Sheer Extent of Attention Implies Full-Blown Crisis

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was among many government officials addressing the flu scare yesterday. The story spread rapidly in the news vacuum of Sunday afternoon, when federal officials declared a health emergency, and by yesterday the coverage of a swine flu outbreak had reached fever pitch.

With front-page headlines, constant cable-news updates and top-story status on the evening newscasts, the outbreak -- with at least 40 confirmed cases in the United States -- was inescapable. But the sheer volume of media attention suggested a full-blown crisis.

"This is one of the hazards of 24-hour Internet-media-television," said MSNBC President Phil Griffin. "It's obviously a big story and you want to give it attention. I do think we have to be careful not to overstate it and not make people scared to death."

Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent, said from Mexico City that some reporting, "if taken the wrong way, can cause undue excitement. But it can also calm or allay people's fears. You have to make sure what you're saying is absolutely credible and not sensational. I'm trying to provide that context."

But some analysts say the media are collectively going overboard. "Of course we're doing too much to scare people," said Mark Feldstein, a former correspondent for NBC, ABC and CNN who teaches journalism at George Washington University. "Cable news has 24 hours to fill, and there isn't 24 hours of exciting news going on. If you scare people, they'll tune in more." At the same time, he noted, "we don't yet know the parameters of how big this is going to be."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/AR2009042703762.html

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