Dean Wright is Global Editor, Ethics, Innovation and News Standards. Any opinions are his own.
There’s nothing like a disease outbreak to highlight the value of the media in alerting and informing the public in the face of an emergency.
There’s also nothing like it to bring out some of our more excessive behavior, essentially shouting “Run for your lives! (but, whatever you do, stay tuned, keep reading the website and don’t forget to buy the paper!).”
An outbreak of a form of influenza, which was known as swine flu before the World Health Organization changed the name, has killed scores in Mexico and infected others in the United States, Canada, Europe and New Zealand. It’s already having an effect on markets and travel plans, in addition to the obvious impact on public health.
The impact on markets could become more significant in time, but the impact on the media was practically immediate.
Cable television programmers went into crisis mode and a look at newspaper front pages and website home pages around the world showed a range of responses, from the almost hysterical to the concerned and more measured.
- In the New York Daily News: “SWINE FLU SPREADS!” (though it was played below a sports story on the New York Yankees losing to the Boston Red Sox).
- In the New York Post: “HOG WILD!” (also playing second to the Yankees’ humiliation, but illustrated with a pig sucking on a thermometer).
- In The Japan Times (using a Reuters story): “Swine flu in Mexico sparks global panic”
- In the South China Morning Post (which certainly has experience in covering bird flu and SARS): “Asia on high alert for swine flu as airports step up checks.”
- In The Guardian: “Swine flu: call for global action as outbreak spreads.”
- In the Toronto Sun: “CALM URGED AS FLU FEARS GROW.”
Later Monday, after the European Union health commissioner advised Europeans to postpone nonessential travel to the United States and Mexico, The New York Times led its website with “Europe Warned on U.S. Travel,” with a deck reflecting transatlantic disagreement, “Flu Advisory Unwarranted, C.D.C. Says.”
The BBC website focused on the confirmation of flu cases in the UK, with extensive Q&A’s on the origins of the disease and how it spreads and contributions from readers who were dealing with disease (some of them medical professionals in Mexico).
Big, bad-news stories can mean surges in audiences for media outlets and they certainly raise the adrenalin level of editors and reporters. They offer the temptation to go to excess, but they also offer the opportunity for us be of priceless service to our customers, clients and readers.
The question for me is how we in the media make sure we report accurately and informatively on the story and its impact on the markets and consumers’ lives without minimizing and without sensationalizing it.
“This is the type of story where our goal to stay factual and keep perspective is essential to uphold,” says Reuters Editor-in-Chief David Schlesinger. “Our role is neither to trivialize nor to hype or scaremonger, but to describe accurately what is happening and put its implications in context.”
Reuters has focused a great deal of resources—rightly, given our customers and audience—on the implications for the markets and the impact on the global economic downturn.
On Monday afternoon, Reuters.com was leading with “Will global recovery catch the flu?” atop a package of stories on possible market scenarios, the EU travel warning and factboxes on health precautions and industries being affected. One story noted, not surprisingly, that travel and tourism stocks were in turmoil.
Reuters.com also featured a special coverage page with the latest news, accompanied by a sober presentation of “Swine Flu Facts.” There’s even an invitation to receive updates on Twitter. Call me a skeptic on Twitter, but 140 characters won’t do much to add context to the story. Still, no one ever said Twitter was about context and at least you can follow developments, whether or not you’re near a computer.
My Reuters colleagues—especially the ones working bravely and tirelessly in Mexico—are succeeding in upholding the goal of staying factual and keeping events in perspective. It’s our mission to provide the information and insight our audience and customers need to make intelligent decisions about their investments and their lives. As shown by the World Health Organization’s decision Monday to raise the pandemic alert to Level 4, and later to Level 5, there’s plenty of drama to report without adding to it.
The flu story is still in its early stages and it remains to be seen if this becomes one of the biggest stories of our time. Whatever happens, it won’t hurt us all to take a deep breath now.
Trackback
75 comments so far
Previous | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | Next
Just imagine how many people caught TB or AIDS everyday by global statistics and WHO should have declared world pandemic for every known communicatable disease, you will feel much better for a curable flu.
- Posted by GreeneI agree with everyone else, it is hype.
- Posted by PatriciaHey Raul from May 4th, 2009 - Re: I have a conspiracy theory. I can surely agree with your written expression, but only positively on one point - It is a conspiracy. And, these situations are no longer theories. YouTube this: Luke Rudkowski - ‘U.S. media doesn’t want truth’. Do the research.
- Posted by Christopher-Peter: MaingotNote to AZJ:
Yes, I make it a point to read all comments on the blog. I like for the discussion to be largely among readers, since I’ve already had my say–and at some length.
However, when appropriate I will wade back in to the debate.
Thanks for reading!
- Posted by Dean WrightDean, do you read all these comments?
- Posted by Arlene JacobsonAZJ
[...] Stemwedel contends that a thoughtful individual should contemplate these scenarios. Sources: Reuters, Apr. 30 — Science Blogs, Apr. 30 — Minnesota Public Radio, Apr. [...]
- Posted by Ethics Newsline® » News » More Ethics Dilemmas Incubate as Swine Flu Pandemic ThreatensI have a consipiracy theory, this could have been made to create terror among humanity. some makers of medicine & vaccine and genius in developing diseases may have created the H1N1 for profit & commercial purpose.
- Posted by Raul B Villarama Jr.So today Mexico reports that the worst of the swine flu is over; and it is no worse than a regular flu. How much money was spent on this? Did Obama not asked for a billion dollars, and asked companies to give as much time as the employees asked? How much did this cost to airlines, travel agencies? How much did this cost to the Mexican and world economy?
- Posted by C GarzaI think the news media need to do some real soul searching. Hype sells but it will eventually backfire.
The hype seems to be an effective way of distracting people from the government’s antics and also to keep our minds off the economy crisis. I don’t know for sure how big this swine flu epidemic will get but at the moment, I think it’s all hype.
- Posted by CarisMuch agreed Christopher. Much agreed.
- Posted by jasonWe must unite to Resistance to virus
- Posted by chinaRe: Posted by Jason-May 1st, 2009 - 4:59 pm GMT – I agree with you: We all need to keep focused on what our elected OFFICALS are doing. And, perhaps equally, if not more important jason; some of the things which they have, already done.
- Posted by Christopher-Peter: MaingotIt’s all hype to focus attention elsewhere away from what our elected officials are doing.
- Posted by jasonMore recent news alludes to short comings with the detection capabilities and, reporting efficacy of the WHO and the CDC. This was in direct reference to the inefficient detection and timely dissemination of information, regarding the current emerging Swine Flu pandemic…the World Health Organization along with the CENTERS for DISEASE CONTROL & PREVENTION (CDC) has paled in comparison to a two year old Seattle, Washington based company with just 50 employees – VERATECT CORPORATION. They alerted the public to a growing number of swine flu cases, weeks before the CDC and the WHO did.
VERATECT accomplishes their daily business activities, via the use of computer algorithms, and human analysts, to monitor online and off-line sources, for hints of disease outbreaks, and worldwide civil unrest.
Perhaps the CDC, the WHO, HHS, DHS, NSA, CSIS, RCMP and, even MI5, could learn a thing or two from this “start up company from Seattle.” They could perhaps partner with them, or other such CORPORATIONS, in an effort to satisfy the needs of certain public and private institutions.
Clients of these geek computer algorithms, and human analysis, were actually forewarned of the potentially severe outbreak of Swine Flu, and much sooner than the general public was too, apparently.
This new and growing business, which others are into as well, garners its source materials from data being captured from the likes of; bloggers, on-line chatters, twitters, news media sources, and of course, government websites. There is really nothing stopping the CDC, the WHO, et. al., from using this available data to enhance the speed at which they respond to outbreaks of Swine Flu, H5N1, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) etc.
With the likes of this high tech, alerting technology, the possibilities will now be limitless. Had this method of prediction been available many years ago, the incidences of fatally injurious accidents to unsuspecting citizens, might have been minimized. In particular, the Swine Flu vaccination program of the 1970s, which was responsible for horrendous side-effects such as, paralysis and death, comes to mind. Not to mention the on-going controversy of the Polio vaccines, especially with the recent negative publicity from Nigeria, and other third world countries.
It has been stated; some of the obvious and important benefits of this intelligence gathering science, apart from possibly saving human life…will better manage the financial reporting, and insurance coverage…mitigating potential class action lawsuits due to negligence…especially important in the UNITED KINGDOM, where the government recently crafted the CORPORATE Manslaughter, and CORPORATE Homicide ACTs.
With this cutting edge…into the future knowledge, 21,000 Canadians might have had sooner awareness that they would die in 2008 from air pollution and smog…Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome?
WORLD VISION INCORPORATED pays good money for this unique style of pre emptive intelligence. It is said, that they can actually use the alerting technology to determine where contaminated drinking water might exists, on this planet.
The leader of the CDC’s international swine flu team thinks this type of technology is somewhat useful and, sensitive to emerging threats. However, Dr. Scott Dowell also thinks “it generates a lot of noise.”
On the subject of noise or sound, the CORPORATION which truly possessed the widest vision capabilities; was PANASONIC. More than two months ago now, and before any inkling of Swine Flu (A-H1N1), this company came up with the perplexing plan; repatriate the families of overseas employees, out of fears of an imminent flu pandemic.
A PANASONIC spokesperson said; employees will stay put, but families of those working in China, Asia (excluding Singapore), the Middle East, Africa, Russia and South America are to return to Japan.
So perplexing was this decision, that it triggered a reaction from WHO spokesperson, Gregory Hartl: “There’s really no reason for anyone to all of a sudden take such actions, because today is no different from yesterday.”
Hartl of the WHO said; “there is no justification for this decision, particularly from a public health perspective. There is no sense that the risk has risen, and we are definitely still in Phase 3.”
Phase 6 = Condition Pandemic.
- Posted by Christopher-Peter: MaingotThe Hype has really been irritating me. The only positive point is that headlines seem to have temporarily stopped switching eight times a day between ’slight global recovery’ and ‘deepening global meltdown’. I was getting dizzy!
The best thing about the swine flu craze is the short-selling potential of all these stocks that will soon deflate whenever the flu fears subside or their vaccines prove impractical. This is the best list I\’ve found of these overhyped swine stocks http://bit.ly/EsQhz
- Posted by Peter Erskine