A Proposal for Collaboration Between News Media Outlets and The National Public Health Emergency Management Team

In the past eighteen months, Covid-19 has proven to be a momentous force that altered the course of history. As the pandemic spread across the world at an alarming rate, health measures were inevitably imperfect. To exacerbate the crisis, the United States emerged with a fragmented and disorganized response. This was largely due to an ongoing presidential election that created political rivalries in the approach to combating Covid. In retrospect, news media should have aligned with health agencies, such as the CDC and WHO, instead of political parties to  ameliorate this conflict. As head of the Public Health Emergency Management Team, I would foster stronger relationships with news agencies so that a unified scientifically-backed plan could be broadcasted to the general public, generating less confusion and a response that is easier to follow. 

To better understand the divisive U.S. response to Covid, we must also explore the relationship between the presidential administration and news channels. The association between Fox News and president Trump at the time became notorious during this period as there was a clear political alignment. This alliance demonstrated detrimental effects as a polarizing perspective of the pandemic was presented on a global level that divided the public’s understanding of what was happening. This collaboration may be largely attributed to Fox News’ long history in leaning towards the Republican Party and its supporters. Up to 2020, thirty-seven percent of Fox viewers were above the age of sixty-five and eight-seven percent of viewers of identified as white. Two-Thirds of Republicans also cited Fox News as their trusted news outlet (Gramlich, 2020). As news medias survive off of viewership and ratings, they are likely to cater stories towards the demographic of their audience. This may have contributed to how the Trump  administration continued to receive extensive airtime and influence over Fox News. However, this also damaged public health efforts as information was politically aligned and not scientifically based. For this reason, the Public Healthy Emergency Management Team may find investing in relationships with news agencies to be a crucial tool in advocating for public health. Media and technology play crucial roles in everyday communication and has inevitably become an important source of public health information (Strazewski, 2020). In times of emergency, media must be used to reach the masses. Although a public health team may have the latest updates and best plan to combat a global health crisis, it is useless if these ideas are not heard by the public.

Of course, the maintenance of relationships requires a give and take balance. As head of the emergency response team, I would propose that a public health correspondent be an on-air consultant for major news channels during a health crisis with a designated time slot each night. In doing so, there will be a consistent message broadcasted to the public by a verified source from a national healthy agency. In return, the public health management team can allow exclusive access and content for news media. For example, the public health team can refer a greater number of physicians, hospitals, and medical research facilities that are willing to be filmed and interviewed. This way, both sides are satisfied to enter a mutually beneficial relationship where public health officials receive a platform and news agencies gain a larger margin of content. 

Cooperation between public health officials and news agencies will also reduce fragmented news reporting. As seen during Covid, divisive media coverage resulted in a confused and combative response by the general public. Every action aimed to fight the pandemic was met with opposition, leading to ineffective measures and a high rate of transmission. A prime example is the debate over the use of masks. On April 3, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Protection recommended that Americans wear face coverings as a public health measure (Jingnan, 2020). On April 27, 2021, Fox News refuted the benefits of wearing a mask, deeming that “there’s no scientific justification for any of it,” and that it jeopardized America’s freedoms (Tucker, 2021). As Fox News is one of the most-watched cable news channels with 2.16 million viewers, its message is a powerful one that poses a strong source of conflict if it opposes that of the national center for disease control (Watson, 2021). 

As a result of the mixed-attitude towards wearing masks, the United States emerged as a country that had a low compliance in wearing masks. Although there is still debate over the efficacy of wearing masks, a comparison between mask-mandated countries and non-mandated mask countries sheds light on its impact. Take for example the country of Singapore. Singapore emerged as one of the strictest countries where use of masks was mandated by the government. There were 7, 825 cases of Covid out of a million. In comparison, the United States experienced 9, 811 cases of Covid out of a million with its more lenient attitude towards the use of masks (“Which Countries”, 2021). When we scale these findings to the United States population of 328 million citizens, over six hundred thousand cases could have been spared with a unified response in wearing masks. This could have saved thousands of lives and, at the very least, eased the burden on our hospital systems. The use of masks illustrates the power that lies with media coverage and the information it spreads. The media directly impacts public perception and influences the actions individuals will take during a global health crisis. If there were stronger ties between the CDC, public health emergency management team, and news outlet, a coordinated message could have been broadcasted for greater cooperation among the general public.

With talks about collaboration between media and national agencies, we must also address the issue of free speech. As a country founded on the basis of freedom, a national broadcasting message may appear to be authoritarian. However, it should be emphasized that during a worldwide public health crisis where lives are lost at an alarming rate, a unified emergency response is absolutely crucial to mobilize a coordinated plan of action. There must be some form of order that individuals can follow so that effective action may be implemented. Furthermore, the presence of a public health correspondent on air provides a consistent message while still allowing room for debate and expression of opinions. 

In hindsight, we can observe how impactful news outlets are in spreading messages to the mass public. We were also grossly unprepared for the rate at which unverified news spread and its damaging consequences on public cooperation. Moving forward, the Public Health Emergency Management team may find it beneficial to maintain contacts with news outlets so that verified public health updates are broadcasted to the public. This would generate less divergence and confusion to the public’s understanding of the health crisis so that a unified plan of action may be followed. Ultimately, the priority is to provide the most updated and scientifically-based information on public health to the country’s citizens so that goals in combating a pandemic and saving lives may be achieved.

References

1. Tucker C. We should start asking people to stop wearing masks outside, it makes us uncomfortable. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-we-should-start-asking-people-to-stop-wearing-masks-outside-it-makes-us-uncomfortable. Published April 27, 2021. Accessed July 12, 2021. 

2. Demographics of Social Media Users and Adoption in the United States. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/social-media/. Published April 26, 2021. Accessed July 12, 2021.

3. Gramlich J. 5 facts about Fox News. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/08/five-facts-about-fox-news/. Published August 18, 2020. Accessed July 12, 2021. 

4. Jingnan H. Why There Are So Many Different Guidelines For Face Masks For The Public. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/10/829890635/why-there-so-many-different-guidelines-for-face-masks-for-the-public. Published April 10, 2020. Accessed July 12, 2021. 

5. Strazewski L. How news media is filling public health role during COVID-19. American Medical Association. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/public-health/how-news-media-filling-public-health-role-during-covid-19. Published September 16, 2020. Accessed July 12, 2021. 

6. Watson A. U.S. most-watched news network 2020. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/373814/cable-news-network-viewership-usa/. Published June 7, 2021. Accessed July 12, 2021. 

7. Which Countries Are Requiring Face Masks? Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/in-brief/which-countries-are-requiring-face-masks. Accessed July 12, 2021.