The institutional and media transparency of the coronavirus. An analysis of data portals and digital media in ibero-America

Abstract

Introduction. The health emergency caused by the COVID-19 virus has had various consequences on the institutional and media scene. Faced with a situation of this magnitude, governments have introduced transparency measures into their daily routines to provide citizens with up-to-date, quality information on the pandemic. This has also affected journalistic practices, as the volume of information dedicated to the coronavirus has been increasing in the media. Data journalism is presented as one of the most recurrent formulas of digital media, with the development of maps and graphs using official data. Methodology. This research aims to find out, on the one hand, the degree of information transparency of Ibero-American governments on the disease, as well as the development of open journalism, data journalism and other practices by the media to report on the coronavirus. To this end, an evaluation has been made of the COVID-19 information portals in 12 Ibero-American countries and of the two most relevant digital media in each country. Conclusions. Despite the enormous effort made by the institutions to inform the public about the health emergency, the transparency portals present various deficiencies. The media, on the other hand, have mainly developed data journalism, but they have not promoted media transparency or citizen participation in the elaboration of contents.