“Our studies also showed that this change in mood exacerbates the viewer’s own personal worries, even when those worries are not directly relevant to the news stories being broadcast,”

Aha. This was me during the beginning of this pandemic. My anxiety grew so much, totally unrelated issues were also triggered by news of increasing covid cases worldwide.

Some of Davey’s research has shown that negative TV news is a significant mood-changer, and the moods it tends to produce are sadness and anxiety. “Our studies also showed that this change in mood exacerbates the viewer’s own personal worries, even when those worries are not directly relevant to the news stories being broadcast,” he says.