For anyone who has read many of these over the near four months it must have been now since the first one, they will have realised I don’t hold the mainstream media in very high regard. This piece is only going to further the previous sentiment. I was listening to the radio in my car earlier, for the last week or two it has been on in the background when I go anywhere, BBC Radio Five to be specific about the channel, and they were just like ever day it would appear, discussing the Coronavirus. Now this is not a piece on whether the virus is real or how dangerous it is or isn’t, but I would like to focus on it’s coverage in the media.
Last week all they were talking about was how deadly it was and how it was going to kill everybody. They obviously did not say that last point but this was implied by the heightened and sensational coverage they were giving it. There were episodes describing how to wash hands and the necessities of perfect hygiene, some of which I actually mentioned in a piece last week. Today in response to the populace freaking out and stockpiling anything they can from the supermarkets, they held a phone-in on the this issue with people calling in who stockpiled and those who disagreed with it morally. The point was they were being critical of people stockpiling and questioning what was leading people to do it.
Clearly the official line and message they were being told to push was no longer that you’re in danger, run for the hills or fear bacteria everywhere, you’re completely in you right mind to be neurotic; it was now that stockpiling is out of order, unjustified and you’re a bad person for doing so. Phone-in’s it appears are simply ‘Comment’ sections on websites or Twitter for those with ears, of course it is moderated but it helps to be heard if you’re a little sensational. A few people called in to defend their stockpiling, but finally one person called who reminded the presenter that the media must expect people to do this when all they’ve been hearing for the last few weeks is that they’re either going to die or be quarantined for eternity. He called out the very people he was talking to. They brushed it off with some kind of non-answer topic changer and the debate carried on.
It couldn’t have been more to the point. People who suggest this virus may not be as deadly as we’re being told are called irresponsible but we don’t seem to be hearing much about the irresponsibility of a media machine creating panic simply for click-bait and attention. How are people supposed to make sensible and informed decisions on something which could turn out to be deadly for them or their loved ones if they never receive balanced and credible information from what for many people is their only source of news. To sensationalise and then not only act surprised once people panic but be critical of them because it sells more stories and airtime. How people believe a word these charlatans have to say is beyond me. Why I still listen is even further beyond me.
Observations and Misunderstandings 