Opinion | Credible media vital in fight against coronavirus and epidemic of fake news
- At a time when the public are most in need of critical information, many newsrooms, hit by shrinking revenue streams, are finding it harder to deliver on their mission – with grave implications for society
Newsrooms have been working overtime to keep the communities they serve updated. Audiences have surged. Apart from news reports, people are turning to analysis and commentaries, videos and explainers, to help them make sense of the fast-evolving and far-reaching crisis.
Amid the welter of information swirling about on social media, professional newsrooms which have long invested in building expertise have been meeting the public’s hunger for objective reporting, based on journalists speaking to informed sources, providing context and perspective, drawing on historical knowledge and institutional memory.
These have also helped inoculate communities against that other virus that is on the rampage – fake news – which is sowing anxiety and confusion, as well as undermining the public’s trust in the reliability of information they receive at this critical time.
In the process, some reporters have succumbed to the virus while on the job, having to be isolated and quarantined. Some newsrooms have had to evacuate hurriedly, with staff rushing home, laptops in hand, to try to keep their platforms updated and the presses rolling.
But here’s the heartbreaking news: among the victims in the intensive care unit, gasping for breath, are some of the media organisations themselves, alongside many others from sectors that have also been hard hit, from aviation to retail.