“Cooler Heads Must Prevail”

Today, in the midst of a frenzy of coronavirus updates, I received an email from a viewer.

Subject: “Cooler Heads Must Prevail”

Hi,

I have a few thoughts about this coronavirus. First, I think the media, which you are part of is making this a lot worse than it has to be. The 3 big networks are trying to send the whole country into a state of panic. They are not reporting this fairly. This is not the Plague for crying out loud! It’s a cold or flu virus not the end of the world!!!! I guess you all got to have something to talk about. Would some one please do some research and be fair instead of following the sheep at cbs?

This type of viewer message is not by any means unusual in news, but after reading a number of similar posts on social media specifically about coronavirus coverage, I felt compelled to respond with more than just the standard “thank you for your comments, and for watching our station.”

There’s a lot worth addressing in this message. And since I can’t have this conversation with every viewer (and person) who feels this way, here’s my response:

Hi [viewer]— thanks for the message. I understand your concern; there has certainly been a lot of illogical overreaction, and I do believe that it’s the responsibility of legitimate news organizations to report just the facts without adding to the hysteria. That’s what we’ve made a consistent effort to do with our coverage; reporting the facts without adding any emotion or analysis. I think if you look closely at our coverage on [station], that’s what you’ll see.

That being said, I’ll disagree with you on a few points.

I would never tell anyone to panic, nor would that be helpful. However, every medical professional I have spoken to and seen interviewed is in agreement that the coronavirus is not “just a cold or flu virus.” We know that it is extremely contagious (much like the flu), with a relatively low mortality rate (also like the flu), but unlike the flu, there’s no vaccine developed yet to curb the spread. That means it can spread unchecked, and has the potential to overwhelm our healthcare system. The real danger isn’t so much in individuals catching the virus; it’s in the case that a whole lot of people catch it at once, and we don’t have the facilities to treat everyone who needs it. That’s already happening in Italy: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/03/who-gets-hospital-bed/607807/

That risk is why you’re seeing so many major events canceled, to reduce the risk of person-to-person spread in large groups. We know coronavirus is going to be fairly widespread, but what we want is to make sure it comes on us in manageable numbers over time, rather than one huge spike of cases. Telling people the risks helps them keep themselves safe (by reducing exposure, washing hands more, etc.), thereby reducing the chances of an overwhelming event.

All of this puts journalists in a tough position. It’s our responsibility to tell people what is happening. We can’t simply ignore events like a travel ban from Europe, the NBA suspending its season, or a lockdown of an entire country (Italy). But when we tell people what’s happening, we get accused of “spreading the panic.” Good journalism is a mirror of truth. The truth is, in this case, that all of these events are happening.

I can’t control people’s reactions to the news. That’s on all of us to make sure we keep those “cooler heads” in the face of news that can be scary.

I hope that makes sense, and that you know that I mean it as an attempt at greater understanding, rather than argument.

If you’d like to read more, with some good, solid data points (no spin), here’s a good breakdown: https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca

And if podcasts are more your style, Joe Rogan did an interesting interview with an infectious disease specialist, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3URhJx0NSw&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR2EJ7WpYc6erGZaVJrj3XTHDgupW5qEgZEovuTFZglo21Rm3HXG1JLFeiU

Thanks again for writing, and for watching [station].

I’ve been told that what seems obvious to me when it comes to the inner workings of the news industry is not, in fact, obvious to those on the outside. For example, I can promise you that no journalist wants to increase public panic. For any reason. We live, work, raise our kids, and search desperately for the last rolls of toilet paper in the same communities you do. If a community falls to pieces during a crisis, that affects us, too.

Trust in the industry has been eroded to the point where journalists have to re-establish good relationships with viewers and readers. They’re not all doing a very good job at this.

Some media outlets may violate what trust remains by mixing news with commentary, only presenting one side of a story, or allowing social media and promotions departments to attach overly “clickbaity” headlines to an otherwise responsibly reported story.

I can’t give you a quick answer about who to trust and which outlets to subscribe to. What I can say is that the huge majority of journalists, especially on the local level, really are working to bring you the facts that will help you live a more informed, enriched, empowered life.

And as we work to re-establish that trust, we can just hope that the cooler heads will prevail.