Pandemic Media Archive
The Pandemic Media Archive is a digital documentation of news stories related to COVID-19 and its spread globally. From March 11, 2020, to March 11, 2021, I documented news stories from Facebook, original news websites, and news briefs sent to my email. Each image is date/time stamped by year, month, day, hour, and minute when I took a screenshot. I uploaded the photos in three batches: 1) March to April 2020, 2) May 2020 to December 2020, and 3) December 2020 to March 2021. Additionally, I sprinkled snapshots of family life to capture the essence of our time under quarantine and isolation.
As of April 1, 2021, COVID-19 has infected over 128 million people worldwide. The pandemic touched on social justice issues, halted economies, heightened health/food insecurities, and affected politics and international relations. The project focuses on how U.S. media outlets use text and images to engage readers. In particular, it looks at how this reader received news information, which articles I read in their entirety, and which ones I left to read only the headlines.
After a year of collecting, here are some questions to ponder: Where do you receive news information? What organizations are your go-to news sources? Which news stories are important to you? Do you read the full article or the top headlines in your social media posts? Why did news sources choose that image in the post? If you collected news articles for one year, how would your archive look?
(NOTE: Due to the number of images and design of the site, it is recommended that you view this project on your desktop.)
Read More: Artist Note #6
Timeline
03/11/2020
The World Health Organization declares COVID-19 pandemic (WHO website)
03/13/2020
My kids stayed home. Local school held staff meeting to prep for remote e-learning.
03/13/2020
White House declares a national emergency. (Gov. Pritzker declared state emergency March 9, 2020.)
03/16/2020
First day of remote e-learning (some call homeschooling).
03/20/2020
Gov. Pritzker (IL) orders stay-at-home policy to be in effect until April 7, 2020.
03/21/2020
U.S. federal tax filing deadline extended to July 15th, 2020.
03/31/2020
Gov. Pritzker (IL) orders stay-at-home to be extended to April 30th.
04/02/2020
Report says that 6.6 million people have filed for unemployment.
04/10/2020
Laid off from job. Also Good Friday.
04/12/2020
Easter Sunday
04/13/2020
To understand disaster management at Hart Island in NYC. Watch this video.
04/23/3030
Gov. Pritzker (IL) extends stay-at-home order to May 30th. Face masks now required in public spaces where 6 feet distancing measures cannot be met.
04/24/2020
COVID-19 deaths reaches past 50,000
04/28/2020
White House Executive Order to keep meat packing plants open. First reported by Bloomberg News.
04/30/2020
White House national shelter-in-place order ends. Leaves decision up to governors at the state level.
05/01/2020
Illinois residents required to wear face masks inside public indoor spaces. (Fox 32 Chicago)
05/06/2020
Conducted Google search: how to deal with COVID-19 stress in children
05/10/2020
Mother’s Day (U.S. holiday)
05/11/2020
“Deaths in the U.S. reached 79,894, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.” (Wall Street Journal)
05/17/2020
Huge rainstorm blew through Chicago and flooded basement homes in the area.
05/20/2020
05/25/2020
Death of George Floyd/
Memorial Day (U.S. holiday)
05/30/2020
George Floyd protests spread nation
06/01/2020
Trump Stands In Front Church Holding Bible After Threatening Military Action Against Protesters (NBC News)
06/05/2020
George Floyd’s Memorial
06/25/2020
Three men accused in the Feb 23 shooting death of Ahmaud Arbery have been indicted by grand jury (CNN)
07/02/2020
Texas governor orders most residents to wear a face covering in public (CNN)
07/11/2020
More than 400,000 without power this morning after Monday’s storms (WGN TV)
07/13/2020
The US has recorded more than 3.3 million coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University, and at least 135,206 Americans have died. (CNN)
07/23/2020
US surpasses 4 million reported coronavirus cases (CNN)
07/29/2020
US passes 150,000 coronavirus deaths (CNN)
08/10/2020
Derecho sweeps through Chicago area (Chicago Tribune)
08/11/2020
Biden taps Kamala Harris to be his Running Mate (NPR)
08/28/2020
Illinois Dept. of Public Health announced that Cook County has been elevated to orange. (FB post)
09/03/2020
Daniel Prude Died of Suffocation After Officers Put Hood on Him (NYTimes)
09/09/2020
Half a million US children have been diagnosed with COVID-19 (CNN)
09/09/2020
Half a million US children have been diagnosed with COVID-19 (CNN)
09/18/2020
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg passes away (CNN)
09/22/2020
200,00 people have died from COVID-19 in the US (CNN)
09/28/2020
Coronavirus has killed 1 million people worldwide (CNN)
09/30/2020
First US Presidential Debate (CNN)
10/02/2020
President Trump and First Lady Test Positive for the Coronavirus (NPR)
10/02/2020
President Trump boarded Marine One to travel to Walter Reed Hospital (CNN)
10/02/2020
President Trump boarded Marine One to travel to Walter Reed Hospital (CNN)
10/05/2020
President Trump has returned to the White House after spending 3 nights at Walter Reed Medical Center (CNN)
10/07/2020
VP Presidential Debate (Harris vs. Pence)
10/07/2020
VP Presidential Debate (Harris vs. Pence)
10/16/2020
US has reached 8 million COVID-19 cases (CNN)
10/16/2020
US has reached 8 million COVID-19 cases (CNN)
10/26/2020
Indoor bar and restaurant service will be suspended as part of the state-mandated COVID-19 mitigation measures for suburban Cook County (FB Post)
10/26/2020
Indoor bar and restaurant service will be suspended as part of the state-mandated COVID-19 mitigation measures for suburban Cook County (FB Post)
10/26/2020
US Senate confirms Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court (WGN TV)
10/28/2020
Chicago Rolls Back Reopening, New Restrictions Begin in 1 Region (NBC Chicago)
10/28/2020
Chicago Rolls Back Reopening, New Restrictions Begin in 1 Region (NBC Chicago)
11/03/2020
US Election Day
11/05/2020
US breaks daily record of new coronavirus infections, topping 108,000 cases (CNN)
11/07/2020
Joe Biden has been elected the 46th president of the US (NPR)
11/09/2020
US surpasses 10 million coronavirus cases (CNN)
11/12/2020
Texas becomes the first US state with more than 1 million COVID-19 infections (CNN)
11/12/2020
Texas becomes the first US state with more than 1 million COVID-19 infections/California becomes the second state (CNN)
11/14/2020
15,415 new COVID-19 cases reported Friday, the fourth straight day with record high (Chicago Tribune)
11/17/2020
Over 1 million US children have been diagnosed with COVID-19 (CNN)
11/18/2020
Gov. Pritzker announces new COVID-19 restrictions for Illinois as state sees a second wave of cases (WGN TV)
11/18/2020
COVID-19 has killed 250,000 people in the US (CNN)
11/21/2020
US recorded 195,000 new COVID-19 cases in a day (CNN)
11/25/2020
Another 778,000 people in the US filed for the first-time unemployment benefits last week (CNN)
11/27/2020
US surpasses 13 million COVID-19 cases (CNN)
12/10/2020
FDA gives green light to Pfizer Vaccine (NYTimes)
12/14/2020
ICU nurse in NY among first in US to get authorized coronavirus vaccine (CNN)/
US Electoral College affirms Biden’s Victory (NYTimes)/
300,000 have died because of the coronavirus in the US (NYTimes)
12/19/2020
“The US recorded over 250,000 coronavirus cases in a day for the first time on Friday, a grim new milestone in the wake of vaccine approvals.” (NYTimes)
12/21/2020
“More than 1 million people went through checkpoints at US airports on each of the past two days.” (NPR)
12/25/2020
Christmas Day
12/29/2020
“The US House approved the $2,000 stimulus checks that President Trump demanded. The bill’s fate is unclear in the Senate, where Republicans have resisted increasing the amount of the checks, citing concerns about the federal budget deficit.” (NY Times)/
Two Louisville police officers connected to deadly raid that led to Breonna Taylor’s death in March were notified on Tuesday that they would be fired, more than nine months after the operation.” (NY Times)
01/01/2021
New Year’s Day
01/03/2020
“Marilyn Strickland makes history as first Korean-American woman elected to US Congress.” (KHQ Q6 News)
01/05/2020
“Rusten Sheckey, the white officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back last August in Wisconsin, will not face charges.” (CNN)
01/06/2021
“Protesters storm the US Capitol, surrounding building as Congress meets to count Electoral College votes.” (NBC News)
01/08/2021
“Twitter has permanently banned President Trump from the platform, citing ‘risk of further incitement of violence.'” (NPR)/
“House Democrats are formally unveiling their resolution to impeach at 11 a.m.” (CNN)
01/12/2021
“These are the 5 people who died in the Capitol riot.” (NY Times)/
“The US House is taking up a resolution that would call on Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment.” (NPR)
01/13/2021
“Donald Trump has just become the first US President to be impeached twice following a vote in the US House of Representatives.” (CNN)
01/15/2021
“It marked the second time – both this month and since the pandemic’s start – that the US reported more than 4,000 COVID=19 deaths in a single day.” (CNN)
01/19/2021
“US surpasses 400,000 deaths from COVID-19.” (CNN)/
“Vice President Pence has sent a letter to oHouose Speaker Nancy Pelosi, saying he will not invoke the 25th Amendment against President Trump.” (NPR)
01/20/2021
US Inauguration Day/
“President Trump departs White House.” (NBC News)/
“Joe Biden was sworn in as 46th president of the United States.” (CNN)/
“On his first day, President Biden signed 107 orders to dismantle Trump-era policies on the pandemic and immigration among others. Here’s the full list.” (NY Times)
01/25/2021
“US records 25 million COVID-19 cases.” (CNN)
01/26/2021
“The CDC said that as of Monday about 19.3 million people in the US has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and about 3.3 million have been fully vaccinated.” (NY Times)/
“The world surpasses 100 million known coronavirus cases in total, a staggering milestone for a crisis entering a phase of both hope and deep concern.” (NY Times)/
“President Joe Biden signed a memorandum Tuesday denouncing the discrimination directed at the Asian American and Pacific Islander community that has risen during the pandemic.” (Angry Asian Man)
01/30/2021
“More than 84,900,000 vaccine doses have been administered worldwide, equal to 1.1 doses for every 100 people.” (NY Times)
01/31/2021
“Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained by the military, says ruling party spokesman.” (CNN)
02/04/2021
“A white former Columbus, Ohio, police officer who shot and killed Andre Hill, a 47-year-old black man, in December has been indicted by a grand jury on murder charges.” (NPR)/
“Another 779,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits on a seasonally adjusted basis in the last week of January.” (CNN)
02/07/2021
“Tom Brady wins his 7th Super Bowl in his first year with the Buccaneers at age 43.” (CNN)
02/09/2021
Trumps Second Impeachment Trial: Day 1 (CNN)
02/14/2021
“Five US Senate Republicans voted with Democrats to hear witnesses at Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial.” (CNN)/
Valentines’s Day
02/18/2021
“Millions in Texas under boil water notices because of a winter storm.” (NPR)/
“NASA’s Perseverance rover has safely landed on Mars after its 292.5 million mile journey from Earth.” (CNN)
02/25/2021
“500,000 – The number of deaths the US has recorded from the coronavirus pandemic.” (NY Times)
03/02/2021
“Texas governor lifts mask mandate despite health officials’ warnings.” (CNN)
03/06/2021
“US Senate passes $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package.” (NPR)
03/11/2021
“President Biden delivers the first prime-time address of his presidency after Congress passed his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan.” (NPR)