Same Word, Different Focuses: A Comparative Study of Health-Related News in the U.S. and Korea

The news media serves as a significant channel through which stigma can be perpetuated, particularly with linguistic tool that create stigmatizing frames when reporting on health issues. During the COVID-19 crisis that impacted both the U.S. and Korea, we conducted a content analysis to examine how online health news from these two countries addresses the issue of stigma. Our analysis specifically focused on articles that mention the term stigma, comparing the contexts and cues that either perpetuated or challenged stigmatizing narratives. We paid close attention to whether these cues were presented as the main focus or merely as incidental topics within the articles. The findings revealed a notable difference between the two countries; U.S. news primarily focused on stigmatized subjects when referencing the term stigma, while Korean news more incidentally mentioned stigmatized subjects in relation to the term stigma. In conclusion, our findings offer insights for improving digital media reporting and shaping public perception to reduce health-related stigma.