French people disapprove of media treatment of Covid-19 crisis, study finds

French Minister of Health Olivier Véran addresses the press after being vaccinated against Covid-19 on February 8, 2021. AP - Thomas Samson

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According to a Viavoice study, the French judge rather harshly the way the media treated the Covid-19 health crisis.

Another lesson: when it comes to information about the climate emergency, they expect journalism that is more focused on solutions and less catastrophic.

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The French are not frankly satisfied with the treatment made by the media of the Covid-19 health crisis.

This is revealed by the Viavoice poll commissioned as every year by France Médias Monde, France Télévisions, Radio France and the Journal du dimanche, ahead of the International Journalism Conference which will be held in Tours on September 30th.

First, the importance given to the pandemic is perceived as too important for 60% of them.

The treatment that has been done is qualified as excessive, anxiety-provoking and catastrophic. 

Still concerning the Covid, nearly one in three French people believe that the information offered to them by journalists was useless for their daily lives.

Eighteen percent of them even believe that it has been harmful. 

The other big issue of this Viavoice study concerns media coverage of the climate emergency.

Six in ten French people believe that they are sufficiently informed by journalists on climate change.

On the other hand, only one in ten feel “ 

fully informed

 ”.

Finally, and this is major information from the study, the French ask journalists and the media to treat the climate emergency in a less anxiety-provoking and moralizing way.

Instead, more than half of them ask for concrete information, leading to solutions, but also more intervention by experts on the subject.

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