With apologies to Fred Allen*
# 2412
According to the CIA Factbook, the United States has more than 2,200 Television stations, and nearly 14,000 radio stations. With the increase in popularity of cable news, and the Internet, the number of daily newspapers in this country is declining, but still remains over 1,000.
That's a lot of conduits of information. And that only counts the `mainstream media'.
Now, not every radio or TV station does their own reporting. Many subscribe to a news provider that sell packages of `canned' news to multiple markets.
Still, we are talking about thousands of reporters and news presenters, all of whom would be called upon to provide local information to their audience during a pandemic crisis.
And I doubt that one in ten knows the difference between an antiviral and a vaccine, or the difference between isolation and quarantine. Most couldn't tell you what a fomite was, if you held a gun to their head.
While the pandemic threat may seem remote to most reporters right now, make no mistake. Another pandemic is inevitable.
Whenever a hurricane threatens a gulf coast region, the local TV and radio stations just about all go to a 24/7 coverage of the event. They interview experts and guests, show video of rising waters and evacuation routes, issue warnings, give advice on how to board up your home, and even take live phone calls on the air from concerned citizens.
When a crisis threatens a community, the residents want (and need) local information.
Something the national media can't provide.
During a severe pandemic, I expect exactly this type of reaction by local media outlets. Wall-to-wall coverage in every media outlet in the nation.
At least in the beginning.
The public will want to know what, exactly, is being done in their community. They will want to know where to get food, medicine, or medical attention. They will want to know about local mass transportation, or schools closures.
People will want to know what the `viral weather' is like each day in their town. Is it a good day to stay home? Or is is safe to go to work?
And this crisis could go on for weeks or even months.
Hurricanes, in comparison, are pretty simple. They last less than 24 hours. They happen somewhere along the gulf coast nearly every year. And the science behind tracking, and predicting them, is well established (if not entirely dependable).
The caliber of reporting I've seen to date on pandemic issues, particularly from local news outlets, has been disappointing. It is either non-existent, or sprinkled with hyperbole and sometimes even misinformation.
I'm spoiled, I suppose, by the excellent reporting we get from the likes of Helen Branswell with the Canadian Press, Maryn McKenna, Lisa Schnirring, and Robert Roos at CIDRAP, Maggie Fox at Reuters, and Jason Gale of Bloomberg News.
These reporters (along with a handful of others) have set the bar pretty high.
They've done so because they understand the background of the subject. They've taken the time to learn about pandemic issues, and the science behind it. They aren't simply rewording a press release, issued by some government agency or university.
And to a large degree local news writers, and presenters, are going to need a similar level of expertise during a pandemic crisis.
At bare minimum, a basic understanding of the science and logistics of dealing with a pandemic.
And it isn't something you can pick up overnight.
Today it may seem an unimportant issue. A pandemic, to many of these newsrooms, seems like an unlikely and distant event. But the next pandemic will likely come at us quickly, and not necessarily from the direction we expect.
It may not even be bird flu.
And reporters, whether they are ready or not, will be thrust into the limelight and expected to cover the event. How well they do that job could follow them their entire career.
In 1992, the Homestead area (just south of Miami, Fla) was hit by Category 5 Hurricane Andrew. An unlikely hero emerged from that long night.
A weatherman named Bryan Norcross.
Weatherman catapulted into spotlight
By Times staff writers
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 20, 2002
On Aug. 23, 1992, Bryan Norcross was just another TV weatherman. A day later he was the most trusted voice in South Florida.
When Hurricane Andrew ripped through the region, Norcross' calming presence helped storm victims hold it together. The WTVJ-Ch. 6 meteorologist stayed on the air 23 hours straight, even while he and the crew crowded into a small area called "The Bunker" with a handheld camera.
He won a national Peabody Award. Officials in three cities declared a "Bryan Norcross Day." There was even a TV movie, with his role played by actor Ted Wass (best known as the dad on Blossom).
Norcross, of course, knew hurricanes. He became a hero, and remains one today, because he did his job so well. He undoubtedly saved lives that night. Probably a lot of them.
In a pandemic, we are going to need the equivalent of hundreds of Bryan Norcross' in local media outlets all across the country, and the world.
People who can step up and be calming, knowledgeable, and trusted in the midst of a crisis.
It is a big responsibility.
It isn't too early for local reporters to begin educating themselves, and the public, about pandemic issues. And there is no better place to start than the HHS's pandemicflu.gov.
If you are the news director of a local station, or the editor of a local paper, find yourself a pandemic expert or two now. People who can advise you and your staff during a crisis.
One of the big problems our government faces is getting the preparedness message out to the public. They want people to prepare. Local news outlets providing sane, non-hyped coverage of pandemic issues would go a long ways towards achieving that goal.
Local media should show people how to prepare, and how to do so on a budget. They should encourage local residents to become active in community awareness and preparedness activities.
And they need to educate people about how community mitigation strategies, like social distancing and staying home when you are sick, can save lives.
With all the `fluff' pieces that are used as filler material on local newscasts and in the local paper these days, wouldn't it make more sense to cover something really important?
It needs to be an ongoing, regular feature on the 5 o'clock news- not a one-shot, and forget-about-it segment. The goal is to make preparedness an accepted way of life.
The socially responsible thing to do.
Perhaps the government, or some private media company, needs to provide pre-packaged pandemic/preparedness segments for use by local TV stations.
Something that can be used to augment local reporting.
Frankly, it sounds like a profit center for some enterprising TV station. Make your own preparedness segments and market them to some of the 2,200 TV stations around the country.
And these same news outlets need to be making their own pandemic plans, as well. Figuring out how they will remain viable during a pandemic, when their community will need them the most.
Local media will likely be the most important information lifeline to the public during a pandemic crisis.
If they start working at it now, it could turn out to be their finest hour.
* * * * * *
* Fred Allen
Fred Allen was an acerbic radio comedian/personality of the 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's whose comedy show often skewered the trends, personalities, and politics of the day. He is fondly remembered for his long running `feud' with Jack Benny.
While he would go on to appear on television, he never missed a chance to skewer the fledging medium.
