Mentions of the pandemic dropped off a cliff on television news in the leadup to the election, with MSNBC shifting its focus away from the virus on October 30, CNN decreasing its coverage the following day and Fox News waiting until election day. All three channels barely mentioned the outbreak until Biden was declared the winner on November 7, with all three beginning rapidly ramping up their pandemic coverage that very afternoon. In the days since, CNN and MSNBC have surged their pandemic coverage while Fox News has increased its coverage only slightly above its pre-election levels.
Television News Refocuses On The Pandemic
