Communicating Memory Of Historical Pandemics In Digital Media During The COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The historical past serves as a reference point of contextual meaning in the present day, where communicated memory via digital media illustrates the collective lessons and memory of the past to make sense of the current times. This is currently the case, where digital news media are using news stories from mankind’s historical experiences with pandemics in the making of meaning for the current COVID-19 pandemic. It is a commonly used element in the approach by media outlets in reporting on crisis situations. However, the lessons of past and present do not always align as the logic of the reporting is interpretive journalism and the wrong lessons can be drawn.