Media Coverage of COVID -19

[kez19]

In today's Telegraph "Second lockdown warning". Starts rattling on about how a senior adviser has stated that as the R value could be 1.1 (oh for pitties sake) we are going to have another national lockdown, followed by another paragraph saying that Boris has ruled one out. Sorry can't link as paywalled.

I see spikes are happening across the UK I don’t get why even a second lockdown would help either, are people meant to have lives or not? Seems the media don’t want people to have a life these days...

 

[Bantamzen]

I see spikes are happening across the UK I don’t get why even a second lockdown would help either, are people meant to have lives or not? Seems the media don’t want people to have a life these days...

Lockdowns sell papers or attract clicks on websites and social media feeds.

 

[Class 33]

Yes unfortunately a number of the press are AGAIN reporting about there could be a second national lockdown! If there is a second national lockdown, then that is going against what Boris said a while ago in that a second full national lockdown is ruled out! Furthermore if there is another national lockdown, this will do even more catastrophic damage to the economy to what has already been done! Many many businesses just won't be able to survive financially having to close down yet again. And yet more catastrophic damage to people's livelihoods and mental health to what has already been done! I don't think many people will be able to take another full lockdown again. And I think there will be civil unrest across the UK, including many people who wouldn't usually take part in any civil unrest.

 

[kez19]

Lockdowns sell papers or attract clicks on websites and social media feeds.

that I believe...

 

[yorksrob]

When all this business kicked off, the talk was about timing the lockdown carefully as people would only tolerate so much lockdown.

What makes them think that the population will tolerate another one.

 

[SamYeager]

What makes them think that the population will tolerate another one.

I stronbgly suspect the government would get significant pushback from tory MPs if they tried to implement one, not to mention a large proportion of the population ignoring it. So far there's a reasonable amount of acceptance, albeit with grumbling, of local lockdowns although patience is definitely wearing thin.

 

[yorksrob]

I stronbgly suspect the government would get significant pushback from tory MPs if they tried to implement one, not to mention a large proportion of the population ignoring it. So far there's a reasonable amount of acceptance, albeit with grumbling, of local lockdowns although patience is definitely wearing thin.

Indeed.

 

[jtuk]

This is high quality idiocy:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-above-1-for-first-time-on-record-coronavirus

Covid: UK's R value may be above 1 for first time on record

The R value for the UK may have risen above 1.0 for the first time since weekly reporting of data began.

The latest figures for the UK reveal an R value of between 0.9 and 1.1, with the number of new infections somewhere between shrinking by 3% and growing by 1% every day

Yes, I'm sure the R rate was never higher than one. We must have suddenly had 7457543589 infections occur overnight so that the R was undefined, and it's been decreasing ever since, until now

 

[Mcr Warrior]

So, anyhoo, in simple, understandable, layman's terms, how exactly is this 'R' number calculated?

 

[adc82140]

It's not calculated. It's guessed. Granted it's an educated guess by experts in their field, but it's still a guess nonetheless.

 

[Darandio]

So, anyhoo, in simple, understandable, layman's terms, how exactly is this 'R' number calculated?

I told you a couple of weeks ago with a pie chart. Didn't you believe me?

 

[Mcr Warrior]

I told you a couple of weeks ago with a pie chart. Didn't you believe me?

In one ear and straight out of the other! Yours was just about the only previous reply that made any sense, though!

 

[Scotrail12]

https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1296858583846592513

@piersmorgan
To everyone on here deluding themselves that Covid is ‘over’, take a look at Spain’s case & death rate in the past week...This pandemic has barely started.

Piers subsequently got into arguments regarding mental health/scaremongering in reply to this tweet with two of the Loose Women cast and blocked them both.

He's been one of the worst for scaremongering throughout the pandemic (albeit conveniently defended his son's involvement at BLM protests). However, it's been the case across the board with the media during the pandemic, they seem to take any stat and put a negative spin on it. Things like 2 cases = a 2nd wave in their world. All that they are doing is causing anxiety in people and that's having a negative effect on society.

Should the media and celebs like Piers Morgan be facing sanctions for their behaviour throughout this?

 

[greyman42]

I believe that The Telegraph today is implying that we face going back into a national lockdown. Scaremongering.

 

[DB]

Given that the government is taking the same line in doom mongering, there is zero chance of the media being held to account.

 

[BJames]

Given that the government is taking the same line in doom mongering, there is zero chance of the media being held to account.

I've voted yes but I agree with this 100%.

 

[PHILIPE]

Any suggestion of scaremongering doesn't even gets a mention in the Media

 

[Class 33]

Am sick and tired of the press and media regarding Coronavirus. I didn't notice any of them reporting positively yesterday that there were just TWO deaths! Instead they put a negative spin on anything they can find, such as the new cases going up(even though this is largely due to the daily testing being SIGNIFICANTLY increased over the past month!) and the R rate. And today they're going on about a second wave AND a full national lockdown again. It's as though they actually want both of these to happen!

 

[Darandio]

I didn't notice any of them reporting positively yesterday that there were just TWO deaths!

I'm struggling to comprehend how the media can report positively on two deaths.

 

[yorksrob]

I'm struggling to comprehend how the media can report positively on two deaths.

That its a bloody darn sight fewer than usual ?

 

[Darandio]

That its a bloody darn sight fewer than usual ?

It's still two deaths though, hardly positive is it!

 

[yorksrob]

It's still two deaths though, hardly positive is it!

If there is such a thing as a bad flu year, it stands to reason that there must be a not so bad flu year.

 

[yorkie]

If there is such a thing as a bad flu year, it stands to reason that there must be a not so bad flu year.

The media generally aren't bothered about 'flu deaths; you could have several tens of thousands of 'flu deaths (which we do in bad 'flu years) but they'd still only be interested in Covid19 deaths.

This is because they are interested in what is deemed 'newsworthy', and unfortunately there are still a significant minority of the population that is far more worried (terrified, even) about the risk from Covid19 than anything else, in defiance of all logic, and the media are keen to exploit that.

They are not interested in logic, accuracy, and a sense of proportion.

 

[yorksrob]

The media generally aren't bothered about 'flu deaths; you could have several tens of thousands of 'flu deaths (which we do in bad 'flu years) but they'd still only be interested in Covid19 deaths.

This is because they are interested in what is deemed 'newsworthy', and unfortunately there are still a significant minority of the population that is far more worried (terrified, even) about the risk from Covid19 than anything else, in defiance of all logic, and the media are keen to exploit that.

They are not interested in logic, accuracy, and a sense of proportion.

Very true.

 

[LAX54]

If there is such a thing as a bad flu year, it stands to reason that there must be a not so bad flu year.

A bad flu year like 17/18 with 50K deaths ....does not count, as that is 'different' ! People now keep on about all the things in the past, like WW2 / the 1918 flu / Spanish flu etc, and how we are moaniong about distancing and masks etc, the big difference maybe is that, they just got on with it, did not hide away, have lockdowns, wear masks, they just lived a 'normal' life .... 2020...scared of our own shadow now !

 

[kez19]

https://twitter.com/piersmorgan/status/1296858583846592513

Piers subsequently got into arguments regarding mental health/scaremongering in reply to this tweet with two of the Loose Women cast and blocked them both.

He's been one of the worst for scaremongering throughout the pandemic (albeit conveniently defended his son's involvement at BLM protests). However, it's been the case across the board with the media during the pandemic, they seem to take any stat and put a negative spin on it. Things like 2 cases = a 2nd wave in their world. All that they are doing is causing anxiety in people and that's having a negative effect on society.

Should the media and celebs like Piers Morgan be facing sanctions for their behaviour throughout this?

I am surprised that Piers has became such a drama queen these days, he'll suck up to Trump, Give Meghan a hard time but with COVID cause panic....didn't he get COVID originally and somewhere in the papers "supposedly" he didn't quarantine or some clap trap like that?, then he had to with a family member?

 

[Skimpot flyer]

It's still two deaths though, hardly positive is it!

When you consider that there are around 150 deaths per month in the UK in road traffic collisions, about 5 per day, newspapers should be putting some perspective on these comparative numbers.
But no, they are too busy preparing tomorrow’s headline of ‘Shock 50% increase in Covid deaths’, when the daily figure rises by one

 

[adc82140]

I've been crunching some numbers. There are each day in the UK:

450 cancer deaths
105 stroke deaths
465 heart attack deaths
5 road deaths, 2 of which will be pedestrians
2 murders
10 drugs overdoses
18 suicides

Current Covid 7 day average is 12.

I wonder how many of the coronaphobes advocate legalisation of drugs? I wonder how many drive? I wonder how many smoke? I wonder how many lead an unhealthy lifestyle?


Back to the media, Sky News:

Coronavirus: We will see 'real problems' with COVID-19 this winter, chief medical officer says

England's chief medical officer is "confident" in the ability of science but a vaccine might not arrive before the end of 2021.

news.sky.com

It comes as the UK records a further 1,288 positive tests for the virus as of 4pm on Saturday. Some 834 patients are in hospital, 97 of them admitted in the past 24 hours

However they fail to mention that over 100 were discharged yesterday, leading to a net drop of about a dozen, and this is a trend we've seen for many weeks, including in the North West, where hospital bed occupancy dropped below 100 for the first time yesterday.

 

[scotrail158713]

It's still two deaths though, hardly positive is it!

Yes, but they were quite happy to report on the constant increase in deaths each day back in March & April. Therefore it’s not unreasonable to think that they should report on the decrease in deaths now.

 

[talldave]

We could probably deal with the 2 murders a day by mandating stab vests for everyone over the age of 12...

Road deaths - just carry on with the project to block every road with a Covid-19 shrub box.....

We should probably ban nuts as well....