While many blame the news for widespread panic, it is not the media’s fault
Whenever a major issue occurs, some groups are blamed more than others: politicians, big businesses and, most notably, the media. To say that any of these groups are without flaw would be a blatant lie, but to put all the blame on them, as people have recently done to news outlets regarding panic over the coronavirus, is also wrong.
Currently, people blame the news media for blowing the coronavirus out of proportion, claiming that the issue is not as bad as the news would have it seem.
It is not hard to imagine why these people think this way. The media reports, and people act. If the public did not hear of the coronavirus as quickly and often as they did, stores would likely not have to limit the amount of water customers could buy. Toilet paper and hand sanitizer would likely still be in stock. People would not be as worried as they are now.
But the fact that people are scared is not the media’s fault, and should not be used as another tactic to vilify the news. Rather, people should question why the public is scared, what they are scared of and whether it’s justified.
If the news reported on puppies and kittens 24 hours a day, seven days a week, no one would buy out supplies. No one would panic. The reason people are panicking now is due to a virus which is sweeping the globe with a current death rate of more than 4,000 worldwide.
In a matter of months, a disease which was only present in China began to invade other parts of Asia, Europe, South America, Canada and the U.S.
The illness has shut down schools and has led to increased security measures over public health. The World Health Organization (WHO) referred to the coronavirus as “a global pandemic,” which must be stopped before it gets worse.
The news did not start this illness. The news did not strong-arm the WHO to make them speak of the coronavirus in this way. The news did not force nations across the world to make public decisions about the virus. The only thing the news did was report on it.
It is time for people to stop blaming the news for every bad thing that happens. If the news did not report on these issues, people would remain ignorant. The public would not realize the potential danger around them. People would travel to infected areas without warning or preparation and may get sick without knowing it.
Without the news, the virus would continue to spread at alarming rates as people passed it off as just another flu. Without the news, more people would die.
Furthermore, if news outlets reported information about the coronavirus, but only did so intermittently, people would not view the virus as a threat. It would be an occasional talking point at dinner, not to be taken too seriously, and the public would be worse off.
Media outlets do not make the news — they report it. To say that we are better off without it, or that the news blows things out of proportion can only lead to more harm. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is just ignorance, and it can be deadly.