Three coronavirus facts we should all agree on - and need to hear more of in the media The coronavirus crisis has been the source of non-stop coverage, and rightfully so. But the day-to-day, or in the case of Twitter, hour-to-hour, story sometimes misses the bigger truths that, in theory, we can all agree on. And these elements should be the kind of information that anchors all media coverage - instead of focusing on whatever outrage of the day that comes up. Here's my attempt to distill three COVID-19 items we can all agree on.
1. The number of cases are irrelevant
Let me start with a fact that will be hardest to convince some people about. Look, I get that the number of reported cases has been a constant storyline, but as the numbers continue to grow - nearing 1 million in the United States - we need to be honest about how absolutely irrelevant that statistic actually is to telling us anything about coronavirus. Which makes the way its portrayed on news outlets like CNN - often in a graphic that never leaves the screen - something they should reconsider. | | Two antibody tests from New York and Los Angeles are telling us that many magnitudes of individuals have had COVID-19 that don't even know about it. In Los Angeles County, that number could mean 200,000-400,000 had COVID-19 and recovered. To put that in perspective, that means more people had it and didn't know in LA County than any other country in the world has reported cases. This week, in New York, we saw as many as 20% of New York City residents had tested positive for the antibody, meaning they had previously had coronavirus. That means we're looking at millions of new "cases" of coronavirus in New York alone.
Now, we should approach thinking about what this knowledge means with humility and questions - are these people immune from getting it again, as would seem to be the case? Can we trust the tests 100%? But we need to stop with the coverage of "cases." It's irrelevant, and portrays a false percentage for the mortality rate - which according to the CNN graphic above puts it at 6% when in reality, based on these antibody tests, is somewhere well south of 1%.
2. Lockdowns caused fewer deaths, but we need a balanced strategy to emerge from them
One of the storylines I've written about is the geographic bias in coverage of coronavirus, and that has continued as we've begun to see some strategic easing of lockdown, stay-at-home orders. While the focus has been on the beaches being populated by what the media perceives as Trump voters, California, for example, reported 50,000 beachgoers in what looked like far more crowded beaches on Friday.
But the point here is not to COVID-shame anyone. We need to be smart about how we approach emerging from lockdown. It's all about balance.
I've been enjoying following former New York Times reporter Alex Berenson, but I also can't understand his argument about the effectiveness of the lockdowns. Anyone who says we would have less coronavirus-related deaths if we all just went about our business as usual doesn't have much of a case.
I'd highly suggest everyone watch this 15-minute interview with the most interesting voice I've seen on how we strategically get back to some levels of normalcy - how we can be smart and nuanced about it - Dr. David Katz on Bill Maher Friday night. Mark Halperin's COVID-related newsletters have been excellent in presenting different points of view also.
We have to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to lockdown. And we have to stop shaming people for suggesting ways we can come out of this, knowing the latest information we have now. Dr. Fauci has spoken about this balance too (at 11 minutes in this interview).
3. Trump's not a quack for touting hydroxychloroquine, but that "disinfectant" question was wrong
I wrote enough about hydroxychloroquine in the last newsletter - let's wait to see exactly how effective it is when the clinical trial in New York is completed tomorrow. President Trump's question to his medical team during the live briefing on Thursday over injecting disinfectant was a sloppy, stupid moment, and the media is not wrong to call it out.
Now - is it really a four day story, as Dr. Birx has asked today in her Sunday show appearances? Is it really leading to an increase in poison control calls? Doesn't seem like it. And it's not like he told people to drink bleach - or even inject it.
But even Trump's biggest fans should be able to say - Mr. President, please don't ask dumb questions that pop into your head in the middle of a coronavirus briefing. It's fuel to the media, and it will undermine everything else. | | The Joe Biden sexual assault allegation story has become too clear for the media to ignore For weeks since Tara Reade came forward with explosive allegations of sexual assault against Joe Biden, which she say took place in 1993, the story has been covered either in a very hypocritical way by some outlets like the New York Times and Washington Post - or barely at all, like by CNN and MSNBC. Friday came a new element to the story, which has made what could have been dismissed as a bit of a messy media story to one that has achieved a new layer of clarity - which will make it difficult to ignore much longer. The Intercept, which has been covering the story for awhile, reported Reade's mother had called Larry King in 1993. Newsbusters found the video. The caller said her daughter worked for "a prominent senator," had "problems" there, and wanted advice. The new information - corroborating the fact that, while not necessarily sexual assault, some "problem" happened between Biden and Reade and was not a new revelation - led CNN to cover the story for the first time on its air. | | One interesting tidbit about the King segment - Lois Romano was a guest on the panel for Reade's mother's question. Romano's daughter Kristen Holmes is now a reporter for CNN.
The Daily Caller did some excellent reporting, and found that not a single Senate Democrat would even comment on the allegation.
But there is only one Democrat now who the media really needs to ask about the allegations - Joe Biden. Biden has been steadily appearing in the media, with multiple interviews each week. He has not been asked about the allegations even once.
Again, even if the media doesn't ask Biden about the specific sexual assault allegations - although I think it's clear they would if he was a Republican - they have an obligation now to ask what happened with Reade when she was a staffer in his office in 1993. What were the "problems"? The story has become too clear to ignore. | | On the media business, Facebook, Chris Cuomo and more: BCC Interview with TheWrap's Sharon Waxman For this week's "BCC" interview, I emailed with founder, CEO and editor of TheWrap, Sharon Waxman. Waxman founded TheWrap in 2009 after years as a journalist at the New York Times and the Washington Post. Waxman and I disagreed about coronavirus media coverage, but agreed on the direction of the media business - and I've published the full email exchange here. We talked coronavirus coverage ("The demise of local news coverage has accelerated, tragically, with direct consequences to public health"), Facebook ("We in the media should not want philanthropic handouts from Facebook and Twitter. What we need is recognition that our content brings value to their platforms, and to be cut in on the proceeds."), Chris Cuomo ("I think Chris Cuomo's anchoring of the news while battling Covid was noteworthy in its bravery, and in offering a real-life, real-time example of what the experience of getting Covid-19 is like."), the Los Angeles Times ("The legacy media and those who believe journalism is important need to wake up. We don't save journalism by guilt or Twitter-shaming or defending a crappy product.") and more. Read the full BCC Interview here. | | | What happened on Twitter this week
(Twitter is bad, but also, sort of good. Here's what you missed if you didn't spend your time on the cesspool of a social platform like the rest of the media.)
1. JVN sparred with Christiane Amanpour | | "Queer Eye" host Jonathan Van Ness was not happy after a 12-minute interview on Christiane Amanpour's CNN show, and took to Twitter to call her out. That ended up leading to a series of tweets from Amanpour apologizing for the confusion.
2. A local New York anchor made a serious mistake
During a broadcast on ABC's New York affiliate, anchor Bill Ritter teed up a story on a young boy with coronavirus this way: "Jack has died." But, uh, actually he hadn't died - he recovered. This tweet with the video has 1,600+ RTs.
3. The best TikTok Trump clip ever
I'm old, so my favorite kind of TikTok is Trump clips - comedians and other people dubbing Trump comments over their own videos. This video from comedian Sarah Cooper has absolutely blown up - with 130,000+ RTs and more than 4 million views - and just watch it and laugh because if you can't laugh, you know... | | Two Truths and a Lie (A new game for you in Fourth Watch - here are three stories from the media, but one is a "lie" - it came from The Onion, Babylon Bee or a similar parody site. Click the links after making your guess to find out the answer.) 1. No, Trump did not put a Labradoodle breeder in charge of the COVID-19 response
"Only in the Trump administration could a dog breeder find himself leading a pandemic containment strategy," DNC deputy war room director Daniel Wessel said. "It would be laughable if not for the tens of thousands of Americans who have lost their lives and the tens of millions who are out of work."
2. I Teach At Oxford, But I Don't Want It To Win The Coronavirus Vaccine Race
"We are not only vulnerable but can also afford to learn lessons from countries, regardless of whether we have a special relationship with them – such as South Korea. That being white, male and Oxford-educated may not be the only criteria for effective leadership."
3. Media That Hypes Everything As A Crisis Shocked That No One Listens When Actual Crisis Arrives
"The news outlets that said millions would die from Trump, the Kavanaugh nomination, tax cuts, the end of net neutrality, and hundreds of other things over the past few years are extremely worried that people are remaining apathetic in the face of the looming repercussions from the pandemic." | | QUICK HITS: COVID Edition
- The Free Beacon has continued their singular, excellent reporting on the man who supposedly died after ingesting fish tank cleaner. The story has gotten far murkier since the original media reporting.
- Some great perspective from National Review's Jim Geraghty on media distractions when it comes to covering what matters in the COVID crisis...and potatoes.
- Axios has raised tens of millions of dollars, and in December 2019, hadn't even used much of the $20 million it most recently raised. So why exactly was it taking $5 million from the PPP loan program? | | | After Thursday's "disinfectant" moment, Trump didn't take questions after Friday's briefing. Wolf Blitzer called him "chicken." CNN said he's gone "into hiding." He's answered questions every single day for hours - including on Friday, just earlier in the day. Let's not go crazy... | | Thanks for reading! Stay safe, until next time...
- Steve Krakauer
@SteveKrak | | | |
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