No wonder there is such hysteria…

By Andrew Baker

Although I can only base my feelings about the swine flu off of anecdotal and first hand experiences, I don’t really see it as any more threatening than Influenza A, a more common type of flu. Having had swine flu and lived through it I don’t feel particularly fortunate, like I snuck through the death trap that is H1 N1. I don't really feel like it's THE DREADED, TERRIBLE, AWFUL, DEADLY thing media outlets seem to be painting it as. Don't get me wrong, people are dying from it, but most of us have little to worry about (other than the ickiness of being sick).

However I can see how some people are beginning to feel so alarmed. The yesterdays’ media coverage of the swine flu out break beginings may lead some like myself to throw around scary words like fear-mongering, sensationalism, hysteria, and even chaos. This article from the Times may be my favorite example of such sensational reporting. This week’s news from the Washington Post and New York Times isn’t much different. But maybe one of the most interesting things about the outbreak is how it has opened up another discussion of “Is the government doing enough?” I don’t know the answer. I’ve had swine flu and lived through it to write this blog. But here’s a discussion between David Fidler, a professor at Indiana University and online readers of the Post that may add a little bit more to your understanding.

One thing is for sure, politics has not been entirely left out of the media's reporting on H1 N1. Stories like the Post's are all over broadcast news and commentary shows as well as the blog-o-sphere. What I want to do is – once again – take a critical look at what the coverage of the swine flu pandemic looks like this week. For reference, I’ll be referring to the links above.

What they got right

• The Post in particular does a great job of putting forward a source on the issue of epidemiology and health care in their published dialogue on government action (I’ll touch this point a little more below).
• I found the Post story about Tamiflu shortage to be very well written with a particularly engaging lead. This makes me wonder if it was also a part of their print copy for the day.
• This isn’t breaking news, but the Times does a very thorough job of reporting for the city of New York; good sources, good facts, good reporting.

Toss up

• Both of these outlets (excepting the online discussion from the Post) take a decidedly anecdotal voice in there reporting in their stories. All use parents and common individuals to help tell the story of the dilemma common people are facing. I call this a toss up because it is an important side of the story but anecdotal “infotainment” tends be looked at disapprovingly in some circles.
  

Where they missed the mark

• As I mentioned above, one of my biggest knocks about the coverage of pandemic disease is the hysteria it creates in individuals. By framing these stories in different ways (schools, medicine shortages) the Post and Times continue to pervade the public with H1 N1 worry.
• As much as David Fidler may know about global health, he is simply not an authority on politics. In one answer to a question specifically about the politics of government provision of vaccines, he provides a good answer but one that should be looked at in particular (the question is from Washington D.C). This seems to be an example of media in general prancing out experts that may not actually be able to address the question as well as someone else. Granting them some leniency because of financial and other constraints, I would have preferred to see a panel.
• Some information should just be left out of a story. In particular, I mean the second paragraph of the Times article. If there is no city-wide figure, why say that the number is “between 5 and 50 percent of parents”? Seems like kind of a rough estimation to me.

As you can see, the media doesn't really do many favors when it comes to reporting on pandemic disease, short of providing the basic information. With H1 N1 in gerneral they seem to be looking at it more and more through the lense of government response to the out break. What with vaccine being delayed, then arriving, then having problems, then being delivered again, it starts to make you wonder if this will be President Obama's Katrina (that is another discussion entirely). One thing is certain, infotainment is still lying just a few lines below the lead.

(photo credit: allword-news.co.uk)