Between the Liminal and the Normal: How the News Constructed the Social Change of Face Covering During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

Authors

  • Xi Cui College of Charleston
  • Feifei Chen College of Charleston

Keywords:

liminality, social change, mediated construction of social reality, face covering, journalistic norms

Abstract

This study examined the news coverage in The New York Times of face covering in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 2,663). We found 6 phases of the coverage that alternated between disruption and normalization. They differed in the framing of face covering and the representations of social agents. Drawing on theorizations of liminality, social change, and journalistic practices, we argue that societal liminality like the pandemic does not necessarily progress linearly from disruption toward normalization, and the news coverage mediates the contestations among social agents in the process. Meanwhile, some journalistic norms may unintentionally prolong the liminal period, amplify social fragmentation, and reproduce the media’s power to construct social reality. 

Author Biographies

Xi Cui, College of Charleston

Dr. Xi Cui is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at the College of Charleston. He received his Ph.D. in media studies from Texas A&M University. His research interest includes media rituals and social identity.

Feifei Chen, College of Charleston

Dr. Feifei Chen is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the College of Charleston. She received her Ph.D. from Texas A&M University. Her research interest includes crisis communication and organizational risk management.

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Published

2022-06-13

Issue

Vol. 16 (2022)

Section

Articles

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