Journalists walk a fine line. We’re often accused of stoking the flames of mass hysteria just to sell a few papers, get a few website clicks or increase TV ratings. However, if we downplay or don’t report an issue, we’re accused of not doing our jobs.
It’s damned if you do, damned if you don’t. It’s an interesting spot to be in, and that’s the situation with the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. I have a responsibility to provide readers with accurate up-to-date information while not feeding into panic. I take that responsibility seriously because the last thing I want to do is strike fear in the hearts of our readers. I do, however, want to make sure you are well informed so you can make good decisions.
It didn’t take long for me to realize many of us don’t have accurate information about COVID-19.
Listening to concerns and reading comments on social media, I realized many of us not only have bad intel, but we share it as if it’s fact.
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We spout off government conspiracies without the least bit of proof. I understand our reluctance to trust the government — it’s part of the same hesitancy that makes us distrust the media and medical professionals. However, as a part of “the media,” I get that there are levels to this. Everyone in “the media” isn’t bad just as everyone in “the government” or medical field isn’t bad. We’re not all huddled together every night dreaming up some new form of population control or to distract you from a more diabolical plot. Most journalists I know work hard to get it right the first time and want to correct mistakes. Now, I’ve seen and heard some ignorance and bias in the newsroom too, but never anything sinister.
As we’re dealing with this latest pandemic, one thing I’d like you to remember is epidemics and pandemics aren’t new. They’re as old as time, and coming up with conspiracy theories or viewing this as a punishment or warning from God isn’t new. It’s human nature to try to understand and explain the unexplainable. It’s why the Greeks and other cultures created elaborate stories to explain common occurrences. One of my favorites is how Helios rode his chariot from east to west daily to explain the rising and setting of the sun.
We’re searching for answers. There has to be a good explanation for why this disease suddenly appeared. Is it man-made? If so, are all diseases man-made? If not, which ones are and which ones aren’t? Many Christians believe disease and other ills of society entered the world when sin did. If you believe diseases are man-made, were scientists whipping up diseases way back in biblical times?
Although our lives are finite, time is infinite, and we often think of current events in a vacuum as opposed to a continuum of time. The Black Death or bubonic plague killed approximately 50 million people in Asia, Africa and Europe. It’s believed trade ships helped spread the disease. People thought the Black Death was God’s divine retribution for sins. Cholera reared its ugly head on more than one occasion. Don’t forget the Spanish Flu, Avian Flu, MERS and SARS (both in the coronavirus family) just to name a few more.
I’m not here to argue why or how the disease got here, my point is to be responsible in our conversations about the disease. Let’s share accurate information. Join the Recorder at 2 p.m. March 19 on our Facebook page (facebook.com/IndyRecorder) for a virtual town hall meeting about COVID-19. We’ll have a panel of experts who can answer questions about how this virus will affect our daily lives — jobs, health care, education, etc. — now and into the future.
