[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

There are always people who will take advantage of a situation that is bad for other people - like people who raise gas prices in a crisis. In this case, I do think "the Republicans and their sort" are looking for a way to spin COVID-19 that is to their advantage.

I get a lot of my news from the BBC - I don't know that they are especially any more honest than other media folk, but it is a way to get a different view of what other people in the world (not Americans) think is important at the moment. The BBC has been covering COVID-19 heavily since its outbreak in China.

Tonight I was listening to a BBC program called "Over To You", in which listeners call in and ask questions about a theme. The theme this week was "How is the BBC's news agenda decided?" and they addressed some of the topics I have seen come up in this thread. It was recorded this past Wednesday, so the main topic at their editorial morning meeting was COVID-19. They noted that this story has been the top headline for several weeks now, and will probably continue to be for awhile. There were two callers from the U.S. - one who thought the BBC's presentation of the news was well-balanced and one who thought the language was "too alarmist" and is causing panic rather than helping people take precautions. Someone from another country also said that perhaps the stories are too alarming. The BBC host pointed out that their coverage of the virus has changed somewhat over time.

The BBC host also spoke about statistics and information gathering that they do to see what kind of news people are aware of, i.e. what they're absorbing from the news and their environment, and trying to supplement that in the upcoming news with the most important FAQs. (Right now there are lots of hand-washing stories . . .)

A gentleman from India suggested that they should have more success stories about people who have survived COVID-19 to raise hope and reduce the fear-mongering. The BBC host explained that this kind of story has been difficult to get, because anyone who tests positive for the virus is quarantined for 14 days, and that time period is only just now ending for the people who first got it. They did say they have been able to get those kind of stories for a couple of days now, and the reporters are all trying to get these stories.

Just a few interesting thoughts. If you're interested, the show is called "Over To You" and they have a podcast by the same name. This was the 3/7/2020 episode.

Thanks Georgia, I'll check out that pod cast. I'm always interested in pod casts and sure do appreciate your suggestion for this particular one.