Impact Of Coronavirus Pandemic Crisis On Professional Media Practices

The field study aimed to identify and analyze the new patterns of professional practices for a sample of 382 respondents communicating with Egyptian, Arab and non-Arab media during their coverage of the developments of the coronavirus crisis, especially with regard to their use of digital applications with the help of using The diffusion of innovations theory and identifying the extent of their adherence to the principles of the social responsibility, whether related to media, public, media outlet, and that of the state.
The study’s most important results:

1. The most important distinguishing features of covering topics related to the Coronavirus crisis were the further reliance on official sources and government data, especially in light of the spread of rumours and false information, as well as the spread of emerging diseases that pose a serious threat to the surrounding environment, which is a fertile environment for the spread of the language of intrigue and conspiracies. The presence of this feature is related to the features of highlighting the community awareness aspect in the coverage in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.
2. The respondents’ answers reflected the social responsibility of the media through their role in performing certain roles, notably, providing developments on the crisis at the local and international levels and moral support for citizens through their efforts to spread hope and reassurance to them. These roles also included guiding and encouraging them to adopt the correct behaviours to prevent infection and paying attention to the public's right to know all relevant angles and the necessity of joining hands and cooperating with the concerned state agencies by highlighting the efforts made and the challenges they face and proposing appropriate solutions.
3. More than half of the respondents said that their professional performance was as usual during their coverage of the crisis, then those who improved their performance at a percentage of (28.5%). Some aspects of performance improvement included the following: Using technological applications that were not used in the field of work before acquisition of the skill of working under pressure, trying to be creative and innovative in choosing unusual angles and aspects in dealing with topics and others. In this context, the respondents expressed their need to develop their practical skills in light of their coverage of the Coronavirus pandemic. This came in light of the different conditions imposed by the new environment that require the use of new technological applications and tools.
4. More than half of the respondents expected an increase in their continued use of digital applications after the end of the Coronavirus pandemic. They stressed that they have benefited greatly from its use and that the pace of technological innovation will not stop, especially as new technology applications have become more accurate, effective, and safe in terms of dealing with it. The current result confirms the respondents’ acceptance of the new idea and their desire to adopt it, and what is meant here is all the technological applications that the respondents adopted during their work starting from the outbreak of the Coronavirus crisis, even if the adoption of some of these applications came late as a result of rejecting the idea and then accepting it in an effort to deal and adapt to the challenges and current conditions of the crisis.