A common theme has popped up throughout the broadcast news this week.
ANTHRAX ALERT flashes on the screen during the K-Cal 9 news and other stations feature similar alarmist messages. While the media’s job is to inform, it is not their job to create false impressions and anxiety in their viewers.
Several reports were featured, each of them countering everyone’s fears of getting infected with anthrax. They focused on how only a handful of people have actually been affected, and only one of whom actually died from fatal exposure to the bacteria.
So why is K-CAL continuously flashing “ANTHRAX ALERT” next to all of the stories related to anthrax?
This only calls more worried attention to the story, definitely garnering more viewers/ratings. Is this what K-CAL’s goal is? To grab peoples’ attention with bold statements that could scare the crap out of people, only to tell them there’s really nothing to worry about?
This is not what journalism is about. If there is not anything major to worry about, then let the people know this. Do not flash the word “ALERT” on the screen if there is not anything to be on alert about. Another report in the same newscast was broadcast live from Colton, a town in the Inland Empire. The reporter stood in front of a hospital after talking with numerous doctors, who all said there is nothing to worry about, despite the hundreds of calls and reports they were getting of anthrax scares. As of Wednesday, there had been no- and I repeat no- anthrax infections there.
The report went on to say that if, and only if, you have an extremely good reason to believe you have been exposed to the virus that you should check into a hospital. If not, it is most likely you have contracted a different type of virus; the common cold, perhaps.
Many of the people who checked into the hospital complained of regular symptoms like coughing, sneezing and muscle aches and pains. Had this whole “Anthrax Alert” not happened — or not been blown extremely out of proportion by the media — then everyday Joes would not be rushing to hospital, demanding antibiotics for anthrax.
In Wednesday’s edition of the Los Angeles Times, Column One discussed how people are getting too worked up over the threat of anthrax and how deeply it affects them. They talked about how many people are demanding mass quantities of antibiotics such as Cipro, the main drug that fends off the anthrax virus.
The ironic thing about Cipro is that it can be “horribly counterproductive,” according to the article.
It went on to say that drug resistance could occur. What this means is that if people misuse the drug- which will happen because of peoples’ heightened fears of anthrax- then bacteria find a way to survive inside the body even though the person has taken the antibiotic. According to the article, some ways to avoid this problem are taking the prescribed antibiotics as directed, and not taking them for as long as you see fit. Also, they say, you should not save pills for later or save the leftovers for other people because partial doses can make the bacteria stronger.
The main issue with the whole anthrax problem is that the media is turning something small into something huge. Just because a couple of famous people, like Tom Brokaw and Sen. Tom Daschle, are targeted does not mean the general public will be affected.
Tim Tevault, a sophomore journalism major, is arts and entertainment editor of the Campus Times. He can be reached by e-mail at zerotearx@aol.com.
