Abstract
As the emergence of social media has diversified the means for sending out and acquiring information, the shift away from television and disinterest in news, especially among young people, is becoming increasingly serious. Behind this problem, however, may lie an issue of mass media itself that is not fully playing the role of delivering the necessary information to people who need it. With this perspective in mind, this paper examines the coverage on the special-paid-leave subsidy for working parents, which started with the spread of the COVID-19, focusing on to what extent the media was able to communicate this information to the parents concerned and to contribute to their use of the subsidy. The author conducted an internet survey to visualize the actual conditions of working parents’ media contact, centering on those with pre-school children.The survey result confirmed the need for television as a means for checking daily news. Meanwhile, many parents had fewer opportunities to watch TV news because they were too occupied with housework and child care or had to prioritize children in deciding which programs to watch. In terms of how parents came to know of the subsidy, television made a certain contribution as an access to the information, but not to the extent of playing the role of encouraging behavior change for them to use the subsidy. To deliver the necessary information to those who need it, it will be imperative to review the method of reporting news.
