Sometimes, we’re having the wrong conversation because we don’t have all the information we need to have the right conversation. The media is failing us, and as a result we can’t make informed decisions as a society. When we’re getting most of our news from echo chambers, we don’t have the opportunity to understand multiple viewpoints in order to analyze complex situations and make informed decisions for ourselves and our communities. Here are three examples.
“In a particularly American fashion, we’ve turned a public-health catastrophe into a fight among factions, in which the virus is treated as a moral agent that will disproportionately smite one’s ideological enemies—while presumably sparing the moral and the righteous—rather than as a pathogen that spreads more effectively in some settings or through some behaviors, which are impervious to moral or ideological hierarchy.”
– Zeynep Tufekci, The Atlantic
On the point of media representation, she writes: “It’s gotten to the point where even articles about the coronavirus in cities that don’t have a beach feature photos of beaches.”
Then, over at the venerated New York Times, a conservative writer resigns with this scathing letter. Except it’s not scathing, it’s reasonable, sees all sides of the issue, and still manages to convey a personal perspective. Aka how journalism should be.
Journalism should also provide context. THIS is how you show relevant data:
Yesterday, we asked you if you anticipate missing a rent or mortgage payment in the next 3 months due to the economic fallout of COVID-19. ~2.5k of you answered our survey.
The Hustle’s readership skews higher-income than the median American household. A few stats on our respondents:
Average annual income = $113k (nat. avg. = $63k)
69% live in a house; 31% live in an apartment/condo
64% pay a mortgage; 36% pay rent
Average monthly rent/mortgage = $1,844 (nat. avg. = $1,465)
~12% are currently unemployed (nat. avg. = 47%)
The Hustle
In contrast, I read in the Statesman, Austin’s paper of record, that 8-10 people are being admitted to hospitals a day with Covid. I googled for 15 minutes and could not find the average number of people admitted to hospitals a day for other things. Is 8 a lot? A little? I DON’T KNOW. And as a NEWSPAPER, it is the Statesman‘s job to provide context for data—which it failed to do.
Lastly, something that’s getting very little media coverage: this article shows that it’s possible we have immunity from not-having Covid, but from the common cold. Stolen from a very smart NP friend: In layman’s terms, it appears that a % of the general population may have some degree of immunity to COVID-19 from prior infections with the common cold coronaviruses (CCCs).
Here for the fluff? Click on through.
Other convos: Week 17: the convo. Week 16: the rant.