Analytical framework overview.

Panic-buying and stockpiling during Covid disrupted the supply chain, causing food shortages and impacting the vulnerable. The government faced criticism for its lack of food system resilience, poor communications planning, and reliance on retailers. The British media frequently reported on panic-buying during early lockdown stages in 2020 and throughout Covid. The media play an important role in communicating information to the British public during times of crisis and influence public opinion. This mixed-method study examined English media portrayal of panic-buying, analysing text and visual data from six of the highest-circulating newspapers from March to July 2020. It reviewed reporting trends, use of imagery, themes, and prominent stakeholder voices. Content analysis of 209 articles showed that coverage was dominated by popular and left-wing press, with 89% of articles using sensationalised language and 68% coded as negative. In a subset of 125 articles, visual imagery showed empty shelves in 64% of analysed images, reinforcing the impression of food shortages. Supermarkets were the most quoted stakeholders, appearing in 62% of articles. Contradictions included reports of no food shortages alongside images of empty shelves and early newspaper advice encouraging stockpiling. Reporting peaked between March 16–22, 2020. Six key themes were identified: supermarket prominence, food supply/access, food policy, individual behaviour, socio-economic impacts, and panic-buying drivers—all themes had relevance to food system resilience. Future civil unrest linked to food-system challenges, potentially driven by climate change, conflict, or political instability, could see panic-buying play a significant role. Research on media portrayals of panic-buying can help policymakers enhance communication strategies and identify critical issues during crises. The Covid pandemic revealed crucial lessons about the media’s potential role in shaping public behaviour, highlighting the need for stronger government communication and collaboration with both the media and retailers to ensure consistent messaging, particularly to protect vulnerable groups.

新冠疫情期间的恐慌抢购与囤积行为扰乱了供应链，引发食品短缺并对弱势群体造成冲击。英国政府因食品系统韧性（food system resilience）不足、沟通规划欠佳以及过度依赖零售商而饱受批评。2020年早期封城（lockdown）阶段及整个新冠疫情期间，英国媒体频繁报道恐慌抢购事件。在危机时期，媒体在向英国民众传递信息方面发挥着重要作用，并会影响公众舆论。本项混合方法研究（mixed-method study）考察了英国媒体对恐慌抢购的叙事呈现，分析了2020年3月至7月间六家发行量最高的报纸的文本与视觉数据，梳理了报道趋势、图像使用情况、核心议题以及突出的利益相关方（stakeholder）发声。对209篇文章的内容分析显示，相关报道以通俗小报与左翼媒体为主，其中89%的文章使用了煽情表述，68%被标记为负面报道。在125篇文章的子样本中，64%的分析图像呈现了空货架场景，强化了食品短缺的观感。超市是被引用最多的利益相关方，出现在62%的报道中。报道中存在矛盾之处：一方面称不存在食品短缺，另一方面却配有空货架的图像，且早期报纸还曾发布鼓励囤积的建议。相关报道在2020年3月16日至22日期间达到峰值。研究共识别出六大核心议题：超市的突出地位、食品供应与获取渠道、食品政策、个体行为、社会经济影响以及恐慌抢购的驱动因素——所有议题均与食品系统韧性相关。未来由气候变化、冲突或政治不稳定引发的、与食品系统挑战相关的民众骚乱中，恐慌抢购可能会扮演重要角色。针对媒体对恐慌抢购的叙事呈现开展的研究，可帮助政策制定者完善沟通策略，并在危机期间识别关键问题。新冠疫情揭示了媒体在塑造公众行为方面的潜在作用，相关重要经验教训凸显了强化政府沟通、加强与媒体及零售商协作的必要性，以确保信息传递的一致性，尤其要以此保护弱势群体。