This is a piece written in a prompted response questioning the importance of reliable journalism in the U.S. today.
Importance of Reliable Journalism
The Role of Journalism in the Covid-19 Pandemic
When the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the globe, a lot of societal aspects changed very quickly. Living rooms turned into home offices. Restaurants adapted to handle takeout orders. Millions of Americans lost their jobs. Over the course of seven months, the world has changed drastically—everyone knows that.
However, what is routinely left out of the pandemic narratives out there is the role journalism has played in all this
Statistically, More Americans Rely on Journalism than Government Information
As a whole, Covid-19 made media consumption in the United States skyrocket. According to Comscore, online media consumption—including entertainment, social media, retail, games, government, health, and news sites—peaked in late April. At that time, digital visits increased by 48% compared to pre-pandemic levels. Now, in the wake of reopenings, media consumption is still up by 31% compared to February.
However, Comscore’s data is much more telling than that. It shows, with real data and numbers, people rely more on news than government health sites.
During its mid-April peak, visits to non-weather news sites increased by 48%. Now, it’s still 28% above pre-pandemic levels. In early February, there were 5.8 billion visits per week. By mid-April, it had increased to 8.5 billion. By the first week of August, it dropped to 7.4 billion visits. That is still a net increase of 1.6 billion weekly visits to news sites in eight months.
Visits to government health sites like the CDC, NIH, and WHO also experienced dramatic increases. However, the overall numbers are considerably less than news sites. Government sites, who reached their peaks in late-March, increased their viewership by more than 300%. But, as of August 2nd, viewership is only up by 11% compared to February.
Visits to government websites increased significantly more than news sites. However, the total number of views is important. News sites peaked at 5.8 billion. Government sites peaked at 53.9 million. To better show that difference, news sites had 5,746,100,000 more visits than government sites did. That’s still about 5.75 billion more.
Not only do news sites receive more views, but they are maintaining them better than government sites. Government sites are still only up 1.5 million weekly visits. News sites are still up by 1.6 billion.
This could be attributed to the fact that government health websites encompass much less information than news websites do. In the course of the pandemic, the United States experienced the democratic presidential primaries and an unprecedented wave of protests and civic unrest. However, news sites reached their peak the between April 13-19. Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign, making Joe Biden the presumed nominee on April 8th. Black Lives Matter protests peaked on June 6th. Between April 13-19, Covid-19 related stories dominated news sites. In all of April, seven out of the eleven most popular news events were related to Covid-19.
The United States Government Has Transparency Issues
The Pew Research Foundation says that only 20% of Americans trust the federal government. The same study found that only 42% of all Americans trusts the government to handle public health threats. When partisanship comes into play, only 17% of democrats trust the government in the same scenario.
This record breaking distrust among citizens isn’t unsubstantiated. In the specific case of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Trump Administration has released conflicting information.
On July 8, Dr. Birx, leader of the Coronavirus Task Force, said in a press conference that multiple states —later identified at 18 states—should be taking extra precaution due to their “red zone” status. That same day, Vice President Mike Pence, a member of the same task force, called for the reopening of schools in the fall.
The CDC has also publicly changed recommendations and guidelines after they conflict with the president’s statements. In July, President Trump called CDC guidelines for reopening schools “very tough and expensive”. He also threatened to cut or withhold funding to schools who don’t open in-person. CDC Director, Dr. Robert Redfield doubled down on the CDC’s guidelines, saying “our guidelines are our guidelines.” However, weeks later CDC guidelines were changed to allow schools to open.
The Trump Administration has even gone as far as changing the information chain of command for Covid-19 data. Before July 15, hospitals reported all Covid-19 data directly to the CDC. Now, information is reported to the Department of Health and Human Services before it is shared with the CDC.
Americans have no choice but to turn to journalists to know who and what to trust when the government’s narrative is continuously changing. Americans trust journalists to decipher information released by the government and report on the truth.
President Trump isn’t Helping
Just after midnight on October 2, President Trump released a statement saying he tested positive for Covid-19. This resulted in mixed reactions among Americans. It is no secret that the president has downplayed coronavirus mitigation efforts. He has been holding in-person rallies with little to no social distancing, he has criticized mask wearing, and he has compared Covid-19 to the flu.
President Trump has also been a key source in the use of misinformation during the pandemic. A recent Cornell University study finds that President Trump is quoted or referenced in 38% of articles containing misinformation about Covid-19. The study identified “miracle cures” as the most common misinformation spread throughout the roughly one million articles analyzed. The “miracle cures” include the use of hydroxychloroquine that has been very publicly pushed by the president– even though its effectiveness lacks scientific evidence.
The lack of transparency has also extended to the president’s own Covid-19 diagnosis. In a press conference in front of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, the president’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said the president was 72 hours into the Covid-19 diagnosis. This statement was given 36 hours after the president’s reported diagnosis. If the president was 72 hours into his diagnosis like Dr. Conley stated, that would mean he tested positive on Wednesday morning, potentially exposing Former Vice President Joe Biden during their Tuesday night predental debate.
Journalists have played a key role in calling out the president’s factual discrepancies in the name of public health.
Who to Trust in the Pandemic
The American Press Institute has defined that the role of journalism is to “provide citizens with the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their lives, their communities, their societies, and their governments.” This didn’t change because a pandemic hit.
There is so much information available, and oftentimes, it conflicts. Journalists, now more than ever, are sorting things out so everyday people don’t have to. Even then, it’s hard to know who and what to trust. But, right now newsrooms are struggling. Like the rest of the country, newspapers are stressed economically. However, they are still working on finding, sorting, and reporting information so its accessible.
But, when in doubt, look at everything on an international level. If information about the effectiveness of masks is conflicting, look at international news. Right now, the White House has more Covid-19 cases than entire countries. There are articles out there from New Zealand, the UK, or Australia—all in English– with information you can trust. There’s no shortage of reliable journalism available.
Meghan Zaffuta 