IMHO #2

The mad cow disease, anthrax, SARS, bird flu and now the Swine flu (aka H1N1) all possess one collective trait: they have each been introduced to us in the form of a deathly hazard that could affect the entire world. Most recently, the Swine flu has been discovered as a pandemic influenza that has not shown immunity to any certain individual. This flu has hit thousands of people all over the world in a few short weeks and many citizens are doing whatever it takes to keep their families safe. However, some may think that the media is simply overhyping the whole situation to instill fear and, in reality, the concern isn’t that much of a threat to us at all. On the other hand, many people feel that it is the media’s job to inform us of possible dangers and that we should take necessary precautions in order to protect our health. So why blame the media for overstressing the serious nature of this virus? Yes, I agree that spending a half hour regarding the Swine flu on prime-time television is a bit amplified, but don’t we want to know what deadly germs could be infesting our work place, schools, and homes? When a topic like this is exaggerated to a high degree, we feel that this is the only thing that we need to be aware of and that could possibly harm us. We forget that there are hundreds of other flu’s and viruses that could potentially take the life of any individual, young or old, healthy or sick. For example, the winter influenza has infected thousands and thousands of people and many have been killed by it, but we don’t see news on this pandemic in the media. Because the Swine flu is something newly discovered, the media has been trying to inform the world of its risks and the possibilities of it hitting close to home. To me, all they are doing is letting us know what’s out there; they are doing their job to broadcast important information to people living in all countries that could be targeted. It makes me wonder, that if they had not been reporting on the subject, would we be complaining about the lack of information provided as well? Again, I agree that the common flu has taken numerous lives and most of us know to take precaution, however the Swine flu is also just as dangerous and we should be lucky to have warning of its health risks.

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/fighting-the-swine-flu-media-backlash/?scp=1&sq=swine%20flu%20and%20the%20media&st=cse

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html