AIBU to think that the media should report on Coronavirus more appropriately?

[goldpendant]

I think the constant live blogs, minute by minute case reports are going to contribute hugely to widespread panic and increased social anxiety?

AIBU to think our government should be calling on the media to tone it down, as Italy have been instructed to do?

Ding - says a person who doesn't know me I don't need to justify myself to you but I am a level headed normally

www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/influenza-(seasonal)

but I am a level headed normally

Then maybe get this in perspective and take reassurance from the fact that the chances of you catching this virus are absolutely minuscule.

"Seasonal influenza is characterized by a sudden onset of fever, cough (usually dry), headache, muscle and joint pain, severe malaise (feeling unwell), sore throat and a runny nose. The cough can be severe and can last 2 or more weeks. Most people recover from fever and other symptoms within a week without requiring medical attention. But influenza can cause severe illness or death especially in people at high risk (see below).

Illnesses range from mild to severe and even death. Hospitalization and death occur mainly among high risk groups. Worldwide, these annual epidemics are estimated to result in about 3 to 5 million cases of severe illness, and about 290 000 to 650 000 respiratory deaths."

I appreciate that this new virus is worrying but people should calm down.

That's why I haven't barricaded the doors or stockpiled, I'm aware it's crazy! That's the difference

It's all just ridiculously over the top. There have been 2,900 deaths in a population of 7.7 billion. You have far more chance of winning the lottery this weekend (1 in 45 million) than catching this virus.

At risk of arguing against myself. The Chinese government media are sources I would NOT trust (see my initial comments about totalitarian news functions) and there have apparently been some underground reports of airborne nitrogen oxide levels there suggesting unusually high numbers of cremations out of line with reported fatality numbers (my Chinese friends are all discussing this).

So, I don’t know how accurate that is but I don’t trust the Chinese government & would think avoiding the effected regions would be wise.

Other than that; wash hands, avoid pointless crowds and medical waiting rooms you do not need to be in and just use common sense.

I couldn't agree more OP!

It's not just the tabloids either; I'm finding The Guardian in particular very sensationalist when it comes to CV at the moment; so much so that I have almost completely stopped reading it.

Bad news sells/gets people to click.

until some more important story comes along to knock this off the front pages, nothing will happen.

and the government are probably happy that the nonsense they keep saying on Brexit / trade etc is not on the front pages.

It's not just the tabloids either; I'm finding The Guardian in particular very sensationalist when it comes to CV at the moment; so much so that I have almost completely stopped reading it.

That is unfair. The Guardian is NOT a sensationalist publication. They ARE a global news outlet, and a respected one. Their international pages are carrying more than the U.K. front page, which you would expect.

If you suffer from anxiety and are struggling to contextualise other weigh up information, then just don’t read.

Follow the common sense guidance and just do you.

(The blue screengrab is the international front page, with lots of virus news from different countries and the WHO. The red screengrab is the U.K. front page covering the virus, then storm Jorge, then Greta, then a DWP related death, in that order. Nothing sensational there.)

@AriettyJones I think you have just proven my point. I don't feel particularly anxious about CV, but pretty much everybody else seems to be. And as I have stated I have stopped reading The G because I'm getting bored and annoyed by their constant CV live updates. How many people will this year die because of delayed cancer diagnoses, austerity, global warming (floods, fires, storms, ...), unsafe roads, air pollution? The response to this virus is out of proportion IMO.

There are worried well everywhere. I work in retail now and honestly people talking about stock piling yet they don’t seem to have any issues wandering around the shop to do their stockpiling!

Heh. “Bored” I can understand.

But the global pages are doing the global picture and the domestic pages are doing the U.K. picture.

So my point is, just read U.K. news not the world-wide picture. (Plus unsubscribe from news alerts).

That is unfair. The Guardian is NOT a sensationalist publication. They ARE a global news outlet, and a respected one.

Hardly! They are losing any respect with their absolute gobbledygook re gender ideology. They can't even name a woman without 'cis' or 'womxn'.
They're a disgrace.

And reporting ONE case in the headlines world wide is scare mongering at its worst. People will start to selfishly stock pile and stuff any one else.

Media, please calm down!!!!!

Hardly! They are losing any respect with their absolute gobbledygook re gender ideology. They can't even name a woman without 'cis' or 'womxn'.
They're a disgrace

Yes, that ridiculousness did cross my mind even as I typed. But they do still able to do proper journalism - even proper science journalism- as long as it doesn’t involve lady brains and gender feels and so on.

Agree on the overdoing it of gender issues by the Graun. As for reading UK news only, that's not what I want though; I still would like to know what else is going on in the world. In the app at least you automatically land on the international news page when you open it (the app).

@bathroom and @TooGood2BeTrue I think you're both on the same page as me.... there must be other newsworthy stuff to report on?! I think it's the live reporting, constant watch over the minor increase in cases (of course the number will grow) that I'm finding irksome, Guardian and BBC in particular (mind you these are the apps I use so I don't know about other but had assumes they were fairly rational).

@ArriettyJones I'm a teacher and I agree with you! We do already spend time teaching the children at my school how to be discerning about what they read online be it gathering information for a project or reading the news. I see so many examples, as do my friends, of their relatives (55+) being taken in by click bait and sensationalist articles. Hopefully the children who are growing up in a world of 24hr news and just the sheer volume of information (not all of it accurate) will be far more discerning adults. And before anyone jumps on me, I'm in no way saying that all 55+ers are easily taken in!

@ArriettyJones I'm a teacher and I agree with you! We do already spend time teaching the children at my school how to be discerning about what they read online be it gathering information for a project or reading the new

Yay! I know everyone is always saying everything and the kitchen sink needs to be shoehorned into PSHE curricula, but this is such an important one for internet natives. Glad to hear it’s being covered.

I think a big factor in the coverage is the economic reaction: stock markets globally are down 10% on the week and markets are pricing it in the same ballpark as things like 9/11 or the financial crash.

That may or may not be an over-reaction but I think its as much an economic story as a health story.

And because we still produce a lot of real-time news from organisations which service investors (Reuters/Dow Jones) we're getting a lot of coverage which is driven by market reactions.

Not saying that's a bad thing: the economic impact is going to be significant. But worth factoring this in. Markets always over-react in both directions - up and down -- and at the moment they are panicking.