While it is a critical time for the media to step-up and focus on fact-based reporting on the Coronavirus and its public health implications, reporting on Coronavirus is similar in many ways to reporting on a snow storm in Western New York.
The minute you warn of the ramifications of an impending storm in Buffalo, critics scream the media is once again hyping the weather and causing undue stress and fear. And when the media warns of the snow storm and it turns out to not be as bad as it could have been, the “I told you so” and “there you go again” criticisms surface. But the real interesting outcry comes when a storm catches us off guard and we’re left with the “you can’t get anything right” criticism.
Sigh.
Many of the same criticisms are now surfacing as the media reports on the rapidly changing developments concerning Coronavirus and its creeping spread.
“I think the media hypes it out of control”, one man said to me concerning Coronavirus coverage today. He was contemplating a trip overseas with his family in May and indicated his stress over the trip was a result of media coverage.
But what is the media to do?
In both examples, a snow storm and Coronavirus, the stories are based in science. Meteorologists predict the weather. Medical experts tell us the immediate facts concerning infectious diseases and make scientific predictions on its future progression.
The media passes along those forecasts and concerns and, at the same time, takes most of the criticism from the public when things perhaps go a little bit differently and, hopefully, better than expected.
‘Don’t shoot the messenger’ seems an appropriate phrase to use when it comes to any responsible fact-based coverage of Coronavirus.
If the Governor of New York holds a press conference to pass along public health information, it is the media’s job to pass along those concerns and facts. Same for the President, CDC or any other entity or authority concerning this health alert.
Governor Cuomo, to his credit, has repeatedly indicated that the fear outweighs the facts. At his Sunday briefing, Cuomo stated from the start, “There’s more fear, more anxiety than the facts would justify".
WBEN presented a three hour show Thursday on Coronavirus that was completely fact-based and included doctors, medical and financial professionals. It was a clearinghouse for information on the rapidly changing developments about Coronavirus. The in-depth coverage allowed listeners to hear from multiple sources of authority and make their own judgements.
Our coverage like that will continue in our newscasts on air, stories online and in our social media coverage in the days and perhaps weeks ahead as we get more information concerning Coronavirus and its severity.
I’ll be the first to agree that how the media covers this health crisis is critical in helping set the tone in our communities. And, in this instance, I fully subscribe to the “we report, you decide” slogan once used by Fox News.
WBEN will continue to pass along to the public any credible fact-based information concerning Coronavirus and its current state and spread. The news will come in the form of press briefings by medical professionals, public health and political leaders as well as stories about how the population is responding to Coronavirus.
In the end, I hope we’re soon taking the kind of criticism the media receives when a storm doesn’t live up to its expectations.
In the meantime, we and other media organizations can’t ignore the continual updating of facts, advisories and warnings coming to us from medical experts.
Knowledge is power. And so too is perspective. It’s our responsibility to seek it out.