Is the media “missing the mood” with COVID-19 coverage?
Illustration: Media Test's Negative by Faye Schuster
Snapchat, Instagram, Apple News, Twitter and Facebook: COVID-19 has infiltrated them all. I for one, receive several news notifications at a time with near enough the exact same headline. Even tabloid gossip has resorted to inane commentary on how the Kardashians are coping in lockdown (pretty well I imagine). This is hardly surprising, media platforms have always vigorously competed with one another to be the most up to date, current and exclusive sources of information.
However, in recent days criticism has been mounting that – perhaps – mainstream news providers (namely the BBC, ITV etc) are too negative in their coverage of the Coronavirus crisis. Different media outlets have long pushed out biased opinions and have voiced different stances, but has the media got it wrong in their approach to covering the crisis?
First of all, I think it really depends on what you personally deem to be the news’ role in general. For me, they provide facts, the ‘news’, yes – but they also explore commentary, discuss research and garner general opinions about current events. In my eyes, it is the media’s job to interrogate the facts from multiple angles so that people can be fully informed on the subject at hand. In some instances, these ‘angles’ may be negative, especially when the topic of interrogation is something like COVID-19. It’s also important to consider the rapid development in different types of media outlets in recent years; news stations like BBC, ITV, Sky now have to compete with social media journalism and online news as well as papers and other TV stations.
We are living out our very own, global Groundhog Day.
Considering that – up until recently – all people could really do was go to the shops, enjoy their government mandated 1 hour exercise, and stay at home, I can understand that people are finding the news increasingly negative and repetitive. We are living out our very own, global Groundhog Day.
We’re fed up.
However, turn the issue on its head; if BBC Breakfast, Good Morning Britain, ITV News etc started to only report good news stories, and didn’t interview virologists, politicians, and other experts, what would happen? You could almost guarantee that social media, other press forms and members of the public would call them out for not reporting the full story, perhaps even being naïve and insensitive in their approach to the issue. Tiresome as it is, bad news is still news.
In a re-tweet, Lord Alan Sugar agrees with an unknown source’s claim that the press is ‘trying to trip up our politicians instead of asking questions that will provide positive and reassuring answers for all of us’ and essentially attempting to play the blame game with the Government. Up until last Sunday, I would have been inclined to agree, but Boris Johnson’s speech was so devoid of any answers that I feel decidedly less positive and reassured.
Six weeks ago, I was looking forward to moving to London for my new job, going skiing and going to Paris with friends. But, none of that matters now, because the garden centres have reopened! A flippant comment, but it illustrates my point. Unlimited sunbathing 2 metres apart and being able to buy compost does not indicate (in my opinion) a return to even a modicum of normality, and although some are being encouraged to return to work, I can’t help but feel that this is more incentivised by the Government wanting to reduce the cost of furlough, than it being genuinely safe to do so.
Admittedly, watching Piers Morgan have out-and-out rows with Tobias Ellwood, Edwina Currie (et al) is not how I want to start my morning, and – though his interview style leaves much to be desired – he’s asking about what I actually want to know: when can I see my family/friends/boyfriend? Am I allowed to travel out of county? Why am I allowed to visit someone else’s house with an estate agent but not go to a friend’s house to see them? Lord Sugar’s tweet calls out for a ‘constructive contribution to the national effort to help us out of this crisis,’ although when you weigh up opening a garden centre versus asking politicians difficult questions to provide the public clarity on the Government’s plan, I know which I would label ‘constructive’.
‘the [literal] health of this nation’ does not depend on the media or the press
Lord Sugar's re-tweet also states that ‘it is time [all the press] changed [their] negative and political rhetoric for the health of this nation and start supporting this Government’ that is ‘doing [its] level best to get it right’. Firstly, ‘the [literal] health of this nation’ does not depend on the media or the press; it depends directly on the Government to make the right decisions to support the NHS and support the public. Secondly, I am not suggesting that the Government should have been equipped for a situation like this, that would be frankly ridiculous. However, to expect strong leadership and clear guidance - instead of a Prime Minister that Sir Keir Starmer can take ‘apart like a Duplo train set’ (Michael Deacon, The Telegraph) during Prime Minister’s Questions – is not unreasonable. Asking for unwavering support in a man who has been compared to pre-school Lego (and whose decisions have been ignored by the First Ministers of both Scotland and Wales) – a little more unreasonable.
Either way, media and press outlets help to bridge the gap between the Government and the public. As much as it is the Shadow Cabinet’s role to scrutinise government decisions, the fact is mainstream news programmes like BBC breakfast and the daily briefing make these discussions far more accessible to viewers. Boris Johnson’s daily briefing has brought in viewer ratings of 10 million, the channel that hosts PMQs (BBC Parliament) is lucky to get 1.5 million in an entire day. Political rhetoric should not be confused with reporting on political subject matter. Furthermore, media companies like the BBC connect viewers/readers with a plethora of information from a multitude of sources. Morning news programmes can interview a politician, a virologist and a soap actor within 10 minutes of each other: where else do you find that kind of range?
So, has the media missed the mark? I don’t think so.
News is about things that happen; there weren’t reports of the lack of pandemic prior to the Coronavirus outbreak. And, negative as this may be, I have seen news outlets making conscious efforts to report on ‘good’ news as well as the headlines: Captain Tom brought joy to a nation for weeks, every Thursday millions clap for the NHS, the BBC even has a tab on its website for ‘Uplifting Stories’. However, to suggest that they should focus more on this than actual ‘headline news’ is absurd. The fact is that, with something like COVID-19, knowledge is power. The news may not be what you want to hear right now (RIP Summer 2020) but staying informed and knowing how events affect you (negative or positive) is what will see you through the pandemic safely (that and social distancing #twometresplease).
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