The Times maintains a live news blog about the
coronavirus that is refreshed 24 hours a day,
with editors in New York, London and Hong
Kong dividing responsibility. The Slack channel
set up by Associated Press journalists to discuss
coverage among themselves and contribute to
the story has more than 400 members. Starting
this week, NBC News is turning its morning
newsletter solely into a vehicle for talking about
the disease.
The coronavirus has sickened thousands,
quarantined millions and sent financial markets
reeling — all while some cultural critics say the
story is overblown.
“It’s hard to tell people to put something into
context and to calm down when the actions
being taken in many cases are very strong or
unprecedented,” said Glen Nowak, director of
the Grady College Center for Health and Risk
Communication at the University of Georgia.
But that’s what journalists in charge of coverage
say they need to do.
“We have been providing a lot of explainers,
Q-and-A’s, trying to lay out in clear, simple
language what the symptoms are and what the
disease means for people,” said Jon Fahey, health
and science editor at the AP.
Fear is a natural response when people read
about millions of people locked down in China,
he said. Yet it’s also true that, right now, the
individual risk to people is very small.
Late last week, the Times’ Vivian Wang tried to
illustrate some of the complexities in writing
about a disease that has struck more than 80,000
people, with a death toll approaching 3,000.