Reporter’s communicative performance, while wearing face masks, during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose: to identify the impact of wearing protective face masks on reporters’ communicative performance during the COVID-19 pandemic and verify whether there was an association between these aspects. Methods: a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study with a sample of 32 reporters (16 females and 16 males) who worked, during the pandemic. Most participants had a bachelor’s degree (n = 28; 87.5%). The sample’s mean age was 35.09 years (SD = 9.41), and they had been working in the area for a mean of 10.09 years (SD = 7.62). Reporters answered an online form with 26 questions, developed by the researchers, on their self-perception of voice and communicative performance when wearing a mask, during the pandemic. Data were descriptively analyzed, and the chi-square test was applied with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 20 (SPSS). Results: most reporters (n = 20; 62.5%) classified their voices and speech articulation as good (n = 19; 59.4%) and reported difficulties hearing and/or being heard by interviewees in noisy places and perceived their voices were lower, muffled, or with a low volume (n = 28; 87.5%). Also, 22 (68.8%) reported having to speak louder than usually to be heard. Lastly, the questions on reporters’ communicative performance were associated with wearing masks while reporting. Conclusion: wearing protective face masks, during reportage, negatively impacted reporters and was associated with their communicative performance.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• Masks
• Communication
• Journalism
• Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences