More Control Than Support: Populism, The Covid-19 Pandemic, and Media Policies in USA, Brazil, Serbia, and Poland

The article examines the approach to media policy and regulation adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic in four countries that were led by populist leaders at the beginning of the pandemic: Brazil, the United States, Poland, and Serbia. We draw on an extensive analysis of legal, policy and related documents, as well as 63 interviews with key actors involved in pandemic communication, including government officials, health experts, and journalists. The study identifies the distinguishing features of populist policymaking as well as develops an original analytical framework for its analysis. We conclude that the media policies examined oscillated between control and support. On the one hand, several policies were aimed at controlling pandemic communications and limiting journalists’ access to public information; on the other hand, efforts were also made to support the media. On the whole, the drive to control overshadowed the efforts to provide support, and even when support was provided, it was often distributed in an untransparent or unfair manner that benefitted progovernment outlets. Arguably, this dynamic of control over support reflects the characteristic features of populist policymaking, especially its tendency to mobilize media policy in a manner that benefits progovernment outlets while minimizing opportunities for criticism.