Thought of the Day - June 16 - Mass Media

I was talking with our neighbour, Margaret, a little while ago concerning the blog. One of her comments was that much of what I was posting she had already heard through the BBC.

This is good news as it means mass media (and here I would say the BBC is an exemplar in that bunch) has fully embraced the issues surrounding the coronavirus.

I am reminded of how a friend once told me "it is the things that are not in the papers you should be worried about". The mass media mostly reports on things that are "news" meaning novel or out of the ordinary. For example, you do not hear much about the ways the majority of people in the western world die: car accidents, suicide or age-related ailments. Instead, you hear about an airplane crash or a freak accident.

Back in January of this year, there was nary a word about SARS-CoV-2, other than a mention that China had some issues. You can imagine going to your editor suggesting running a story on a potential pandemic just to be told "Thanks, but wasn't it you that came to me with the same headline two months ago after three people in China were identified as having Bubonic Plague?".

Reporting goes in cycles. In a few months, I will be doing another Thought of the Day reflecting how COVID-19 is no longer news, and thus is no longer a lead story.

That said, I have to thank Margaret for "throwing down the gauntlet". This week I will focus on a few things that you won't see in the mass media. Mwaahhahah.

Cheers

Cliff