Swine Flu - Media Doom Circus

The last few months have been wonderful for the media Doom Circus. Jade Goodie, the recession, and now a killer virus!

Swine flu has once again given the media an opportunity to see if they can discuss something important without getting over excited. I’m not for a moment suggesting that this is a fuss about nothing- it is a genuine risk, as Ben Goldacre explains but there is a significant difference between reminding people washing your hands is always advisable anyway and proclaiming that we are witnessing the growth of a global pandemic that will kill 120 million people.

Flu is a common viral illness and people tend to recover from the symptoms in about seven days. What caught the interest of the news organisations was that in Mexico over 150 people have died from swine flu. This is of cause a tragic waste of human life, but it is worth remembering however that in the US an average of 100 people a day die from flu and flu related complications anyway. 36 thousand people die in the US every year from flu- generally the very young or the very old from flu related complications. So far, it appears that swine flu is very similar to an outbreak of seasonal flu, the only difference is that it is a new form and as such we don’t have an automatic immunity from it- so if you meet someone who has it, you could also catch it.

Sky News meanwhile has already produced a whole set of onscreen graphics specifically for covering the outbreak, whilst the ever-present yellow “portent of doom” Breaking News ticker has been counting up the number of suspected cases in the UK for a few days now. Sky News has also excelled itself in the “no shit” department by producing a six stage, easy to follow gallery explaining how to wash your hands, apparently next week they are going to explain how to wipe your own arse.

That said, the most tasteless element to the Doom Circus so far was the unwelcome appearance of well-known parasite Max Clifford who has apparently become the spokesman and PR agent for Iain and Dawn Askham. The Askhams became front page news stars earlier this week as the first confirmed UK ‘victims’ of swine-flu.

The problem with the news coverage of swine flu is that the important message, (wash your hands when you sneeze, stay at home and take advice by telephone to minimise the risk of infection), is all but lost in the hyperbole. The simple facts on their own don’t really stretch enough to cover more than a few paragraphs, certainly not needs of 24-hour rolling news.