904
Dr. Seema Yasmin CNN Medical Analyst
- 168-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20210101_180000_CNN_Newsroom_With_Brooke_Baldwin/start/219.5/end/387.5
Dr. Megan Ranney Medical Physician, Brown University
- 111-second segment quote:
https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20201231_200000_The_Lead_With_Jake_Tapper/start/2446.7/end/2558.6
Dr. Peter Drobac Infectious Disease Expert, University of Oxford
- 108-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20201227_080000_CNN_Newsroom_Live/start/2779.2/end/2847.2
Dr. Amesh Adalja Fellow, Infectious Diseases Society of America
- 54-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20201223_180000_CNN_Newsroom/start/1459.8/end/1514.2
Dr. Michael Mina Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health
- 75-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20201223_160000_CNN_Newsroom/start/1407.2/end/1482.3
Dr. Ashish Jha Dean, Brown University School of Public Health
- 64-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20201223_130000_New_Day_With_Alisyn_Camerota_and_John_Berman/start/1217.3/end/1282.2
Dr. William Schaffner Professor, Infectious Diseases, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
- 74-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20201223_130000_New_Day_With_Alisyn_Camerota_and_John_Berman/start/986/end/1060
Dr. Francis Collins Director, U.S. National Institutes of Health
- 167-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20201223_120000_New_Day_With_Alisyn_Camerota_and_John_Berman/start/2419.2/end/2586.2
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, CDC Director
- 95-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/CNNW_20201223_120000_New_Day_With_Alisyn_Camerota_and_John_Berman/start/1366.7/end/1462.6
MSNBC
AI TV Explorer search query: (ocr:"UK" OR ocr:"UNITED KINGDOM" OR ocr:"B.1.1.7") AND (ocr:"VARIANT" OR ocr:"MUTANT" OR ocr:"MUTATION" OR ocr:"STRAIN") AND ocr:"DR" AND Station:MSNBC AND PublicationDate>=12/1/2020 AND PublicationDate<=2/26/2021 23:59:59 UTC
Dr. Peter Hotez Professor and Dean of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
- 38-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/MSNBCW_20210220_120000_MSNBC_Live_With_Kendis_Gibson_and_Lindsey_Reiser/start/2424.3/end/2463.1
Dr. Amesh Adalja Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security
- 62-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/MSNBCW_20210203_170000_Andrea_Mitchell_Reports/start/2534.2/end/2596.8
Dr. Anthony Fauci Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious diseases
- 76-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/MSNBCW_20201231_170000_MSNBC_Live/start/610.3/end/686.3
Dr. Bernard Ashby Florida State Lead for the Committee to Protect Medicine
- 53-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/MSNBCW_20210123_120000_MSNBC_Live_With_Kendis_Gibson_and_Lindsey_Reiser/start/1534.4/end/1587.5
Fox News
AI TV Explorer search query: (ocr:"UK" OR ocr:"UNITED KINGDOM" OR ocr:"B.1.1.7") AND (ocr:"VARIANT" OR ocr:"MUTANT" OR ocr:"MUTATION" OR ocr:"STRAIN") AND ocr:"DR" AND Station:FOXNEWS AND PublicationDate>=12/1/2020 AND PublicationDate<=2/26/2021 23:59:59 UTC
Dr. Marty Makary Fox News Medical Contributor
- 54-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/FOXNEWSW_20210130_190000_Americas_News_Headquarters/start/2155.4/end/2209.8
Dr. Janette Newseiwat Fox News Medical Contributor
- 118-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/FOXNEWSW_20210123_190000_Americas_News_Headquarters/start/1135/end/1253.6
- 180-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/FOXNEWSW_20210123_190000_Americas_News_Headquarters/start/1255/end/1435
Dr. Marty Makary Fox News Medical Contributor
- 158-second segment quote: https://archive.org/details/FOXNEWSW_20210106_140000_Americas_Newsroom/start/5676/end/5835