News in Business News During the COVID-19 Pandemic in New Zealand: A Content Analysis

Abstract

New Zealand's response to the health risk of COVID-19 has been acclaimed as a success story compared to other nations. Yet, the impact of the pandemic on New Zealand businesses and the resulting shift in business operations and priorities remained least known. The aim of this study is to identify major concerns in business-related news in mainstream newspapers in New Zealand that impacted the businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative content analysis technique was employed to analyse the news content of a total of 134 newspaper articles from the major online mainstream newspapers published in New Zealand during the pandemic. The major themes identified from the content analysis were: Business, Subsidy, Lockdown, People. Further analysis of these themes disclosed that Business and People were the predominant themes in the news content during the pandemic. The findings reveal that the concerns of businesses extended beyond operational and financial performance, also encompassing the health and well-being of the employees and customers. The findings offer valuable insights for future research and bear significant implications for both management and policy-making.