While the coronavirus woes in China continue to make headlines here in the United States and even in San Diego, the mainstream media fail to cover more pressing matters like the fact that the influenza death toll rises in San Diego County. The media focus on issues aimed at boosting the claims of Democratic candidates across the country.
Instead of focusing on the failed crisis response efforts that have plagued China for the past two decades, ranging from the SARS outbreak of 2003 to the H1N1 pandemic of 2009, and now COVID-19, the media obsess over the response from President Trump. The Chinese government has failed, not only to report the problem to the international community, but also to contain such an issue. This only shows the incompetence of the Chinese government and the blatant disregard for the health and safety of not only its people, but those across the globe.
Forgetting for a moment COVID-19, what’s concerning about this fear-mongering by the mainstream media are the political consequences. Over the past two decades, the mediating institutions—like the media and political leaders—have used the fear-craving public to frame issues more dramatically to suit their political ideology and strategy.
Trump put Mike Pence in charge of the coronavirus response. Here’s how he handled the HIV crisis in Indiana when he was the governor.
Hint: He failed. https://t.co/tzU85zgDE5
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) February 27, 2020
COVID-19 is just one of many examples that prove this, while the media overlooks the more immediate effects like the influenza outbreak that has claimed 68 lives so far this season in San Diego County alone. Around the country, 14,000 have died, 250,000 have been hospitalized, and over 26 million have suffered from flu-like symptoms. What’s most problematic here is that the press uses stories like these to build their credibility so that when claims such as “Trump is a bigger threat to American than Terrorists” are made, the uninformed public follows blindly.
The coronavirus will continue to make headlines, striking fear into the heart of the public, while influenza remains far more potent. The flu will continue to go largely unreported as the death toll rises this year, only highlighting the worsening state of media in our country. The hunger for headlines and money has corrupted an institution that was supposed to hold our government accountable. Yet, even now, we see the way this institution twists reality to support particular political ideologies.
