Aristotle famously stated, “It is equally unreasonable to accept merely probable conclusions from a mathematician and to demand strict demonstration from an orator.” What he meant is that virtuous behaviour is accomplished when one finds the mean between excess and deficiency. Where adherence to the mean preserves perfection, excess and deficiency destroy it.
In normal times, we expect a lot from the news media. In emergency or crisis, our expectations intensify. If hazards or risks are underreported or played down, the media face accusations of indifference; if they are amplified to the point of excess, charges of sensationalism inevitably follow. For journalists and health communicators, the goal is to find virtue in the mean. It is an extremely difficult task.
Our goal is to offer some reflections on the dynamics in how the media report on health emergencies and risks, and to address the implications for public health communication. The case of the novel H1N1 virus provides a compelling illustration.
Observation No. 1: In times of crisis, people want information quickly. Although the vast majority of us continue to receive news and information from traditional sources, social media such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are supplementing our information-gathering activities. Their decentralized nature allow them to relay commentary, opinion, speculation and even thoughtful analysis faster. Most importantly, they provide a mechanism for citizens to bypass traditional media and communicate directly with one another.
Yet, the nimble and flexible nature of social media is also a weakness. The lack of sourcing, review and professional norms compromises its integrity. The fact that we live in a globalized media environment has undoubtedly expanded our horizons, but it has also created a lot of “noise” that makes it hard to convince people that health officials have the best evidence and are acting in the public interest.
Observation No. 2: News media don't just mirror what's going on in the world, they actively contribute to shaping our understanding of it. For this reason, they are recognized by health communicators as assets in crisis and risk situations. Competency in crisis and risk communication are thus expected to be a key element in the public health official's toolkit. Yet, a review of the media's H1N1 coverage suggests that the rollout of one of the most ambitious immunization initiatives in Canadian history might have been more effective had officials been attuned to lessons learned from previous events.
For example, they claim they were caught off guard by the surge in demand for the H1N1 vaccine. They shouldn't have been. Although surveys indicated Canadians were ambivalent about the need for inoculation, research indicates this is an entirely predictable response. Indeed, the most common reaction of citizens to situations involving high levels of health risk is not panic, as many mistakenly believe, but apathy. Communication expert Peter Sandman argues that the mainstay of a health communicator's job is to determine how to make people recognize that a risk is serious, to become concerned about it and to take action: “If people are apathetic, we try to get them more concerned – sometimes by arousing fear.”
Observation No. 3: News values are a central consideration in how the media report health emergencies and are thus a key component in any communication plan. Attitudes can shift dramatically if a famous or featured person becomes the public face of the crisis. Evan Frustaglio, the hockey-playing teenager, became the high-profile face of the H1N1 virus. His death was heart-wrenching evidence that while the virus may place some segments of our society at greater risk, no segment is immune. The media attention heightened fears among Canadians.
