Fighting COVID-19 with the team of 5 million: Aotearoa New Zealand government communication during the 2020 lockdown
Aotearoa New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic is considered one of the best in the world. A major component of the government response was the communication of public health measures. In this paper, we approach Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's daily press briefings with the Direc...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Social Sciences and Humanities Open |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291121001054 |
| _version_ | 1818383779293560832 |
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| author | Alex Beattie Rebecca Priestley |
| author_facet | Alex Beattie Rebecca Priestley |
| author_sort | Alex Beattie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Aotearoa New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic is considered one of the best in the world. A major component of the government response was the communication of public health measures. In this paper, we approach Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's daily press briefings with the Director-General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield as a case study of government communication during a public health crisis. A reflexive thematic analysis leads us to identify three key themes: 1) open, honest and straightforward communication; 2) distinctive and motivational language; and 3) expressions of care. Situating our findings in the fields of crisis communication, science communication and psychology, we argue that the messages presented in the 2020 daily briefings supported the New Zealand Government's COVID-19 elimination strategy through building trust with the audience and framing the ‘lockdown’ as an urgent, collective and meaningful cause, mobilising New Zealanders to support public health measures. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T03:11:47Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-395d30e72b98492c968b5666937cef38 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-2911 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T03:11:47Z |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Social Sciences and Humanities Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-395d30e72b98492c968b5666937cef382022-12-21T23:19:15ZengElsevierSocial Sciences and Humanities Open2590-29112021-01-0141100209Fighting COVID-19 with the team of 5 million: Aotearoa New Zealand government communication during the 2020 lockdownAlex Beattie0Rebecca Priestley1Centre for Science in Society, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; Te Pūnaha Matatini: Centre of Research Excellence for Complex Systems, New ZealandCentre for Science in Society, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand; Te Pūnaha Matatini: Centre of Research Excellence for Complex Systems, New Zealand; Corresponding author. Centre for Science in Society, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.Aotearoa New Zealand's response to the COVID-19 pandemic is considered one of the best in the world. A major component of the government response was the communication of public health measures. In this paper, we approach Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's daily press briefings with the Director-General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield as a case study of government communication during a public health crisis. A reflexive thematic analysis leads us to identify three key themes: 1) open, honest and straightforward communication; 2) distinctive and motivational language; and 3) expressions of care. Situating our findings in the fields of crisis communication, science communication and psychology, we argue that the messages presented in the 2020 daily briefings supported the New Zealand Government's COVID-19 elimination strategy through building trust with the audience and framing the ‘lockdown’ as an urgent, collective and meaningful cause, mobilising New Zealanders to support public health measures.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291121001054New ZealandCOVID-19PandemicCrisis communicationMetaphorsPublic health |
| spellingShingle | Alex Beattie Rebecca Priestley Fighting COVID-19 with the team of 5 million: Aotearoa New Zealand government communication during the 2020 lockdown Social Sciences and Humanities Open New Zealand COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis communication Metaphors Public health |
| title | Fighting COVID-19 with the team of 5 million: Aotearoa New Zealand government communication during the 2020 lockdown |
| title_full | Fighting COVID-19 with the team of 5 million: Aotearoa New Zealand government communication during the 2020 lockdown |
| title_fullStr | Fighting COVID-19 with the team of 5 million: Aotearoa New Zealand government communication during the 2020 lockdown |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fighting COVID-19 with the team of 5 million: Aotearoa New Zealand government communication during the 2020 lockdown |
| title_short | Fighting COVID-19 with the team of 5 million: Aotearoa New Zealand government communication during the 2020 lockdown |
| title_sort | fighting covid 19 with the team of 5 million aotearoa new zealand government communication during the 2020 lockdown |
| topic | New Zealand COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis communication Metaphors Public health |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590291121001054 |
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