Local-Level Information-Seeking in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Repertoire Approach

• Published date: 01 May 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/00027162231216812
• Author: Stephanie Edgerly,Yu Xu
• Date: 01 May 2023
• Subject Matter: Part III: Demand

172 ANNALS, AAPSS, 707, May 2023

DOI: 10.1177/00027162231216812

Local-Level

Information-

Seeking in the

COVID-19

Pandemic: A

Repertoire

Approach

By

STEPHANIE EDGERLY

and

YU XU

1216812ANN THE ANNALS OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMYLOCAL-LEVEL INFORMATION-SEEKING IN THE PANDEMIC

research-article2023

What types of sources did people seek out for local

information about COVID-19? In this study, we explore

the information-seeking repertoires that Illinois resi-

dents had for obtaining information about the spread of

COVID-19 within their local communities. We use data

from a statewide survey of adults living in Illinois to

identify five distinct repertoires that differ in terms of

the range of sources consulted and the level of informa-

tion sought. We then examine how differences in

information-seeking repertoires relate to sociodemo-

graphics, the type of geographic community respond-

ents live in, and their level of concern about COVID-19.

Our results show similarity and divergence in the ways

people sought out information about COVID-19 in

their local communities, with local news playing a key

role in all information-seeking repertoires.

Keywords: information-seeking; repertoires; local

communities; local news; communication

ecology

The COVID-19 pandemic brought about

an acute need for information about the

virus and its spread. According to Google,

coronavirus-related terms were among the

Correspondence: stephanie.edgerly@northwestern.edu

Stephanie Edgerly is a professor of journalism in the

Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Mar-

keting Communications at Northwestern University. Her

research explores how changes in the media environment

impact audience understanding and engagement with

news.

Yu Xu is an assistant professor of integrated marketing

communications in the Medill School of Journalism,

Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at

Northwestern University. His research interests include

media industries, media analytics, social networks,

organizational change, ecology and evolution, and com-

putational social science.

NOTE: This research was made possible by a grant

from The Alumnae of Northwestern University. The

authors would like to thank the CCDI working group at

Northwestern and Rachel Davis Mersey for help with

this project.

LOCAL-LEVEL INFORMATION-SEEKING IN THE PANDEMIC 173

most searched-for in 2020 (Google Trends 2020). During the early days of the

pandemic, Facebook reported that 4.5 million people in the U.S. joined COVID-

19 support groups (Perez 2020). Other research points to an increased reliance

on national news organizations to stay up to date on the latest information

(Mitchell et al. 2020). Perhaps no other event in recent history mobilized so

many different sectors of society—news media, health organizations, public offi-

cials, businesses, and schools—in providing regular updates to the public. While

these trends eventually waned as the pandemic pressed on (Jurkowitz et al.

2020), the early days of the pandemic provide an important snapshot of how

people navigated an information environment characterized by both an increased

supply of information from a variety of sources and a heightened motivation to

consume information. This context reflects the critical information needs of

health and welfare as well as emergencies and risk (see Friedland, this volume).

Given this situation, we ask, where did people get information about COVID-19

in their local communities? And what role did local news play as a source of

information about COVID-19?

We approach these questions from a communication ecology perspective,

defined as the network of communication sources individuals consult “in pursuit

of a goal and in context of their communication environment” (Walter et al. 2018,

654). We apply this framework in two ways. The first way relates to the sources,

or communication channels, that people seek out. Communication ecologies

include a wide range of options—from interpersonal (e.g., conversations with

friends or community leaders) to mediated (e.g., local news coverage, social

media). We move beyond single sources of interpersonal or mediated informa-

tion to consider what Broad et al. (2013, 328) refer to as “multi-modal communi-

cation connections,” which include sources at the micro level (e.g., interpersonal

connections), meso level (e.g., local media, community institutions), and digital

intermediaries (e.g., social media, search engines) (Walter et al. 2018; Wells et al.

2021). Second, we apply an ecology framework to the act of information-seeking,

which entails the effortful process of seeking out sources perceived as most use-

ful (Wilson 2000). Studies emphasize the variability of this calculus. Differences

in the amount and means of information-seeking are related to personal charac-

teristics and the information environment itself (Dutta-Bergman 2004; Johnson

1997). Lesser-known are the specific patterns of information-seeking that

emerged in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent to which these

patterns included different types of local sources.

In this study, we adopt a repertoire approach to identify distinct patterns

of information-seeking and consider several factors related to differences in

information-seeking. This includes considering the type of geographic commu-

nity where individuals live (e.g., cities, small towns, suburbs) and individuals’ own

sociodemographic characteristics. Data for this study come from an Illinois-state

survey conducted during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, we

identify five distinct information-seeking repertoires: low information-seeking,

broad ambivalence, high information-seeking, mediated only, and mediated +

social. We distinguish between “wide” repertoires, where the amount of informa-

tion-seeking was the defining feature; and “narrow” repertoires, where individuals