Mass Communication

Mass Communication

Introduction

There is a raging debate that mass media tends to sensationalize news to catch audiences’ attention. It can partly get attributed to how infrequent major shocking news occurs. This fact leads to media outlets resorting to inventive means to try and gain clout in the market. The article will focus on the Corona Virus epidemic and how it has gotten portrayed in the media, whether correctly or incorrectly. It will also focus on the similarities and differences between print media and audio and how the messages are delivered.

The Corona Virus epidemic

There was a general feeling of dread due to the outbreak of the novel Corona Virus. There has been both quality information and misinformation on the matter. The virus was first detected in Wuhan City of China towards the end of the year 2019 as the world prepared to usher in the New Year. The initial diagnosis was Pneumonia, but upon further investigation, the virus got detected. What is the virus exactly? It comes from a broad family of viruses whose effects range from a small illness like common cold to serious ones like, “Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-COV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-COV)” (Radford, 2020). However, the outbreak led to a discovery of a new string of the family that had not gotten identified before, .i.e. the “novel Corona Virus” (Radford, 2020).

The virus is referred to as Zoonotic, which refers to Viruses that can get transmitted from the animals to people. The major symptoms highlighted include shortness of breath, respiratory problems, persistent coughing, and high fever. If the virus is in the later stages, it can lead to Pneumonia, Kidney failure, and in the worst-case scenario, death. Ways to avoid infection include persistent hand washing, making sure the meat is sufficiently boiled, covering yourself when sneezing, and wearing the provided masks.

Spread of Misinformation

It is true that a lot of information has been distorted regarding the novel Corona Virus. This Misinformation is partly due to the total lack of knowledge regarding the virus around the world, and partly due to the attempt to sensationalize the news by the media outlets. Take, for example, the fear-mongering of how deadly the infection is. In actual sense, more than 80% of the people who suffer the disease make a full recovery (Toni, 2018). Some are even declared fully safe within two weeks. Only twenty percent get to the critical stage and succumb, unfortunately. As a matter of fact, the two previously discovered strains of the virus are more deadly than the novel Corona Virus. This is the Mass Medias’ attempt to blow the story out of proportion.

Another case of misinformation is the incessant media outcry to stop all flights, ships, and general contact with China. This stems from Xenophobia, where news outlets claim that the feeding habits of the Chinese may have led to the outbreak. This has led to the marginalization of the Chinese in foreign countries.

The Chinese government was reluctant to disseminate the information to the general public regarding the virus. This led to many new outlets around the globe to formulate conspiracy theories. It is common knowledge that governments prefer to keep bad information from the general public, so this should not automatically lead to conspiracy speculation. Many online columnists even took it as far as claiming that it was economic sabotage, which meant to cripple China’s economy. This fact can neither be proven nor disapproved.

There has been a lot of misinformation regarding the cure for the disease. Certain outlets in the United Arab Emirates claimed that drinking plenty of water within minutes of contraction would prevent a severe invasion. Other sources advised people to take garlic or vitamin C, which they claimed, would cure the disease, but all these rumors were quashed by the World Health Organization.

Similarities between audio and print media

1. Both these forms of media use field reporters to gather the information. There are numerous methods these reporters gather their information, .i.e. browsing the internet, direct interviews with the subjects, showing up at the scene, and phone calls.
2. There is a general format of news presentation that both these media outlets use known as a pyramid. Essentially, it is dividing the news section from the most important information, which comes first to the less important one. This format provides an advantage in that; a story is always cut from the end, retaining the most important aspects.
3. Both these formats use teasers to try and lure the viewer into sitting through the episode. In audio, it is the shortened version that is played before the main news, while in print media, it’s the sidebar that provides snippets of the interesting stories which are inside (Scheidies, 2017).
4. They have no limits to their coverage. In this day and age, the audio and print media have the freedom to cover whatever they see fit. Some of the common themes are politics, celebrities, crime, and worldwide disaster, and so on.

Differences between the audio and the Print media

1. Print media has a select audience of literate people. One has to be well-versed with the written language used to be able to gain information. However, audio appeals to the majority of the masses due to the fact it only requires your ears.
2. Print media always has a certain time scale whereby the reporters need to produce their content. Past a certain time limit, the content won’t be printed on that given day. Audio, on the other hand, can be updated at any time even when breaking news occurs. It is a major disadvantage for the print media as they have to wait for 24 hours to include important breaking news if it occurs past their printing time.
3. Print media does not support live debate. This feature plays a large part in the delivery of news across the globe. For audio, a reporter can call a guest speaker or specialist on set so as to discuss important issues.
4. In most cases, print media is restricted by its region or country from where it’s produced. There are few exceptions with international brands like Vogue Magazine. Audio, on the other hand, is readily available throughout the world, whether it’s through radio or uploaded on the internet.
5. Print media always produces a more detailed report with less sensationalism. Audio or broadcast, in general, tend to be straight to the point with the aim of keeping the viewer hooked. This might lead to misinformation. Most people tend to remember what they read as opposed to what they saw or heard (Surbhi, 2017).

Conclusion

From the above essay, it’s clear that different sets of media have their own advantages and disadvantages. It also casts a looming shadow on the amount of misinformation we consume on a daily basis. This leads to the resolution that people should research further than what they hear from the news, or they risk peddling wrong information.

References

Benjamin. Radford. “Corona Virus Myths, Misinformation and Conspiracies” (February 11, 2020). Retrieved from: https://centerforinquiry.org/blog/coronavirus-myths-misinformation-and-conspiracies/

Caroline. Scheidies. “Similarities between Print and Television Media Methods” (April 17, 2017). Retrieved from: https://penandthepad.com/list-6935124-similarities-print-television-media-methods.html

Surbhi. S. “Differences between Print Media and Electronic Media” (December 25, 2017). Retrieved from: https://keydifferences.com/difference-between-print-and-electronic-media.html#KeyDifferences

Toni. G.L.A, Anne. C. Kroon. “Mediatization and Disproportionate Attention to Negative News” (Jan 16, 2018). Retrieved from:  https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1461670X.2018.1423632