What is RNI

Coronavirus was declared a pandemic on 11th March 2020. Since then the events around the world have unfolded quickly, and by August 2020, India was emerging as a COVID-19 hotspot. With increasing threat to the people around the world, it became pertinent to evaluate health communication pertaining to the pandemic. Consequently, this chapter analyses the applicability of PRECEDE-PROCEED Model (PPM) on the newspaper coverage of COVID-19 in India in two leading newspapers, with the unit of analysis being the headlines on front pages. Results of the analysis show that the coverage of COVID-19 witnessed a gradual increase in the both the newspapers, and the coverage was aligned with the model in terms of disseminating new and evolving information to create awareness and facilitate adoption of new behaviour. However, the coverage faltered at times as far as assessment of administrative policy was concerned.